Isaac
Beach goers head to the water as beaches reopen
WLOX
Just a few weeks since Hurricane Isaac and some portions of the beaches
have reopened. Crews have been hard at work to get the beach-fronts back in
order.
http://www.wlox.com/story/19558064/beach-goers-head-to-the-water-as-beaches-reopen
One section of Biloxi's beachfront reopens today
WLOX
It's a sign of progress in Harrison County. Several beach closed signs are
coming down.
http://www.wlox.com/story/19546619/one-section-of-biloxis-beachfront-reopens-today
Beach cleanup still a standstill for Ocean Springs, other Jackson County
beaches
Sun Herald
By KAREN NELSON
OCEAN SPRINGS -- Marian Dossett walks the Ocean Springs beach every day,
sometimes twice a day.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/09/14/4187729/beach-cleanup-still-a-standstill.html
Utility Authority made it through Isaac with little damage
By Jeremy Pittari
The Picayune Item
PICAYUNE — Pearl River County's Utility Authority survived Hurricane Isaac
with only minor damage to water and waste water systems during the
hurricane and the flooding it caused.
http://picayuneitem.com/local/x1052799677/Utility-Authority-made-it-through-Isaac-with-little-damage
Isaac: City of Pascagoula announces final debris pickup starting Monday
Friday, September 14, 2012, 10:52 AM
By Mississippi Press Staff
PASCAGOULA, Mississippi --The city's disaster contractor, Crowder Gulf, has
completed the first pass of collecting storm debris from Hurricane Isaac.
Workers will be making the second and final pass beginning Monday
(September 17).
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/09/isaac_city_of_pascagoula_annou.html
Oil Spill
Deepwater Horizon Gear Failed Pre-Spill Test, Lawyers Say
Bloomberg
By Laurel Brubaker Calkins and Margaret Cronin Fisk - Sep 15, 2012
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) employees talked about blaming the failure of the
Deepwater Horizon's blowout preventer on a bad cement job, after the device
'blew up' casing during a test two months before the rig exploded,
according to an e-mail cited by lawyers suing the company.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-14/deepwater-horizon-gear-failed-pre-spill-test-lawyers-say.html
Exxon Valdez could affect BP settlement
Houston Chronicle
Friday, September 14, 2012
As a federal judge prepares to rule on a proposed settlement related to the
Gulf of Mexico oil spill, attorneys were in his New Orleans courtroom
Friday arguing over how to apply a law passed in response to another
disaster 20 years earlier - the Exxon Valdez spill.
http://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/Exxon-Valdez-could-affect-BP-settlement-3867242.php
BP, plaintiffs attorneys say discovery request should be rejected
Friday, September 14, 2012, 9:57 PM
By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune
A request by Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell, an organization
representing fishers and other attorneys to reopen discovery in advance of
approval of a $7.8 billion settlement of private claims against BP for
damage caused by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill should not be
approved, say attorneys representing BP and the Plaintiff Steering
Committee that negotiated the settlement.
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2012/09/bp_attorneys_say_settlement_sh.html
Vietnamese families affected by oil spill offered food assistance
WLOX
A new partnership is helping Vietnamese families who are struggling
financially to put food on the table. When Bethel Free Clinic received a
$200,000 grant to assist people affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil
spill, officials decided to put the money into area food pantries. Then
officials noticed people in the Vietnamese community weren't going to the
pantries.
http://www.wlox.com/story/19540097/vietnamese-families-affected-by-oil-spill-offered-food-assistance
Judge asked to toss claims spill hurt BP brand
AP
BP PLC has asked a federal judge to dismiss claims by its fuel dealers that
the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico diminished the value of the BP
brand and cost them business.
http://www.wlox.com/story/19550236/judge-asked-to-toss-claims-spill-hurt-bp-brand
First Meeting On Restore Act Funds
Fox 15
(MOBILE, Ala.) For the first time, local and state leaders met Friday to
talk about how money from the RESTORE Act may be spent.
http://www.local15tv.com/news/local/story/First-Meeting-On-Restore-Act-Funds/DPqlkGmjEkuS7tmjlK1fZw.cspx
State News
Meridian Holds Hazardous Waste Disposal Day
WTOK
Between the two hazardous waste disposal sites in the city of Meridian that
were open today, close to 300people brought items from their homes that
aren't safe to throw in the trash to be disposed of properly and Odell
Hopkins, the Contract Compliance Officer for the City of Meridian, is glad
to see the big turnout, and says they're getting a lot of everything.
http://www.wtok.com/home/headlines/Meridian-Holds-Hazardous-Waste-Disposal-Day-169922156.html
Recycling effort sees good start
By CALEB BEDILLION
DAILY LEADER
Sunday, September 16, 2012 3:00 pm
More than a month after the official launch of a recycling program in
Brookhaven, city leaders feel positive about the initial results and hope
for continued growth of the program.
http://www.dailyleader.com/topstories/article_dceeaf92-ffaf-11e1-8246-0019bb2963f4.html
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|MDH flushes Boudin business |
|Sea Coast Echo |
| |
| |
|By Dwayne Bremer |
|Sep 14, 2012, 11:42 |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
The Mississippi Department of Health has flushed the idea of letting
portable toilet vendor Joey Boudin continue his business without a permit.
http://12.68.233.230/40/article_6257.shtml
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|Diamondhead water board rejects low bid |
|Sea Coast Echo |
| |
| |
|By Jace Ponder |
|Sep 14, 2012, 11:38 |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
The Diamondhead Water and Sewer board on Thursday awarded a bid for a lift
station replacement project that was $400,000 over the low bid.
The $3.8 million award went to Max Foote Construction Co., Inc., of
Mandeville. The low bidder was J. Levens Builders, of Long Beach, at $3.4
million.
http://12.68.233.230/40/article_6259.shtml#.UFc0540iZIk
Kemper County power plant debated in court
WLOX
The future of Mississippi Power Company's new Kemper County plant was
debated in a Harrison County courtroom on Friday. The Sierra Club is
challenging the Public Service Commission's order which allowed
construction of that plant to move forward.
http://www.wlox.com/story/19547032/kemper-county-power-plant-debated-in-court
State agencies looking for $1.34B more
by Bobby Harrison
NEMS Daily Journal
09.16.12 - 05:27 am
JACKSON - State agency heads are requesting an additional $1.34 billion in
funds for the next budget year, which begins July 1.
http://djournal.com/view/full_story/20168512/article-State-agencies-looking-for--1-34B-more?instance=secondary_stories_left_column
National News
Richer Communities get more US funds from EPA to clean up toxic brownfields
NBC
By Gwyneth Shaw, Connecticut Health Investigative Team,
Beverly Ford, New England Center for Investigative Reporting,
and Evelyn Larrubia, Investigative News Network
In Oak Creek, Wis., a fence slashed with holes surrounds a barren 300-acre
complex of buckling former factories where the soil and groundwater are
polluted with arsenic and other chemicals.
http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/16/13899641-richer-communities-get-more-us-funds-from-epa-to-clean-up-toxic-brownfields
Hypoxia Task Force Begins New Efforts to Assess Water Quality Improvements
St. Joe Post
The Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Hypoxia Task Force
is launching efforts to monitor reductions in nitrogen and phosphorus
throughout the watershed. Chaired by the EPA and State of Iowa – the task
force has established the Mississippi River Monitoring Collaborative –
comprised of federal and state agencies – to assess progress of reducing
the amount of nutrients entering local waterways and the Gulf of Mexico.
http://www.stjosephpost.com/2012/09/15/hypoxia-task-force-begins-new-efforts-to-assess-water-quality-improvements/
Iowa farm tech shines
45 ag secretaries, task force sees Iowa's water quality efforts
September 16, 2012
By LARRY KERSHNER , FARM NEWS
AMES - State and federal organizations, government-funded ag researchers
and private ag businesses held their own trade show of sort Wednesday for
the secretaries of agriculture representing 45 states.
http://www.timesrepublican.com/page/content.detail/id/552777/Iowa-farm-tech-shines.html?nav=5005
EPA increases biodiesel requirement for trucks
The decision is a boon for Iowa, the country's largest producer of the fuel
Des Moines Register
Iowa's renewable energy industry picked up a big win Friday when the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency approved a 28 percent increase in the
amount of biodiesel required for use in the nation's trucks in 2013.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120915/BUSINESS/309150022/1097/SPORTS0204/?odyssey=nav%7Chead&nclick_check=1
EPA boosts biofuels target amid oil-and-gas industry resistance
The Hill
By Zack Colman - 09/14/12 04:47 PM ET
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Friday raised biofuels targets
for 2013 despite an ongoing legal battle with the oil-and-gas industry on
the issue.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/249631-epa-boosts-biofuels-target-amid-oil-and-gas-industry-resistance
EPA adds 12 hazardous waste sites to Superfund list, proposes 8 more
By Associated Press, Published: September 14
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency is adding 12 hazardous
waste sites to the list of most-contaminated places in the United States.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/epa-adds-12-hazardous-waste-sites-to-superfund-list-proposes-8-more/2012/09/14/45315e60-fe98-11e1-98c6-ec0a0a93f8eb_story.html
Opinion
Move carefully on BP's proposal to 'deep clean' Louisiana beaches:
Editorial
Published: Saturday, September 15, 2012, 8:00 AM
By Editorial page staff, The Times-Picayune
After Hurricane Isaac uncovered tar balls and tar mats along Louisiana's
coastline, BP said it wants to "deep clean" the state's beaches. The
company's proposal is to sift out contaminants to as deep as four feet.
The mechanics are similar to a child's sand-sifting toys -- but with heavy
equipment. And the results may not be nearly so harmless.
http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2012/09/move_carefully_on_bps_proposal.html
Press Releases
Gov. Bryant to Host Energy Summit, Unveil Energy Plan
JACKSON— Energy and Economic Development in the 21st Century will be the
theme of Governor Bryant's energy summit slated for Oct. 4 in Jackson. The
one-day summit will bring together industry experts to explore
Mississippi's energy future with a special keynote address by former New
York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Mississippi has been named the top spot in the world for oil and gas
investment and is home to diverse energy resources. Bryant's economic
development agenda, Mississippi Works, focuses on energy as one of two
sectors that will help drive Mississippi's economic future.
"Mississippi has tremendous potential for energy development," Gov. Bryant
said. "Our state is home to vast energy resources, and we have the
technology to develop them. Through thoughtful, determined investment, we
can create a robust energy sector in our state's economy."
Gov. Bryant will highlight his energy plan at the summit, focusing on
strategies for increasing energy job opportunities, enhancing energy
production and expanding energy research.
While serving as lieutenant governor, Bryant championed legislation that
strengthened Mississippi's ability to grow a diverse energy economy,
including measures that paved the way for tertiary oil recovery and carbon
sequestration. Bryant's also hosted an energy summit as lieutenant
governor.
The Oct. 4 summit is organized by the Mississippi Development Authority and
the Mississippi Energy Institute.
"Mississippians in business, government and economic development need to
understand the breadth of energy related opportunities. That's the
objective of this event," said Patrick Sullivan, president of the
Mississippi Energy Institute. "To meet projected worldwide economic growth,
a rapidly increasing amount of energy will be demanded, and in a $6.5
trillion business, opportunities are abundant and diverse. A targeted,
aggressive effort to attract energy related investment in Mississippi could
pay off enormously in jobs and economic impact."
Registration is free, and business and economic development leaders,
government officials and students are encouraged to attend.
Register online at http://mississippi.cvent.com/EnergySummit2012
Details:
· What: Governor's Energy Summit—Energy and Economic Development in the
21st Century
· When: Oct. 4
· Time: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
· Where: Jackson Convention Center; 105 East Pascagoula St.; Jackson,
Miss.
###
EPA Region 4 Supermarkets Recognized for Environmental Achievement under
GreenChill Partnership
Farm Fresh, Whole Foods stores take steps to reduce harmful refrigerant
emissions
CONTACT: Jason McDonald, 404-562-9203, mcdonald.jason@epa.gov
ATLANTA -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) GreenChill
Partnership is announcing the recipients of the program's 2012
Environmental Achievement Awards today. Several supermarket partners are
being recognized for their achievements in refrigerant management in the
past year. The refrigerants used by supermarkets, if not managed properly,
contribute to climate change and harm the ozone layer, which protects
people from cancer-causing ultraviolet radiation.
GreenChill is an EPA partnership that works with supermarkets to transition
to low-impact refrigerants; reduce the amount of refrigerant used, and
eliminate harmful refrigerant leaks. GreenChill has 54 partners with almost
8,000 stores, representing over 20 percent of the supermarket industry.
Whole Foods Market won GreenChill's Superior Goal Achievement Award for
exceeding their company's annual target to reduce refrigerant emissions
from their stores. Even though GreenChill Partners achieve emission rates
well below national averages, all partners set ambitious, tough-to-achieve
annual goals to continually improve their performance.
"Whole Foods Market has invested enormous time and energy into improving
their corporate-wide refrigerant emissions rate," according to Keilly
Witman, GreenChill Partnership Manager. "Everyone who works for the company
should be very proud of this accomplishment."
Hillphoenix, based in Conyers, Georgia, earned the GreenChill Store
Certification Excellence Award for Refrigeration Systems Manufacturers.
Hill Phoenix technology was used in 49 GreenChill Certified Stores,
including five Platinum Certified Stores.
"Hillphoenix is at the cutting edge of advanced refrigeration technology to
help supermarkets achieve environmental improvements through the GreenChill
store certification program," Keilly Witman, GreenChill Partnership
Manager. "Hillphoenix works hard with supermarkets to design refrigeration
systems to meet very challenging environmental standards."
SUPERVALU, which operates Farm Fresh Food & Pharmacy, earned this year's
Distinguished Partner Award. The Distinguished Partner Award is given to
the supermarket partner company that goes above and beyond to advance the
mission of the GreenChill Partnership.
"SUPERVALU is a star GreenChill Partner," said Keilly Witman, GreenChill
Partnership Manager. "You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone more devoted to
the goals of the Partnership."
Additionally, David Hinde earned GreenChill's Distinguished Partner Award.
Over his lifetime Hinde made significant contributions to the supermarket
refrigeration industry and the GreenChill Partnership, especially in
relation to new technology.
"David Hinde served as mentor to many in the supermarket refrigeration
industry," said Wtiman. "David was crucial to the development and
implementation of GreenChill's Store Certification Program, working to
forward GreenChill's mission to reduce harmful refrigerant emissions and
protect the ozone layer. Enough can't be said about Hinde's contributions."
EPA estimates that if supermarkets nationwide reduced their emissions to
the GreenChill average emissions rate, the industry would eliminate the
equivalent of 22 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, equal to
removing more than 4.3 million passenger vehicles from the road. This would
also help restore the earth's ozone layer, which protects the earth from
the sun's damaging ultraviolet radiation, a leading cause of skin cancer.
More on EPA's GreenChill Partnership: http://www.epa.gov/greenchill/
EPA sets Bio-based Diesel Volumes for 2013
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today took
action to establish the amount of bio-diesel products required to be
included in diesel fuel markets in 2013. Bio-based diesel products are
advanced bio-fuels that are derived from sources that include vegetable
oils and wastes oils from renewable sources.
"This action, which meets goals designated by Congress, is another step
that strengthens America's energy security by reducing dependence on
foreign oil," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.
EPA's action sets the 2013 volume at 1.28 billion gallons under the Energy
Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) which established the second
phase of the Renewable Fuel Standards program. EISA specifies a one billion
gallon minimum volume requirement for the biomass-based diesel category for
2012 and beyond.
The law also calls on EPA to increase the volume requirements after
consideration of environmental, market, and energy-related factors. Today's
final action follows careful review of the many comments and additional
information received since EPA proposed the volume in 2011.
More information:
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/regulations.htm
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/index.htm
