Oil Spill
Oil spill cleanup efforts ramp up on barrier islands Monday
Sunday, August 19, 2012, 8:54 PM
By April M. Havens
The Mississippi Press
PASCAGOULA, Mississippi --- About 200 BP workers will hit the Mississippi
barrier islands Monday to ramp up their cleanup efforts, weather
permitting.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/08/oil_spill_cleanup_efforts_ramp.html
Questions remain on RESTORE Act process
Baton Rouge Advocate
BY JORDAN BLUM AND AMY WOLD
WASHINGTON — With the federal RESTORE Act now law, state officials,
environmental groups and others are trying to figure out how billions of
dollars' worth of coastal restoration projects will be put into action.
The projects, to be funded from fines from the BP oil disaster, could
create nearly 60,000 jobs in Louisiana.
http://theadvocate.com/home/3578356-125/state-lacks-plan-for-restore
BP oil spill cleanup report expected at U.S. Senate committee hearing
Published: Saturday, August 18, 2012, 9:30 PM
By Times-Picayune Staff
Sen. David Vitter, R-La., said the Senate Environment and Public Works
Committee will hold a hearing, probably in late September, on the Restore
Act and the status of cleanup efforts since the disastrous 2010 BP oil
spill.
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/08/bp_oil_spill_cleanup_report_ex.html
Sen. Mary Landrieu says BP oil spill work remains to be completed
Published: Saturday, August 18, 2012, 3:30 PM
By Times-Picayune Staff
In a letter to the Coast Guard, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., says she
appreciates "the practical need to wind down response activities" to the
2010 BP oil spill. But there's still more work to be done, and the Coast
Guard needs to keep the pressure on BP, according to Landrieu. Much of
Louisiana's coast is inaccessible, Landrieu said, making it vital that the
state ensure that all the oil has been removed before putting an end to
monitoring efforts.
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/08/landrieu_says_oil_spill_work_r.html
State News
Hazardous materials discovered on Horn Island
Sunday, August 19, 2012, 4:16 PM
By April M. Havens, The Mississippi Press
OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- The Gulf Islands National Seashore will hold
a press conference tomorrow in Ocean Springs to alert the public to
hazardous materials found on Horn Island.
No other details are available at this time.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/08/hazardous_materials_discovered.html
Hazardous materials found on Horn Island
Sun Herald
The National Park Service will answer questions today about hazardous
materials found on a portion of Horn Island off the South Mississippi
coast.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/08/19/4134485/hazardous-materials-found-on-horn.html
Bayou Casotte widening project's environmental impact study complete
Sunday, August 19, 2012, 4:01 PM
By April M. Havens, The Mississippi Press
PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced this
week it has completed its final Environmental Impact Statement on the
proposed widening of the lower sound and Bayou Casotte channel.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/08/bayou_casotte_widening_project.html
McComb gears up for recycling
AP
McCOMB, Miss. — More business could be headed toward local recycling
facilities through a proposed program for McComb, the city's beautification
committee said.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/viewart/20120819/NEWS01/120819009/McComb-gears-up-recycling-
Gravel operation app withdrawn
DeSoto Times
By ROBERT LEE LONG
HERNANDO — Memphis Stone & Gravel Company officials announced Friday
through a statement that the company will withdraw its conditional use
application for a gravel mining operation off Tulane Road and Miss. Hwy.
304.
http://www.desototimes.com/articles/2012/08/20/news/doc502ed0673f5ea589232883.txt
IMMS sets 27 turtles free south of Horn Island
WLOX
The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies released more than two dozen
turtles Friday in the waters south of Horn Island. Among the animals
returned to the wild were17 baby loggerhead turtles rescued Thursday from
the Biloxi Small Craft Harbor. They were apparently attracted to the
mainland by the casino lights.
http://www.wlox.com/story/19307649/imms-sets-27-turtles-free-south-of-horn-island
Kemper Plant Construction Continues as Mississippi Power Deals with Credit
Downgrade
MPB
PUBLISHED BY RHONDA MILLER ON 17 AUG 2012 07:00PM
Construction continues on the $2.8 billion coal-fired plant in Kemper
County, despite challenges facing Mississippi Power. MPB's Rhonda Miller
reports on the company's recent credit downgrade.
http://mpbonline.org/News/article/kemper_plant_construction_continues_as_mississipp_power_deals_with_credit_d
Competing regional power groups in duel for Entergy
Published: Sunday, August 19, 2012, 5:32 AM
By The Associated Press
JACKSON, Mississippi -- If regulators don't approve Entergy Corp.'s bid to
join regional power group MISO, another regional transmission organization
is waiting with open arms.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/08/competing_regional_power_group.html
National News
GOP says report proves EPA rules burdensome
The Hill
By Zack Colman - 08/17/12 04:44 PM ET
Republicans on Friday said a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report
proved their claims that a pair of environmental rules would harm the
economy and electric reliability.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/244193-gop-says-report-proves-epa-rules-burdensome
EPA Defeats Challenge to Higher Ethanol Levels in Fuel
Bloomberg
By Sara Forden - Aug 17, 2012
A challenge to an Environmental Protection Agency rule allowing higher
concentrations of corn- based ethanol in gasoline was thrown out by a U.S.
Appeals Court ruling that the groups pressing the case had no right to sue.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-17/epa-defeats-challenge-to-higher-ethanol-levels-in-fuel.html
Press Releases
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|AMERICA'S GREAT OUTDOORS: Salazar, Vilsack Announce Members of Wildlife and |
| Hunting Heritage Conservation Council |
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|WASHINGTON, August 17, 2012 -- Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and |
|Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the appointments of 18 |
|members of the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council, an |
|advisory group they established in 2010 to advise them on wildlife |
|conservation, habitat conservation, and hunting. |
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|"America's rural communities and rural economies depend on healthy soil, |
|water and air and America's hunters and anglers – our nation's first |
|conservationists – have long fought to conserve those precious resources," |
|said Vilsack. "These appointees are uniquely qualified to advise us on the |
|full range of issues addressed by the Council while reflecting the true |
|conservation spirit of our nation's outdoor traditions." |
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|"During its inaugural term, members of the Council provided important |
|recommendations on conserving wildlife habitat and water resources that are |
|so important to America's hunting and angling heritage, as well as enhancing|
|access to the great outdoors," said Salazar. "I am confident that today's |
|appointments will provide a strong voice to the nation's conservation and |
|sportsmen communities and ensure that the next generation enjoys a thriving |
|wildlife heritage." |
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|The secretaries announced the appointment of the following individuals to |
|serve on the council for a three-year term: |
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| · David Allen (Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation) |
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| · Jeffrey Crane (Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation) |
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| · Robert Fithian (Alaska Professional Hunters Association, Inc.) |
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| · Jonathan Gassett (Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources) |
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| · Thomas Franklin (Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership) |
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| · Winifred Kessler (The Wildlife Society) |
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| · Robert Manes (The Nature Conservancy) |
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| · Frederick Maulson (Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission) |
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| · Tommy Millner (Cabela's) |
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| · Robert Model (Boone and Crockett Club) |
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| · Joanna Prukop (former New Mexico Secretary of Energy, Minerals & |
| Natural Resources) |
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| · Stephen Sanetti (National Shooting Sports Foundation) |
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| · Larry Schweiger (National Wildlife Federation) |
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| · Christine Thomas (College of Natural Resources, University of |
| Wisconsin) |
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| · George Thornton (National Wild Turkey Federation) |
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| · John Tomke (Ducks Unlimited) |
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| · Howard Vincent (Pheasants Forever) |
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| · Steve Williams (Wildlife Management Institute) |
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|The council is an official advisory group established under the Federal |
|Advisory Committee Act that helps promote and preserve America's wildlife |
|and hunting heritage for future generations. It provides advice about |
|conservation endeavors that: benefit wildlife resources; encourage |
|partnership among the public, the sporting conservation organizations, the |
|states, Native American tribes, and the Federal Government; and benefit |
|recreational hunting. |
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|The six federal agencies playing a key role in supporting and maintaining |
|America's outdoors heritage – the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Bureau of |
|Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Natural |
|Resource Conservation Service, and Farm Service Agency – and the Association|
|of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, will also appoint organizational members to |
|the council. |
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