Oil Spill
Interior finalizes drilling-safety rule stemming from 2010 BP oil spill
The Hill
By Zack Colman - 08/15/12 05:54 PM ET
The Interior Department's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement
(BSEE) finalized an offshore drilling rule Wednesday that cements safety
measures put in place after the 2010 BP oil explosion.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/243897-interior-finalizes-drilling-safety-rule
Florida counties plan for BP oil spill fines
The Associated Press
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. --
Representatives from Florida's 23 Gulf Coast counties are deciding how to
best spend billions of dollars in fines that are expected to come from the
massive 2010 BP oil spill.
http://www.fortmilltimes.com/2012/08/16/2145978/florida-counties-plan-for-bp-oil.html
State News
SPEC releasing thousands of seatrout fingerlings in bay
by MBJ Staff
Published: August 15,2012
SAINT LOUIS BAY — The Seatrout Population Enhancement Cooperative (SPEC), a
partnership of the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research
Laboratory (GCRL), Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MDMR) and
Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) of Mississippi since 2005, is
releasing thousands of spotted seatrout fingerlings into the waters of
Saint Louis Bay this week.
http://msbusiness.com/2012/08/spec-releasing-thousands-of-seatrout-fingerlings-in-bay/
Gravel pit rejected
DeSoto Times
By ROBERT LEE LONG
HERNANDO — A standing-room only crowd applauded as plans for a gravel
mining operation by Memphis Stone and Gravel near the largest-scale
subdivision development in the city's history was unanimously rejected by
the Hernando Planning Commission Tuesday.
http://www.desototimes.com/articles/2012/08/16/news/doc502c2def3f3c5558305898.txt
DeSoto board OK's pact with new plant operator
The Associated Press
HERNANDO, MISS. — The DeSoto Regional Utility Authority has given final
approval to a two-year contract with Severn Trent to manage the county's
wastewater treatment operations.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/08/16/4129166/desoto-board-oks-pact-with-new.html
Aldermen delaying water, sewer plans
By CALEB BEDILLION
DAILY LEADER
Aldermen have set aside plans to borrow $4.4 million for water and sewer
projects and instead voted to address the city's infrastructure needs
incrementally.
http://www.dailyleader.com/topstories/article_0a2d2aa2-e6f5-11e1-b358-001a4bcf887a.html
National News
EPA to approve sorghum for cleaner ethanol; experts say grain has less
impact on food prices
By Associated Press, Published: August 15
BISMARCK, N.D. — The federal government is on the verge of approving a
grain mainly used as livestock feed to make a cleaner version of ethanol, a
decision officials say could give farmers a new moneymaking opportunity,
boost the biofuels industry and help the environment.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/epa-to-approve-sorghum-for-cleaner-ethanol-experts-say-grain-has-less-impact-on-food-prices/2012/08/15/8861a178-e70e-11e1-9739-eef99c5fb285_print.html
NOAA: July was fourth-hottest on record worldwide
The Hill
By Ben Geman - 08/15/12 05:09 PM ET
The global average temperature in July was the fourth-warmest on record and
marked the 329th consecutive month with a worldwide temperature above the
20th century average, according to federal data released Wednesday.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/243885-noaa-july-was-fourth-hottest-on-record-worldwide
Salt creeping up the Mississippi River
By Tom Watkins, CNN
(CNN) -- A drought in Louisiana has lowered the Mississippi River, leaving
its southern tip awash in saline from the Gulf of Mexico and prompting
health officials in Plaquemines Parish to issue a drinking water advisory.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/15/us/louisiana-drinking-water/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
EXCLUSIVE: State Department oversight of climate change spending abroad is
a mess, watchdog reports
By George Russell
Published August 15, 2012
FoxNews.com
Inadequate oversight, lax bookkeeping, sloppy paperwork, haphazard
performance agreements and missing financial documentation have plagued
U.S. State Department spending of tens of millions of dollars to combat
climate change, according to a report by State's internal financial
watchdog — and the problem could be much, much bigger than that.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/08/15/exclusive-state-department-oversight-climate-change-spending-abroad-is-mess/?test=latestnews
