MDEQ: Oily sheen seen in South Mississippi waters probably bacteria
Sun Herald
By DONNA HARRIS
That oily sheen seen in waters of the Mississippi Coast is probably bacteria, not oil, and isn't harmful to humans.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/09/08/4174005/mdeq-oily-sheen-seen-in-south.html
MDEQ, Jackson County and cities working on Isaac waste pickup
Friday, September 07, 2012, 5:52 PM
By Mississippi Press Staff
PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality is working with Jackson County and local municipalities to assist residents with waste and debris clean-up due to damage caused by Hurricane Isaac.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/09/mdeq_jackson_county_and_cities.html
Near-disaster in La. raises questions about evacuations
USA Today
AMITE, La. (USA TODAY) — With Hurricane Isaac still pouring down, a park ranger in southern Mississippi spotted an alarming sight: two 100-foot hunks of earth missing from the downstream face of Percy Quin Dam, the only barrier holding back the Tangipahoa Lake from the dangerously rain-swollen Tangipahoa River.http://www.freep.com/usatoday/article/57702792?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cp
Three separate crews work to clean up beaches
WLOX
Tractors, 18 wheelers and crews with pitch forks and garbage bags are all that is allowed on Beach Boulevard in Hancock County right now.
http://www.wlox.com/story/19487801/three-seperate-crews-work-to-clean-up-beaches
Residents step in to clean Jackson Co. beaches
WLOX
Some South Mississippians said they aren't letting court cases or politics keep them from enjoying a clean beach. Volunteers showed up at Front Beach in Ocean Springs on Saturday. They said if the county can't clean the beach because of legal issues, they're more than happy to step in.http://www.wlox.com/story/19492075/residents-step-in-to-clean-jackson-co-beaches
Who owns the beaches in Jackson County?
WLOX
We have a follow up on the court battle that has left Isaac damaged Jackson County beaches a mess.http://www.wlox.com/story/19486750/jackson-county-beaches-involved-in-a-legal-dispute
Unlike Katrina, state won't see surge from Isaac
by Bobby Harrison
NEMS Daily Journal Jackson Bureau
09.09.12 - 07:38 am
JACKSON - Less than two weeks after Hurricane Katrina pummeled south Mississippi in late August 2005, about 100 legislators met in the House chamber of the state Capitol to receive an update on the recovery effort.
http://djournal.com/view/full_story/20092480/article-Unlike-Katrina--state-won-t-see-surge-from-Isaac?instance=secondary_stories_left_column
Oil Spill
BP Nears Deal to Sell Gulf Fields
Wall Street Journal
By ANUPREETA DAS And RYAN DEZEMBER
BP BP +1.79% PLC is close to a deal to sell some of its Gulf of Mexico offshore oil fields for around $7 billion to Plains Exploration & Production Co., PXP +1.41% people familiar with the matter said, as BP continues to divest itself of assets to pay for the 2010 oil spill in the region.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443779404577641982277126296.html
BP in $7 billion asset sale talks with Plains Exploration: source
Reuters
NEW YORK (Reuters) - BP is in talks to sell some of its Gulf of Mexico oil fields to Plains Exploration & Production Co for roughly $7 billion, a person familiar with the matter said on Sunday, as the U.K. oil firm looks to raise money to pay for damages from the 2010 oil spill.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-bp-plains-dealbre8880lw-20120910,0,5208365.story
Spill settlement offers seep out slowly from BP
Houston Chronicle
Thousands of Gulf Coast residents hurt by the 2010 oil spill have to decide soon whether to participate in a class-action settlement, yet most still don’t know what the deal will offer.http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2012/09/09/spill-settlement-offers-seep-out-slowly-from-bp.html
Post-spill work wish list released
Houma Today
By Nikki Buskey
Saturday, September 8, 2012 at 6:37 p.m.
While state officials and advocates are planning how to spend billions of dollars in oil-spill fines, an environmental group last week released its proposal to restore the Gulf’s ailing marine environments.http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20120908/ARTICLES/120909737
State News
Ruling worries Mississippi offshore gas opponents
Friday, September 07, 2012, 10:50 PM
The Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- It's not official yet, but opponents of offshore oil and gas drilling in Mississippi believe a preliminary ruling indicates they will lose their administrative appeal.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/09/ruling_worries_mississippi_off.html
Study says overfishing is causing millions in losses
Sunday, September 09, 2012, 9:37 AM
Press Register
By Thyrie Bland
MOBILE, Alabama -- Local charter fisherman Capt. Dana James says overfishing in this area is causing him to waste a lot of time and fuel looking for fish.
http://blog.al.com/live/2012/09/study_says_overfishing_is_caus.html
National News
Mayors seek viability for Mississippi River
The Associated Press
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/09/10/4175646/mayors-seek-viability-for-mississippi.html
EOG Says U.S. Fracking Rule to Cost $1.5 Billion a Year
Bloomberg
By Kasia Klimasinska - Sep 7, 2012
The Obama administration’s plan to tighten regulation of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas on public land may cost more than 20 times U.S. estimates, energy companies and local governments said.http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2012-09-07/eog-says-u-s-fracking-rule-to-cost-1-5-billion-a-year.html
Waste-Plant Dispute Builds
Safety and Design Concerns Slow Construction of Nuclear-Processing Facility
Wall Street Journal
By ANDREW MORSE
The U.S. Department of Energy is slowing construction of a facility to process the country's largest accumulation of radioactive waste, amid an increasingly acrimonious dispute about the design and safety of the $12.2 billion project.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443819404577635700925553724.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Politico By: Erica Martinson September 9, 2012 10:20 PM EDT |
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Opinion
WLOX Editorial: Isaac damaged beaches in Jackson County languish
Sep 09, 2012 6:30 PM CDT
Jackson County officials are in a quandary on whether they can clean up the beaches in their county. It stems from a suit by some landowners along the beach front where they claim the property in front of their homes is theirs and not part of the public tidelands.
http://www.wlox.com/story/19483874/wlox-editorial-isaac-damaged-beaches-in-jackson-county-languish
Still a long way to go on oil cleanup (editorial)
Published: Sunday, September 09, 2012, 5:02 AM
By Mississippi Press Editorial Board
COMMON SENSE suggests that there's still BP-spilled oil on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico and that storms can easily stir it up and send it ashore.
Now, scientific tests confirm that this very thing occurred during Hurricane Isaac, which should be a reminder to everyone -- including BP -- that the cleanup process is far from over.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-opinion/2012/09/still_a_long_way_to_go_on_oil.html
PERS looms, but pols quiet
Op-ed Geoff Pender
Clarion Ledger
A white paper circulating at the Capitol is reminding lawmakers what a clear-and-present danger the state employee retirement system poses to government budgets across the state and to taxpayers.
Press Releases
National Emergency Grant Awarded to Mississippi to Provide Disaster Related Jobs
JACKSON - The Mississippi Department of Employment Security will provide grant funds to help governments, nonprofits and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians hire workers for cleanup and recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Isaac.
Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor awarded MDES a $3 million National Emergency Grant to provide funding for these public-service assistance jobs.
“We encourage all of the eligible entities to take advantage of these funds,” MDES Executive Director Mark Henry said. “Governments, nonprofits and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians can apply for work sites. In addition, individuals can apply for these jobs by calling or visiting the nearest WIN Job Center or going online at mdes.ms.gov.”
Those affected by the hurricane are given priority in hiring. These temporary jobs last up to six months or until the worker earns $12,000, whichever comes first. Unemployment insurance may not be collected while working on these jobs.
Workers are eligible who are:
- · Out-of-work due to the hurricane.
· Currently laid off from work.
· Long-term unemployed, out of work at least 15 weeks during the past six months.
Jobs include:
- · Debris cleaners.
· Humanitarian aides.
· Drivers.
· Office workers.
· Social-service aides.
· Construction workers.
· Others as needed.
The grant covers 48 counties and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians damaged by Hurricane Isaac. The region declared as disaster areas by the federal government and eligible for public assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency includes the following Counties and Indian Reservation: Adams, Amite, Attala, Carroll, Claiborne, Clarke, Copiah, Covington, Forrest, Franklin, George, Greene, Grenada, Hancock, Harrison, Hinds, Holmes, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Kemper, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Leake, Lincoln, Madison, Marion, Montgomery, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee, Pearl River, Perry, Pike, Rankin, Scott, Simpson, Smith, Stone, Walthall, Warren, Wayne, Wilkinson, Winston, Yazoo and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.
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Scotts Miracle-Gro Will Pay $12.5 Million in Criminal Fines and Civil Penalties for Violations of Federal Pesticide Laws
WASHINGTON – The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, a producer of pesticides for commercial and consumer lawn and garden uses, was sentenced today in federal district court in Columbus, Ohio, to pay a $4 million fine and perform community service for eleven criminal violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), which governs the manufacture, distribution, and sale of pesticides. Scotts pleaded guilty in February 2012 to illegally applying insecticides to its wild bird food products that are toxic to birds, falsifying pesticide registration documents, distributing pesticides with misleading and unapproved labels, and distributing unregistered pesticides. This is the largest criminal penalty under FIFRA to date.
In a separate civil agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Scotts agreed to pay more than $6 million in penalties and spend $2 million on environmental projects to resolves additional civil pesticide violations. The violations include distributing or selling unregistered, canceled, or misbranded pesticides, including products with inadequate warnings or cautions. This is the largest civil settlement under FIFRA to date.
“The misuse or mislabeling of pesticide products can cause serious illness in humans and be toxic to wildlife,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Today’s sentence and unprecedented civil settlement hold Scotts accountable for widespread company noncompliance with pesticide laws, which put products into the hands of consumers without the proper authorization or warning labels.”
“As the world’s largest marketer of residential use pesticides, Scotts has a special obligation to make certain that it observes the laws governing the sale and use of its products. For having failed to do so, Scotts has been sentenced to pay the largest fine in the history of FIFRA enforcement," said Ignacia S. Moreno, assistant attorney general for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. “The Department of Justice will continue to work with EPA to assure that pesticides applied in homes and on lawns and food are sold and used in compliance with the laws intended to assure their safety.”
In the plea agreement, Scotts admitted that it applied the pesticides Actellic 5E and Storcide II to its bird food products even though EPA had prohibited this use. Scotts had done so to protect its bird foods from insect infestation during storage. Scotts admitted that it used these pesticides contrary to EPA directives and in spite of the warning label appearing on all Storicide II containers stating, “Storcide II is extremely toxic to fish and toxic to birds and other wildlife.” Scotts sold this illegally treated bird food for two years after it began marketing its bird food line and for six months after employees specifically warned Scotts management of the dangers of these pesticides. By the time it voluntarily recalled these products in March 2008, Scotts had sold more than 70 million units of bird food illegally treated with pesticide that is toxic to birds.
Scotts also pleaded guilty to submitting false documents to EPA and to state regulatory agencies in an effort to deceive them into believing that numerous pesticides were registered with EPA when in fact they were not. The company also pleaded guilty to having illegally sold the unregistered pesticides and to marketing pesticides bearing labels containing false and misleading claims not approved by EPA. The falsified documents submitted to EPA and states were attributed to a federal product manager at Scotts.
In addition to the $4 million criminal fine, Scotts will contribute $500,000 to organizations that protect bird habitat, including $100,000 each to the Ohio Audubon’s Important Bird Area Program, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Urban Forestry Program, the Columbus Metro-Parks Bird Habitat Enhancement Program, the Cornell University Ornithology Laboratory, and The Nature Conservancy of Ohio to support the protection of bird populations and habitats through conservation, research, and education.
At the time the criminal violations were discovered, EPA also began a civil investigation that uncovered numerous civil violations spanning five years. Scotts’ FIFRA civil violations included the nationwide distribution or sale of unregistered, canceled, or misbranded pesticides, including products with inadequate warnings or cautions. As a result, EPA issued more than 40 Stop Sale, Use or Removal Orders to Scotts to address more than 100 pesticide products.
In addition to the $6 million civil penalty, Scotts will complete environmental projects, valued at $2 million, to acquire, restore and protect 300 acres of land to prevent runoff of agricultural chemicals into nearby waterways.
The criminal case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and the Environmental Enforcement Unit of the Ohio Attorney General's Office, Bureau of Criminal Identification & Investigation. It was prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Jeremy F. Korzenik of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division, by Michael J. McClary, EPA Criminal Enforcement Counsel and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney and by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Michael Marous.
The civil case was investigated by U.S. EPA Region 5’s Land and Chemicals Division and Office of Regional Counsel, and the U.S. EPA Headquarters Office of Civil Enforcement, assisted by the Office of Pesticides Program.
More information about the civil settlement and recalled products: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/cases/civil/fifra/scottsmiraclegro.html
More information about EPA’s criminal enforcement program: http://www.epa.gov/enforcement/criminal/index.html
More information about EPA’s pesticide program: http://epa.gov/pesticides/
United States and Canada Sign Amended Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement
Agreement will protect the health of the largest freshwater system in the world
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson and Canada’s Minister of the Environment Peter Kent today signed the newly amended Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement at a formal ceremony in Washington, D.C. First signed in 1972 and last amended in 1987, the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement is a model of binational cooperation to protect the world’s largest surface freshwater system and the health of the surrounding communities.
“Protecting cherished water bodies like the Great Lakes is not only about environmental conservation. It’s also about protecting the health of the families—and the economies—of the local communities that depend on those water bodies for so much, every day,” said Administrator Jackson. “The amended Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement we signed today outlines the strong commitment the U.S. and Canada share to safeguard the largest freshwater system in the world. Our collaborative efforts stand to benefit millions of families on both sides of the border.”
“Joint stewardship of the Great Lakes—a treasured natural resource, a critical source of drinking water, essential to transportation, and the foundation for billions of dollars in trade, agriculture, recreation and other sectors—is a cornerstone of the Canada-United States relationship,” said Minister Kent. “The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement supports our shared responsibility to restore and protect this critical resource, and builds on 40 years of binational success.”
The revised agreement will facilitate United States and Canadian action on threats to Great Lakes water quality and includes strengthened measures to anticipate and prevent ecological harm. New provisions address aquatic invasive species, habitat degradation and the effects of climate change, and support continued work on existing threats to people’s health and the environment in the Great Lakes Basin such as harmful algae, toxic chemicals, and discharges from vessels.
The overall purpose of the Agreement is “to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the waters” of the Great Lakes and the portion of the St. Lawrence River that includes the Canada-United States border. Both governments sought extensive input from stakeholders before and throughout the negotiations to amend the Agreement. Additionally, the amended Agreement expands opportunities for public participation on Great Lakes issues.
The amended agreement sets out a shared vision for a healthy and prosperous Great Lakes region, in which the waters of the Great Lakes enhance the livelihoods of present and future generations of Americans and Canadians.
To view the text of the agreement: http://www.binational.net/home_e.html
