Scientists Link Melting Snow to 186 Dolphin Deaths in the Gulf
MPB
PUBLISHED BY RHONDA MILLER ON 19 JUL 2012 07:12PM
Marine researchers say cold water flowing into the Gulf of Mexico may have contributed to the death of baby dolphins. MPB’s Rhonda Miller has more.
http://mpbonline.org/News/article/scientists_tie_melting_snow_to_dolphin_deaths_in_gulf_of_mexico
RESTORE Act 'monumental' to coastal economies
Wakulla could receive about $10 million
Tallahassee Democrat
The first checks remain a long way off, and much is uncertain, but federal and Florida legislation committing billions in fines from Deepwater Horizon operator BP will mean unprecedented cash windfalls for eight Florida counties, Wakulla and Franklin among them.http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20120723/NEWS01/307230017/RESTORE-Act-monumental-coastal-Economies?nclick_check=1
Panhandle counties wary of state tampering with BP funds
TOM McLAUGHLIN / Daily News
2012-07-19 16:53:33
OKALOOSA ISLAND — Representatives from eight Northwest Florida counties labeled “disproportionally affected” by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill declared Thursday their intention to keep as much control as possible over millions in RESTORE Act funds.http://www.nwfdailynews.com/articles/act-51140-restore-.html
State News
MDEQ fines City of Hattiesburg for wastewater penalties
WDAM
The city of Hattiesburg has to hand over 8-thousand dollars to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
Group investigating toxins in Moss Point considers filing lawsuit
WLOX
A civil rights group, investigating claims of a cancer epidemic in Moss Point, is considering to file a lawsuit against companies they believe are creating the toxins.
http://www.wlox.com/story/19084982/group-investigating-toxins-in-moss-point-considers-filing-lawsuit
Gas well still leaking 48 hours after explosion
WDAM
More than two days after the incident, Saturday emergency management teams remained on the scene of a gas well head that was blown off Thursday evening in Wayne County.
http://www.wlox.com/story/19070455/gas-well-head-blows-in-wanyne-county
Hydrogen sulfide leaks from well blowout in Wayne County
Friday, July 20, 2012, 2:25 PM
By Harlan Kirgan, Mississippi Press
PEARL, Mississippi -- The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency is monitoring a well blowout which is leaking hydrogen sulfide near the town of Clara in Wayne County.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/07/hydrogen_sulfide_leaks_from_we.html
Volunteers cleanup Biloxi's trash
WLOX
Fourth of July celebrations took place more than two weeks ago, but the trash still remains.
Saturday, Biloxi became a lot cleaner, thanks to around 30 volunteers who got up early, put on gloves and headed down Highway 90 with garbage bags in hand.
http://www.wlox.com/story/19081175/volunteers-cleanup-trash-the-city-could-not-get-to
Lionfish population is exploding in the Gulf just two years after they first arrived (video)
Monday, July 23, 2012, 7:48 AM
By Ben Raines, Press-Register
A small fish nestled among swaying stalks of sea whip coral about 11 miles off the Alabama coast may be poised to shift the balance of life in the Gulf of Mexico.
http://blog.al.com/live/2012/07/lionfish_population_is_explodi.html
Auditor releases annual report on costs of Legislature
by Associated Press
Published: July 20,2012
JACKSON — Just like any business or state agency, the Mississippi Legislature needs supplies, staff and equipment to operate. Lawmakers need coffee to jump-start the day.
http://msbusiness.com/2012/07/auditor-releases-annual-report-on-costs-of-legislature/
National News
Appeals court rejects challenge to sulfur dioxide rule designed to protect people with asthma
By Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court has rejected a challenge to a tough new clean air requirement limiting sulfur dioxide emissions.
EPA reviewing rule on toxic air pollution; standards for future plants targeted
By Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency is reviewing part of a controversial rule that sets the first federal standards to reduce toxic air pollution from power plants.
EPA Urged to Expand Water Quality Trading, Include Pollutants Other Than Nutrients
Friday, July 20, 2012
Bloomberg
The National Association of Clean Water Agencies urged the Environmental Protection Agency on July 19 to allow water quality trading for waters other than those that have total maximum daily load plans for restoration.
http://www.bna.com/epa-urged-expand-n12884910747/
Experts: Some fracking critics use bad science
By KEVIN BEGOS, Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — In the debate over natural gas drilling, the companies are often the ones accused of twisting the facts. But scientists say opponents sometimes mislead the public, too.
Critics of fracking often raise alarms about groundwater pollution, air pollution, and cancer risks, and there are still many uncertainties. But some of the claims have little — or nothing— to back them.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jCUQcMjaT-TJqizs7WRB1zIw8rzA?docId=cef00570f618477d8e9fcb53579af91c
Fracking Foes Build Momentum for Recycling
Bloomberg
The worst U.S. drought in a half century is putting pressure on natural-gas drillers to conserve the millions of gallons of water used in hydraulic fracturing to free trapped gas and oil from underground rock.http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-07-23/drought-helps-fracking-foes-build-momentum-for-recycling
Will the U.S. export fracking to the rest of the world?
Washington Post
By Brad Plumer , Updated: July 21, 2012
Quick, name the most significant American innovation of the past ten years. How about hydraulic fracturing?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/07/21/will-the-u-s-export-fracking-to-the-rest-of-the-world/
Opinion
Op-Ed: Mississippi universities ready to help RESTORE the Gulf
Published: Friday, July 20, 2012, 6:01 AM
By Mississippi Press Editorial Board
By Denis Wiesenburg
Special to The Mississippi Press
All of us who respect and admire the natural beauty of the Gulf of Mexico want to see this important piece of the world's oceans restored to its pre-oil spill magnificence.
Thankfully, a bill passed by the U.S. Congress this summer will go a long way toward bringing that objective to reality.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-opinion/2012/07/op-ed_mississippi_universities_ready_to_help_restore_the_gulf.html
RESTORE Act a big win for the Gulf Coast
Shreveport Times
The damage inflicted by the massive BP oil spill in April 2010 took a terrible toll on ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico, including the diverse and valuable bird populations that call the Gulf Coast states home.http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20120718/OPINION03/207180320/RESTORE-Act-big-win-Gulf-Coast
BP and Coast Guard should address Louisiana's concerns about oil cleanup: An editorial
Published: Friday, July 20, 2012, 7:31 AM
By Editorial page staff, The Times-Picayune
Louisiana coastal officials continue to raise concerns about the lack of monitoring and response to oil from the BP spill along our coast, and it's important that the company and the Coast Guard address these complaints.http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2012/07/bp_and_coast_guard_should_addr.html
WLOX Editorial: If you don't recycle, why don't you?
Posted: Jul 20, 2012 5:25 PM CDTUpdated: Jul 22, 2012 3:51 PM CDT
Do you recycle? According to a report our news department recently did only about 15 percent of people in Harrison County and its five cities put out the blue recycle bins each week. Our question to you is why don't you recycle? It is a way to keep paper, plastic, cans and bottles out of our landfills.
http://www.wlox.com/story/19077407/wlox-editorial-if-you-dont-recycle-why-dont-you
Press Releases
EPA to Review Technical Information on Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for New Power Plants
Routine review has no impact on cost or vital health benefits of first national standards for mercury pollution
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reviewing technical information that is focused on pollution limits for new power plants under the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, based on new information provided by industry stakeholders after the rule was finalized. This review, which is not an uncommon step for major standards, will have no impact on the sensible, achievable, and cost-effective standards already set for existing power plants, which will protect millions of families and, especially, children from air pollution. By moving quickly to review the new information, this action will provide greater certainty for five planned future facilities, in Georgia, Kansas, Texas, and Utah, that would be covered by the standards. This review will not change the expected costs or public health benefits of the rule.
EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, which take advantage of existing flexibilities, are the first national standards to protect American families from power plant emissions of mercury and toxic air pollution like arsenic, acid gas, nickel, selenium, and cyanide. By ensuring that existing power plants install widely available pollution control equipment, the standards will prevent as many as 11,000 premature deaths and 4,700 heart attacks a year. The standards will also help America’s children grow up healthier-- preventing 130,000 cases of childhood asthma symptoms and about 6,300 fewer cases of acute bronchitis among children each year.
EPA will review monitoring issues related to the mercury standards for new power plants and will address other technical issues on the acid gas and particle pollution standards for these plants. The agency’s review will not change the types of state-of-the-art pollution controls new power plants are expected to use to reduce this harmful pollution.
This type of review, known as a “reconsideration,” is a routine tool that EPA often uses to ensure that its standards incorporate all relevant information, in cases where information only becomes available after a rule is promulgated. The agency’s decision to reconsider the standards for new sources reflects its ongoing commitment to work with industry and other stakeholders to ensure that all of EPA’s standards protect public health while being achievable and cost-effective. The agency will follow an expedited, open and transparent process that includes public comment on any proposed changes. The agency will complete the rulemaking by March 2013 and will also use its Clean Air Act authority to stay the final standards for new power plants for three months during this review.
More information: http://epa.gov/mats/actions.html
