12/14/12
Oil Spill
Report: Oil may be seeping from Deepwater Horizon site
Press Register
By George Talbot | gtalbot@al.com
updated December 13, 2012 at 10:46 AM
BP is conducting undersea tests in the Gulf of Mexico to determine if more
oil is leaking from the site of the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe,
according to CBS News.
http://blog.al.com/live/2012/12/report_oil_may_be_seeping_from.html#incart_river
Oil may be seeping from Deepwater Horizon site
CBS
CBS News has learned that BP is set to embark Thursday on the fifth day of
a little-known subsea mission under Coast Guard supervision to look for any
new oil leaking from the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57558916/oil-may-be-seeping-from-deepwater-horizon-site/
Judge approves $525M oil spill securities deal
The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge has approved a $525 million settlement
between BP PLC and the Securities and Exchange Commission over statements
the company made during the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/12/13/4357705/judge-approves-525m-oil-spill.html
Vitter accuses BP of creating image in ads that doesn't match reality
By Bruce Alpert, NOLA.com | Times-Picayune
updated December 13, 2012 at 11:55 AM
WASHINGTON -- Noting that BP continues to spend lots of money on
advertising about its post-2010 oil spill commitment to "make things
right," Sen. David Vitter, R-La., Thursday said the company is doing more
to help Europe than Louisiana. In a sarcastic letter to Lamar McCay,
chairman and president of BP America Inc., Vitter suggests the image the
company presents in ads isn't consistent with its record.
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/12/vitter_accues_bp_of_creating_i.html
BP must hire Louisiana firms to 'make this right' -Sen. Vitter
Thu, Dec 13 2012
Reuters
By Roberta Rampton
WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - BP Plc should hire more Louisiana companies
to work on its project to expand an oil platform to show the oil company
meant what it said in advertisements pledging to "make this right" for the
state after the 2010 Gulf oil spill, U.S. Senator David Vitter said on
Thursday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/13/bp-vitter-idUSL1E8ND8OM20121213
State News
UPDATED: Ladners sentenced in Katrina 'kickback' case
Sea Coast Echo
By Dwayne Bremer and Geoff Belcher
Dec 13, 2012, 16:22
All four suspects in a Katrina kickback scheme were sentenced on Thursday.
http://12.68.233.230/40/article_6498.shtml#.UMsVWG-_HpU
Gulfport ship channel getting much needed dredging
WLOX
For years, the Gulfport ship channel at the state port of Gulfport has been
getting more and more shallow. Because full maintenance dredging has not
been done since 2009, silt has choked off a good portion of the channel.
http://www.wlox.com/story/20340711/gulfport-ship-channel-getting-much-needed-dredging
British firm to build Miss., La. wood pellet mills
By JEFF AMY — Associated Press
JACKSON, MISS. — A British power generator will build a pair of mills in
southwestern Mississippi and northeastern Louisiana to make wood pellets to
burn for electricity in the United Kingdom.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/12/14/4358318/british-firm-to-build-miss-la.html
National News
Industry, green groups brace for soot rule
The Hill
By Zack Colman - 12/13/12 06:35 PM ET
Green and industry groups have been busy making last-second appeals to the
White House regarding soot standards the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) plans to finalize Friday.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/272899-overnight-energy-industry-green-groups-brace-for-soot-rule
Virginia takes EPA to court claiming water regulation plan is illegal land
takeover
By Shannon Bream
Published December 13, 2012
FoxNews.com
A heated legal battle between Virginia officials and the Environmental
Protection Agency over what EPA critics describe as a land takeover gets
its day in federal court Friday.
The EPA, citing an abundance of stormwater runoff, has proposed a plan that
Virginia officials say would cost them nearly half a billion dollars -- and
could cost homeowners and businesses their private property.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/12/13/virginia-sues-epa-to-stop-land-takeover/?test=latestnews
Walgreens must pay $16M for illegal dumping
AP
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A California judge has ordered drugstore chain
Walgreens to pay $16.57 million to settle a lawsuit claiming more than 600
of its stores in the state illegally dumped hazardous waste.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2012/12/13/walgreens-illegal-dumping/1767869/
UPDATE 2-US lawmakers press EPA chief on 'Windsor' email alias
Thu, Dec 13 2012
Reuters
By Timothy Gardner
WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Republican lawmakers want the chief of the
Environmental Protection Agency to explain her use of a government-assigned
email address under a fake name.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/14/usa-epa-email-idUSL1E8NDIH320121214
Tougher Fracking Regulations Backed by 66%, Poll Shows
Bloomberg
By Mark Drajem - Dec 13, 2012
Support for regulation of hydraulic fracturing has increased in the past
three months, a sign that the gas-drilling practice is facing greater
public scrutiny.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-14/tougher-fracking-regulations-backed-by-66-poll-shows.html
Interior delays 'fracking' rules
The Hill
By Ben Geman - 12/11/12 04:16 PM ET
The Interior Department no longer plans to finalize rules this year that
will impose new controls on the controversial oil-and-gas development
method called hydraulic fracturing, a spokesman said.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/272307-interior-pushes-back-fracking-rule-timeline
The Boom And Bust Of Fracking
NPR
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. But we want to
start with a hot button issue that touches on the economy and environment.
You may have heard about hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. That's a
technology to extract natural gas that's causing alarm among a growing
number of activists. You might have heard about it if, for no other reason,
that many high profile celebrities that gotten involved in trying to stop
it.
http://www.npr.org/2012/12/13/167165906/the-boom-and-bust-of-fracking
Solving fracking's biggest problem
CNN/Fortune
FORTUNE -- One of the big environmental (and financial) challenges the oil
and gas industry faces is the amount of water afracking well requires. In
fracking, water is driven under pressure deep into a well. The force of the
water fractures or "fracks" the shale below, releasing the trapped gas.
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/12/13/solving-frackings-biggest-problem/
Press Releases
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| American Farmers and Ranchers Reach 50M-Acre Mark in Voluntary USDA |
| Conservation Program |
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| USDA Celebrates Success of 4-Year-Old Conservation Stewardship Program |
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|WASHINGTON, Dec. 13, 2012 – In just four years, America's top |
|conservationists have enrolled 50 million acres in USDA's Conservation |
|Stewardship Program (CSP), a program that helps farmers, ranchers and forest|
|landowners take conservation to the next level. CSP is aimed at producers |
|who are already established conservation stewards, helping them to deliver |
|multiple conservation benefits on working lands, including improved water |
|and soil quality and enhanced wildlife habitat. |
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|"Farmers and ranchers throughout the country are making USDA's voluntary |
|Conservation Stewardship Program a major force for conservation," |
|Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. "The protection of natural resources|
|through conservation programs such as CSP create outdoor and wildlife |
|recreation opportunities that provide crucial jobs and bolster economic |
|growth in rural American communities." |
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|The land enrolled in CSP totals more than 78,000 square miles, an area |
|larger than Pennsylvania and South Carolina combined, making the program one|
|of the largest voluntary conservation programs for private lands offered by |
|USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service. Nearly 12.2 million acres, or|
|18,750 square miles, were added to the program's rolls this year. |
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|Eligible landowners and operators in all states and territories can enroll |
|in CSP. NRCS local offices accept CSP applications year round and evaluate |
|applications during announced ranking periods. |
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|A CSP self-screening checklist is available to help producers determine if |
|the program is suitable for their operation. The checklist highlights basic |
|information about CSP eligibility requirements, stewardship threshold |
|requirements and payment types. It is available from local NRCS offices and |
|on the CSP website: http://go.usa.gov/g9dx. |
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|Learn more about CSP and other NRCS programs here: |
|http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs. |
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