Oil Spill
Study says thousands of jobs could be created with BP oil spill penalties
The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS -- A study commissioned by two nonprofit groups says thousands
of jobs would be created along the Gulf Coast if money from BP oil spill
penalties and other sources were dedicated to coastal restoration.
http://blog.al.com/wire/2012/06/study_says_thousands_of_jobs_c.html
BP oil spill disrupted microbes on Gulf Coast beaches, new research shows
Mark Schleifstein
The Times-Picayune
Communities of microbial organisms - including nematode worms, single cell
animals called protists, and a variety of fungi - that live in the sediment
of beaches on Grand Isle, Dauphin Island and elsewhere along the Gulf of
Mexico underwent dramatic changes in the months immediately following the
BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, according to a new study published today in
the online scientific journal PLos ONE.
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2012/06/post_39.html
BP Shouldn't Get White House E-Mails in Spill Case, U.S. Says
Bloomberg
BP Plc (BP/) isn't entitled access to e- mail communications between the
White House and other top U.S. officials during the Gulf of Mexico oil
spill of 2010, a government lawyer told a federal judge.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-06-06/bp-shouldn-t-get-white-house-e-mails-in-spill-case-u-dot-s-dot-says
State News
Hike in Byram sewer bills paying for improvements to system
Clarion Ledger
By now, Byram customers of Siwell Utility Co. Inc. should have noticed an
increase in their sewer bills.
The city is improving its sewer system to reduce contamination of Big Creek
and eliminate wastewater discharge, as mandated by the Environmental
Protective Agency's Clean Water Act. Big Creek flows into the Pearl River,
which is the city's main source of drinking water.
…Tremonte said Siwell Utilities was under orders from the Mississippi
Department of Environmental Quality to make repairs. To pay for the
repairs, Siwell Utilities requested a rate increase from the Mississippi
Public Service Commission. The hike would have doubled customers' monthly
bills, and it would have meant an additional fee from Jackson, which
provides water service, he said.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20120607/NEWS/206070339/Hike-Byram-sewer-bills-paying-improvements-system
Caledonia citizens protest new water bills
Commercial Dispatch
Carmen K. Sisson
June 6, 2012 10:49:01 AM
Caledonia residents are likely to feel the sting of the rate hike affecting
water and sewer now that the weather has heated up. Resident Charles
Underhill expressed his displeasure with the rate hike during Tuesday's
regular Board of Aldermen meeting.
…Coleman said the sewer rate increase is necessary to fund requirements, by
the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, associated with
repermitting the town's wastewater facilities.
http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=17389
Sewer improvement plans questioned
By MATTHEW COLEMAN
DAILY LEADER
A joint city-county sewer improvement effort surfaced again Tuesday night
as two residents questioned their exclusion from project plans.
http://www.dailyleader.com/topstories/article_e725ac1a-aff3-11e1-9e89-001a4bcf887a.html
3 county subdivisions to get better sewer systems
Bolivar Commercial
by Chance Wright
06.05.12 - 02:16 pm
For over 25 years, the residents of three subdivisions in Bolivar County
have been fighting for improvements to their current sewer systems.
http://www.bolivarcom.com/view/full_story/18885763/article-3-county-subdivisions-to-get-better-sewer-systems?instance=homethirdleft
Wastewater expansion enables growth
Madison County Journal
A final phase at the Beattie's Bluff Wastewater Treatment Plant in
northwestern Madison County was recently completed and officials throughout
the county were given a tour of the multi-million dollar facility.
…In addition to local sources, the infrastructure improvement funds were
provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Mississippi Major
Economic Impact Authority Grant Funds and the Mississippi Department of
Environmental Quality.
http://onlinemadison.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=25129
UA could take over 2 sewer systems
By Jeremy Pittari
The Picayune Item
PICAYUNE — Waste water systems at the Wildwood and Round Rock subdivisions
could become part of the Pearl River County Utility Authority, if the
Public Service Commission decides that would be the best course of action.
http://picayuneitem.com/local/x318744743/UA-could-take-over-2-sewer-systems
Engineering cost for Corinth wastewater plant increased
by Lena Mitchell/NEMS Daily Journal
06.06.12 - 12:35 pm
CORINTH - The Corinth Board of Aldermen on Tuesday approved an increase in
the engineering contract on a city wastewater treatment plant to include
work not anticipated when the contract was first written in 2005.
http://nems360.com/view/full_story/18870098/article-Engineering-cost-for-Corinth--wastewater-plant-increased?instance=secondary_stories_left_column
Rubbish site notches forward
South Reporter
By SUE WATSON
The Marshall County Board of Supervisors met recently with John Porter to
discuss a proposed Class II rubbish site on the northwestern edge of the
county.
http://southreporter.com/rubbish_site.html
Changes may clear county from floodplain troubles
Itawamba County Times
by Adam Armour/Staff Writer
06.03.12 - 06:00 am
Five months after the Federal Emergency Management Agency re-evaluated its
controversial policy that would have drowned much of Itawamba County in
costly floodplains, officials are still up to their eyeballs in uncertainty
about the whole thing.
http://itawamba360.com/view/full_story/18760402/article-Changes-may-clear-county-from-floodplain-troubles?instance=secondary_stories_left_column
'Mount Sand Helens' nears end of the line
Sea Coast Echo
By JACE PONDER
Jun 5, 2012, 20:09
As the excavation of Mount Sand Helens began Monday, the Board of
Supervisors decided to turn off the flow of sand from the Pass Christian
harbor after a large pile of oyster shells were inadvertently pumped onto
the beach.
http://12.68.233.230/40/article_6000.shtml
Hearing on turtle excluder device for shrimp skimmers nets a small audience
By Harlan Kirgan
Mississippi Press
D'IBERVILLE, Mississippi -- A hearing on a proposed rule to require turtle
excluder devices on shrimp skimmer trawls brought four comments Wednesday
at the L.H. "Red" Barnett Senior Center.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/06/hearing_on_turtle_excluder_dev.html
NOAA approves $1.7 million for Department of Marine Resources programs
By Harlan Kirgan
Mississippi Press
WASHINGTON -- The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources is the
recipient of two National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration grants,
which include $1.14 million through the Coastal Zone Management Act and a
$587,190 Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve Operations Grant,
according to Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Jackson.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/06/noaa_approves_17_million_for_m.html
MPB to air 'Taking Charge' June 14
Clinton News
Mississippi Public Broadcasting on June 14 will air Taking Charge, a
television special highlighting the ways Mississippi communities are taking
the initiative to install energy efficient upgrades that will reduce their
energy usage and lower energy costs.
http://www.clintonnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120607/BIZ/206070303/-1/NEWS01/MPB-to-air-%91Taking-Charge--June-14
National News
UN: Humanity speeding down "unsustainable path"
AP
(CBS/AP) RIO DE JANEIRO - A United Nations report warns that the earth's
environmental systems "are being pushed towards their biophysical limits"
and that sudden, irreversible and potentially catastrophic changes are
looming.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57448690/un-humanity-speeding-down-unsustainable-path/
Landfill's closure changing lives in Rio
By Marilia Brocchetto and Azadeh Ansari
CNN
(CNN) -- On the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, nestled along Guanabara Bay
and within sight of the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue, one of the
world's largest open-air landfills has closed after more than three decades
of operation.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/05/world/americas/brazil-landfill-closure/index.html?hpt=hp_c1
Press Releases
EPA and Partners Announce "My Air, My Health Challenge"
Inventors will compete to develop personal air pollution and health sensors
WASHINGTON - To help researchers, communities, and doctors better
understand the connection between air quality and a person's health, the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) Office of the Coordinator for Health Information
Technology announced a nationwide challenge called My Air, My Health
(MAMH). The MAMH challenge offers awards for the invention of personal,
portable sensors that measures air pollution and a person's physiological
response to pollution.
"This challenge provides an opportunity to tap into the ingenuity of
Americans to build technology to improve health. In the future, these types
of personalized devices will enable people to make better informed choices
about their own health and their environment," said Glenn Paulson, EPA
Science Advisor.
Men, women, children — we're all different, and our bodies react in
different ways to pollution and other harmful toxins in our environment,"
said Linda Birnbaum, NIEHS Director. "We believe pairing health researchers
with technology innovators will help us get the tools we need for a more
complete picture of what people are breathing and how it might affect their
health."
Responders to the challenge will propose designs for sensors that can be
easily worn or carried, and take into account a known or plausible link
between airborne pollutants and health measurements (such as, heart rate
and breathing) in certain individuals or communities. The proposals should
also address how to make the collected health and environmental data
available to researchers, public health institutions, and other interested
parties.
Four finalists will each receive $15,000 and will be invited to develop
their proposals into working prototypes to demonstrate how their systems
can be integrated for practical use by health and environmental agencies,
and by individual citizens. One of the four finalists will then be awarded
$100,000 for the most effective solution for integrating physiological and
air quality data that is usable and meaningful to long-term health
outcomes. The awards will further scientific research on air quality and
public health.
The MAMH Challenge announcement was made at HHS's Health Data Initiative
Forum by EPA Science Advisor Glenn Paulson, Ph.D and NIEHS Director Linda
Birnbaum, Ph.D. Interested parties can learn more about the challenge
during a webinar on June 19 at 4:00 p.m.
More information on the challenge:
http://challenge.gov/HHS/372-my-air-my-health-challenge
More information on the Health Data Initiative Forum:
http://www.HDIforum.org
