Oil Spill
About 565,000 pounds of oiled material from Deepwater Horizon stirred up by
Hurricane Isaac
Updated: Wednesday, October 17, 2012, 9:40 PM
By Jeff Adelson, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
BATON ROUGE -- About 565,000 pounds of oiled material from the Deepwater
Horizon spill was brought to the surface by Hurricane Isaac, more than had
been collected in eight months before the storm, the state's coastal
protection agency said Wednesday.
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2012/10/about_565000_lbs_of_oiled_mate.html
Leader Frustrated Over Restore Act
Fox15
(FAIRHOPE, Ala.) Frustration and anger tonight from state leaders over
money from the BP oil spill disaster. Mayors from Mobile and Baldwin
counties met with state leaders to discuss funds from the Restore Act.
http://www.local15tv.com/news/local/story/Leader-Frustrated-Over-Restore-Act/PQQYT3Hd5U6320B_ziiSXg.cspx
BP settlement could remove local control
Houma Today
By Nikki Buskey
Published: Wednesday, October 17, 2012 at 6:33 p.m.
Gulf Coast lawmakers and environmental officials are cautiously weighing
rumors that the federal government may steer money from a BP settlement on
oil spill environmental fines away from the Restore Act.
http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20121017/ARTICLES/121019700
Later, much later, still no criminal charges in oil spill
By Loren Steffy | Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Houston Chronicle
The Clean Water Act turns 40 years old Thursday. It's a little soon for it
to be losing its teeth.
Yet in the face of the biggest oil disaster to ever fall under its purview,
the government has been uncharacteristically slow in bringing criminal
charges. Saturday, just two days after the anniversary of the law taking
effect, marks 2½ years since the Deepwater Horizon disaster unleashed the
biggest offshore oil disaster in the nation's history.
http://www.chron.com/business/steffy/article/Later-much-later-still-no-criminal-charges-in-3954125.php
Halliburton Says BP's Deal With Spill Victims Is Unfair
Bloomberg
Halliburton Co. (HAL) said BP Plc (BP/)'s proposed settlement with victims
of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill unfairly creates a "collusive alliance"
against the oil field services company in a scheduled multibillion-dollar
trial.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-18/bp-s-deal-with-spill-victims-unfair-to-halliburton-firm-says.html
Rosneft Makes TNK Bid as Oil's Second-Biggest Deal Nears: Energy
Bloomberg
The sale of TNK-BP to Russian state oil company OAO Rosneft (ROSN) is
shaping up to be the industry's second-biggest deal ever.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-18/oil-s-second-biggest-deal-nears-as-bp-rosneft-ceos-meet-energy.html
State News
2004 Canton landfill expansion illegal?
By MICHAEL SIMMONS
Madison County Journal
The Madison County Board of Supervisors continues to appeal a decision by
the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Permit Board that
ultimately killed the development of a third landfill in Madison County.
http://onlinemadison.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=25682
Clean-up of part of Hercules plant to begin soon
WDAM
Clean-up of part of the old Hercules plant in Hattiesburg will begin later
this year. The Mississippi Dept. of Environmental Quality will oversee the
removal of sludge from an impoundment basin, which was part of the plant's
former waste water treatment system.
http://www.wdam.com/story/19848973/clean-up-of-part-of-hercules-to-begin-soon
Hercules cleanup project might add to downtown smell
Hattiesburg American
East Hattiesburg residents might soon become intimately acquainted with a
brand new foul smell, but the Mississippi Department of Environmental
Quality and Hercules officials are trying to make sure the smell doesn't
waft too far.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/article/20121018/NEWS01/310180025/Hercules-cleanup-project-might-add-downtown-smell
Contractor disputes city's version of 'Dump-Gate'
Commercial Dispatch
Jeff Clark
October 17, 2012 11:27:07 AM
The Dump-Gate saga continues.
In what is, at best, a misunderstanding and, at worst, a flurry of lies,
the controversy over whether or not the city allowed the county to use its
landfill took another turn Tuesday.
http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=19632
KiOR's stall draws scrutiny from industry, investors
Commercial Dispatch
Those who are anxiously awaiting production to begin at biofuels giant KiOR
may be kept waiting a little longer.
http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=19634
Video: KiOR Still Working Out The Kinks
WCBI
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – One of the nation's potentially most
innovative alternative fuels companies continues remains closely watched as
another deadline for production nears.
http://www.wcbi.com/wordpress/kior-still-working-out-the-kinks
Wastewater plant start-up on tap
DeSoto Times
By ROBERT LEE LONG
Published: Thursday, October 18, 2012 1:05 AM CDT
WALLS — Start-up of the $13.8 million Johnson Creek Wastewater Treatment
plant in western DeSoto County is scheduled for early 2013, DeSoto County
Regional Utility Authority engineering consultant Tracy Huffman said.
http://www.desototimes.com/articles/2012/10/18/news/doc507f485de0732727013131.txt
National News
Report: Energy production threatens to strain nation's water supply
The Hill
By Zack Colman - 10/17/12 01:55 PM ET
The federal government must better monitor the nation's water supply as
expanded domestic energy production threatens to further strain water
resources, warns a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released
Tuesday.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/262559-report-oversight-needed-for-energy-production-impact-on-water-supply
EPA Official, Environmental Activists Reflect on 40 Years of the Clean
Water Act
WFPL
By COLLEEN STEWART
One of the country's most effective environmental laws-- the Clean Water
Act--turns 40 today.
http://www.wfpl.org/post/epa-official-environmental-activists-reflect-40-years-clean-water-act
Opinion
Farm bill delay endangers wildlife
Politico
By: Dale Hall
October 18, 2012 04:32 AM EDT
Recently, farmers and ranchers have been calling on Congress to pass the
Farm Bill, which comes as no surprise since this legislation authorizes
programs that ensure drought funding as well as agricultural and food
safety policies. However, many Americans may be surprised to learn that
hunters and conservationists have also been rallying for a vote. That's
because the Farm Bill contains provisions affecting important wildlife
conservation programs.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1012/82552.html?hp=r9
EPA's 'Shoot First, Ask Questions Later' Attack on Fracking
U.S. News and World report
By THOMAS PYLE
October 17, 2012
Thomas J. Pyle is the president of the Institute for Energy Research.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced recently that the latest
test results from groundwater in the Pavillion, Wyo. area are "generally
consistent" with test results from late last year that showed possible
contamination from hydraulic fracturing. The methods EPA used to conduct
these tests have come under scrutiny, however, and the agency's recent
issues with the "shoot first, ask questions later" approach should warrant
additional caution about the conclusiveness of its findings in Wyoming.
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/on-energy/2012/10/17/on-fracking-epa-must-be-transparent
The EPA Is Moving The Goalposts, Even After The Game Has Started
Forbes
Football fans would be outraged if every time one team was preparing to
kick a field goal the officials moved the goalposts further back, making it
harder to score. And yet the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
frequently moves the goalposts further away for companies and industries
trying to abide by countless federal regulations.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillmatthews/2012/10/18/the-epa-is-moving-the-goalposts-even-after-the-game-has-started/print/
