Isaac
Hurricane hurts charter boat fishing industry
WLOX
Negative public perceptions following Hurricane Isaac are hurting the
charter boat fishing industry. Customers have been canceling trips in the
wake of the storm. And it couldn't have come at a worse time.
http://www.wlox.com/story/19585467/hurricane-hurts-charter-boat-fishing-industry
Ocean Springs leaders expect decision soon on Isaac beach cleanup
City in legal dispute over beachfront property ownership
SUN HERALD
A decision is expected in the next couple of days on whether Jackson County
will clean up Hurricane Isaac debris along East and Front beaches in Ocean
Springs.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/09/19/4196750/ocean-springs-leaders-expect-decision.html
McComb discusses Isaac debris removal estimates
The Associated Press
MCCOMB, MISS. — The McComb city board is a step closer to cleaning up the
decaying debris that still lines many city streets after Hurricane Isaac.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/09/20/4197112/mccomb-discusses-isaac-debris.html
Oil Spill
Some catches in Gulf above some pre-spill levels
AP
NEW ORLEANS — Fishing boats in the Gulf of Mexico hauled in more menhaden
and other species last year compared with 2010, when millions of gallons of
oil spewed from a blown well, a federal fisheries report said Wednesday.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/viewart/20120919/NEWS01/120919025/Some-catches-Gulf-above-some-pre-spill-levels-
BP, feds appeal ruling limiting Transocean's spill liability
Posted on September 20, 2012 at 6:39 am by Emily Pickrell in BP
The Justice Department and BP are appealing a court ruling limiting
Transocean's liability for oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico in the 2010
Deepwater Horizon disaster.
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2012/09/20/bp-feds-appeal-ruling-limiting-transoceans-spill-liability/
BP's deep cleaning proposal draws debate
Houma Today
By Nikki Buskey
Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at 6:29 p.m.
Local officials are raising concerns over a BP proposal to deep clean
beaches across south Louisiana after Hurricane Isaac unearthed buried oil.
http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20120919/ARTICLES/120919570
Louisiana, Coast Guard officials continue feud over BP oil cleanup
Published: Wednesday, September 19, 2012, 10:00 PM
By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune
Louisiana officials continued a feud with senior Coast Guard officials
Wednesday over whether BP should expand its efforts in Hurricane Isaac's
aftermath to look for residual oil from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill.
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2012/09/louisiana_coast_guard_official.html
Florida counties meet to discuss RESTORE Act
Tallahassee Democrat
Twenty-three Florida counties along the Gulf Coast will convene this
morning to discuss the RESTORE Act of 2012 and the formation of a county
consortium.
http://www.tallahassee.com/article/DP/20120919/NEWS01/120919003/Florida-counties-meet-discuss-RESTORE-Act?odyssey=mod_sectionstories&nclick_check=1
Council Meets to Discuss Recovery of Ala Coast
AP
The Alabama Gulf Coast Recovery Council is gathering in Mobile to discuss
the region's future after the BP oil spill.
http://apr.org/post/council-meets-discuss-recovery-ala-coast
State News
Field Day teaches Mississippi 5th-graders about great outdoors
Commercial Appeal
By Henry Bailey
Thursday, September 20, 2012
"Will that hawk try to eat the snake?" 10-year-old Walls Elementary
fifth-grader Kingston Stewart asked Kate Friedman of Mississippi Wildlife
Rehabilitation as she demonstrated survival adaptations of a red-shouldered
hawk and a corn snake.
…Stations that didn't have live critters still offered a lively time for
the kids. There was geocaching with staff of the DeSoto Geographic
Information Services office, pellet-gun target shooting supervised by state
Wildlife, Parks and Fisheries rangers, and the "Clean-Air Bear" puppet show
of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/sep/20/field-day-teaches-mississippi-youth-about-great/?print=1
Recycling plan put on hold
Natchez Democrat
Published 12:03amThursday, September 20, 2012
NATCHEZ — Before a local curbside recycling program can be planned, those
involved in the early
planning said residents should know about existing recycling options.
http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/2012/09/20/recycling-plan-put-on-hold/
City Hopes To Win Brownsfields Grant
Daily Times Leader
Created 09/20/2012 - 9:03am
By Sheena Baker
If you were a business owner looking to open a new business in one of West
Point's vacant buildings, you wouldn't want to deal with any contamination
problems in that building, would you?
http://www.dailytimesleader.com/content/city-hopes-win-brownsfields-grant
Port stresses need for deeper channel to Transportation Secretary
WLOX
A visit from Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood this week gave Port of
Gulfport officials an opportunity to make their case to the Obama
Administration as to why they think the port needs a deeper channel.
http://www.wlox.com/story/19589104/port-stresses-need-for-deeper-channel-to-transportation-secretary
National News
US seafood catch reaches 17-year high
AP
The U.S. seafood catch reached a 17-year high in 2011, with all regions of
the country showing increases in both the volume and value of their
harvests.
http://www.wlox.com/story/19584688/us-seafood-catch-reaches-17-year-high
Opinion
Public pension issues likely to resurface in Mississippi
Op-Ed
Sid Salter
Clarion Ledger
In great measure, the current public pension reform battles under way in
California and Ohio are battles that have already been fought in
Mississippi, but the pension war is likely to continue.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20120919/OPINION/309190015/Public-pension-issues-likely-resurface-Mississippi?odyssey=mod|
newswell|text|Opinion|p
Press Releases
TOMORROW: EPA to Kick Off Challenge on Safe Management of Used Electronics
WASHINGTON – On September 20, 2012, Lisa Feldt, deputy assistant
administrator for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of
Solid Waste and Emergency Response will join executives from Best Buy, LG
Electronics, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp, Sprint, and Staples at a certified
electronics recycling facility in Romeoville, Ill., to announce EPA's
Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Electronics Challenge. In addition
to the companies participating in this event, Dell, Sony and Nokia have
also joined the SMM Electronics Challenge.
A live webcast of the event will be available for those unable to attend:
http://www.epa.gov/live/
WHO:
Lisa Feldt, EPA Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Solid
Waste and Emergency Response
Laura Bishop, Best Buy Vice President for Government Relations
Y.K. Cho, LG Electronics Senior Vice President
Peter M. Fannon, Panasonic Vice President for Corporate and Government
Affairs
Mike Moss, Samsung Director for Corporate Environmental Affairs
Jim Cole, Sharp Director of Technical Services and Support
Ralph Reid, Sprint Vice President of Corporate Responsibility
Bob Wolfe, Staples Regional Vice President for Chicago
WHAT: Signing ceremony and press availability
WHEN: Thursday, September 20, 2012, 11:30 a.m. CDT.
WHERE:
Vintage Tech Recyclers
1105 Windham Pkwy.
Romeoville, IL 60446
Press availability with EPA deputy assistant administrator for the Office
of Solid Waste and Emergency Response starting at 12:30 p.m. CDT. To
participate, please call (888) 217-1175 and ask to join the "Electronics
Challenge Signing" call.
EPA Offering Sustainable Growth Assistance to Communities
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today invited
communities to apply for technical assistance to foster sustainable growth
in their area. Communities that adopt sustainable growth strategies have
been shown to expand economic opportunity and protect people's health and
the environment. EPA is offering assistance through the Building Blocks for
Sustainable Communities program, which offers tools that can be applied in
rural, suburban, and urban areas, including:
• Smart growth and economic development to help communities get better
financial results from public and private investments
• Green street strategies for managing polluted stormwater
• Land use strategies to protect water quality
• Parking audits to make the best use of parking for existing and planned
land uses
• Bikeshare system planning to create alternative commuting options
• Community design for aging populations to ensure residents can live at
home as long as possible
• Green building toolkit to overcome common barriers
• Strategies to help small cities and rural areas develop in ways that
retain unique community characteristics
Communities apply for assistance with one of the specific tools and, if
selected, work with an EPA-supported team of experts on applying those
tools during a two-day workshop. Along with the policies and practices
highlighted in each tool, participants will learn more about smart growth
development strategies.
EPA will select up to 44 communities through a competitive process for this
latest round of assistance. The selections will be made in collaboration
with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S.
Department of Transportation through the Partnership for Sustainable
Communities. This interagency collaboration coordinates federal investments
in infrastructure, facilities, and services to get better results for
communities and use taxpayer money more efficiently.
Applications will be accepted between September 26 and October 26. EPA will
host a webinar to discuss the program and the application process on
September 21 from 1:00 to 2:30 Eastern time.
EPA is working to make all the Building Blocks tools available online so
that communities can use them on their own. The first online tool, the
Walkability Workbook, can help communities determine how smart growth
changes can be beneficial.
Since the Building Blocks program launched in 2010, EPA has received
requests for assistance from more than 600 communities across the country
and provided assistance to 140. For example, in the Chicago area, EPA
worked with three suburbs to develop strategies communities can use to
better link their land use strategies with local and regional water quality
goals.
More information and application instructions for the Building Blocks for
Sustainable Communities program:
http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/buildingblocks.htm
More information on the webinar:
http://www.epa.gov/dced/webinars/index.html
More information on the Walkability Workbook:
http://www.walklive.org/project/walkability-workbook/
More information on the Partnership for Sustainable Communities:
http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/partnership/index.html
Georgia Tech, Mississippi State and the University of South Florida Among
Recipients of
$9 Million to Examine Extreme Weather
Contact Information: Davina Marraccini, (404) 562-8293,
marraccini.davina@epa.gov
(ATLANTA – Sept. 19, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
announced that it is providing a total of $2,238,053 to three universities
across the Southeast for four research projects examining the impacts of
extreme weather on air and water quality. The recipients include the
Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), Mississippi State
University and the University of South Florida.
The grants are part of EPA's Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program,
which supports human health, ecology, economics, and engineering sciences
through grants, centers, and fellowships. These STAR grants will support
research to improve air and water quality following severe heat waves,
droughts, storms and other natural disasters.
The following projects are among just 14 selected nationally to receive
nearly $9 million to research and develop tools to prepare air and water
quality management systems for extreme weather:
· Georgia Tech ($749,859)
This project, led by Dr. Yuhang Wang, will look at the air quality impacts
of extreme weather events. Meteorological conditions and pollution
concentrations will be analyzed from the last 30 years to determine how
extreme weather events affect concentrations of ozone and particulate
matter. This information will be used to project how a changing future
climate may affect extreme weather events and air quality.
· Mississippi State University ($363,258)
This project, led by Dr. Jeffery Hatten, will investigate the role of land
use decisions and best management practices for controlling sediment on
water quality in the face of climate change. The research team will explore
the degree to which extreme storms will decrease the effectiveness of best
management practices and change sediment and pollutant transport.
· University of South Florida (two grants: $750,000 and $374,936)
One grant of $750,000 awarded to the university's College of Marine Science
will support the development of tools to predict future water quality
degradation associated with extreme weather events and a changing climate.
The research team, which includes the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, will
create a decision-support system integrating real-time environmental and
satellite observations for professionals engaged in coastal planning and
development.
The second grant of $374,936 will be used will develop tools to predict how
climatic variability and extremes will affect water quality by altering
water-borne disease risk for wildlife and humans. Dr. Jason R. Rohr and his
colleagues hypothesize that the faster metabolism and smaller size of
parasites than their hosts allow them to adapt quickly to temperature
shifts and extremes, providing an advantage to parasites.
More information: http://www.epa.gov/ncer/xevents
