1.14.13
Oil Spill
BP: Millions of gallons of oil must be excluded from civil penalties over
Gulf oil spill
By Associated Press,
NEW ORLEANS — BP urged a federal judge Friday to rule the company can't be
penalized for millions of gallons of oil that spewed from its blown-out
well but was captured before it could spill into the Gulf of Mexico in
2010.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/bp-millions-of-gallons-of-oil-must-be-excluded-from-penalties-over-gulf-of-mexico-spill/2013/01/11/7f422070-5c36-11e2-b8b2-0d18a64c8dfa_story.html
BP wants a pass on Clean Water Act fines for 810,000 barrels of oil
collected from well during spill
By Mark Schleifstein, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
updated January 11, 2013 at 6:37 PM
Early estimates of BP's potential fines under the Clean Water Act have been
placed at $5 billion to $21 billion, depending on whether the company is
found grossly negligent, based on a 2010 government estimate that 4.9
million barrels were released after the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig
exploded and sank.
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2013/01/bp_wants_a_pass_on_clean_water.html
Court revives call for BP oil spill pollutant list
AP
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal appeals court has revived an environmental
group's lawsuit to make BP PLC list the amount and type of every pollutant
that got into the Gulf of Mexico during the 2010 oil spill.
http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20130111/NEWS01/130111019/Court-revives-call-BP-oil-spill-pollutant-list?nclick_check=1
Federal Judge Approves Medical Portion of $7.8 Billion BP Settlement
Published January 11, 2013
Dow Jones Newswires
aA federal judge in New Orleans has
granted final approval to the medical-benefits portion of BP PLC's (BP,
BP.LN) $7.8 billion settlement to resolve claims related to the Gulf of
Mexico oil spill in 2010.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2013/01/11/federal-judge-approves-medical-portion-78-billion-bp-settlement/
Federal judge approves BP Gulf oil spill medical settlement
By Richard Thompson, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
updated January 11, 2013 at 6:57 PM
The federal judge overseeing the massive Gulf oil spill litigation on
Friday gave final approval to BP's medical settlement for cleanup workers
and others who say they got sick from exposure to oil or dispersants in the
wake of the accident.
http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2013/01/federal_judge_approves_bp_gulf.html
BP relieved by latest oil spill settlement
UPI
HOUSTON, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- A decision by a federal judge in New Orleans to
approve a health settlement related to the Deepwater Horizon avoids years
of litigation, said BP.
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2013/01/14/BP-relieved-by-latest-oil-spill-settlement/UPI-63471358170074/?spt=hs&or=er
BP cash to help Gulf Coast wildlife
Habitat renewal will begin in February
Pensacola News Journal
Helicopters, all-terrain vehicles and armies of cleanup workers poured onto
Northwest Florida beaches in the spring and summer of 2010 in response to
the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
http://www.pnj.com/article/20130114/NEWS01/301140023/BP-cash-help-Gulf-Coast-wildlife
Area agencies moving forward with final BP oil spill claims
By VALERIE GARMAN / The News Herald
Published: Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 22:22 PM.
PANAMA CITY BEACH — As the three-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon
oil spill approaches, many Bay County governmental agencies are moving
toward a final claims process with BP.
http://www.newsherald.com/news/government/area-agencies-moving-forward-with-final-bp-oil-spill-claims-1.77416
State News
At DMR, little support evident from foundation
Sun Herald
By ANITA LEE and KAREN NELSON — calee@sunherald.com
BILOXI -- Bill Walker's private foundation claims to support the
Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, but records the Sun Herald
examined show public money flows from DMR to the foundation.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/01/12/4403016/at-dmr-little-support-evident.html
Florida's foundation a contrast to Mississippi's
Sun Herald
By PAUL HAMPTON — jphampton@sunherald.com
Imagine a foundation dedicated to enhancing and protecting marine
resources. It offers classes to people in elementary school and beyond. It
teams with corporations to make a remote-controlled mini-sub accessible to
hundreds of scientists.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/01/12/4402826/florida-foundation-quite-a-contrast.html
Attorneys: DMR wrong to withhold financial records from public
Sun Herald
By ANITA LEE — calee@sunherald.com
The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources is citing a state auditor's
investigation to deny the Sun Herald access to DMR financial records -- a
move open-government specialists say is wrong.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/01/11/4401992/attorneys-dmr-wrong-to-withhold.html
Representing both the people and the government?
Sun Herald
By MICHAEL NEWSOM — mmnewsom@sunherald.com
The Mississippi Attorney General's Office describes its role as "most
importantly" representing the people of the state, but says it also has
dozens of attorneys who represent state agencies.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/01/11/4401994/representing-both-the-people-and.html
Danny Guice looking to repair the DMR image
WLOX
Danny Guice was hired as deputy director at the Department of Marine
Resources two months ago. Now he's in charge of repairing the image of an
agency tainted by scandal.
http://www.wlox.com/story/20566553/danny-guice-looking-to-repair-the-dmr-image
Recycling effort garners Environmental Hero Award
DAILY LEADER
Friday, January 11, 2013 11:56 am
Brookhaven has been recognized for its recent recycling efforts by the
Mississippi Recycling Coalition.
http://www.dailyleader.com/news/article_47429f24-5c18-11e2-9edd-001a4bcf887a.html
PRC storm debris removal set to begin
WLOX
If you live in Pearl River County and still have debris on your property
from the Christmas Day tornado, you need to get it to the curb. Emergency
Operations officials say they expect pick-up to begin early next week.
http://www.wlox.com/story/20568256/prc-storm-debris-removal-set-to-begin
Study will determine where dead Mississippi turtles originated
Sun Herald
By JOHN FITZHUGH — jcfitzhugh@sunherald.com
GULFPORT -- Normally, tires floating in the Mississippi Sound is a bad
thing, but for the next few months there is a good reason for them.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/01/13/4404070/study-will-determine-where-dead.html
To frack or not to frack? Safety concerns, impact on infrastructure
complicate debate on drilling method
Commercial Dispatch
January 12, 2013 8:17:40 PM
Sarah Fowler - sfowler@cdispatch.com
It is easy to make the argument that a hunger for land and an insatiable
appetite for the resources it contained were largely responsible for the
settling of the North American continent.
http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=21536
No land deal stalls Winston County refinery plans
MBJ
by Clay Chandler
Published: January 11,2013
Work toward locating an oil refinery in Winston County will not move
forward until the group pushing the effort purchases the property selected
for the site.
http://msbusiness.com/blog/2013/01/11/no-land-deal-stalls-winston-county-refinery-plans/
The joy of composting in Tupelo
by M. Scott Morris
NEMS Daily Journal
01.13.13 - 10:10 pm
Steam rose from a pile of old leaves, sticks and grass clippings on a
winter's morning, and Sherrie Cochran considered it a beautiful sight.
http://djournal.com/view/full_story/21401486/article-The-joy-of-composting-in-Tupelo?instance=secondary_stories_left_column
National News
Half of world's food wasted, study finds
(CNN) - A report from the British-based Institution of Mechanical Engineers
finds that up to half of the world's food is wasted.
http://www.wlox.com/story/20558537/half-of-worlds-food-wasted-study-finds
US delays finalizing report linking fracking to water pollution
Reuters
Fri, Jan 11 2013
By Timothy Gardner
WASHINGTON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - The U.S. government is delaying for 8 months
a comment period on a report that offered the first evidence in decades
that fracking for natural gas contaminates water supplies.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/11/usa-epa-fracking-idUSL1E9CB59J20130111
'Fracking' sparks talk of oil shale boom
The Hill
By Zack Colman - 01/13/13 06:00 AM ET
An oil boom launched by "fracking" has led energy leaders to take a second
look at harnessing the potential of oil shale, a fossil fuel that energy
firms largely abandoned the hope of harnessing in the 1980s.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/276755-fracking-success-sparks-talk-of-oil-shale-boom
No Time Frame Set for Completing Final Coal Ash Regulations, EPA Says
Friday, January 11, 2013
Bloomberg
The Environmental Protection Agency still cannot provide a "definitive
time" for promulgating final regulations on the management of coal ash from
power plants, an agency senior official told BNA.
http://www.bna.com/no-time-frame-n17179871807/
Houston activist chosen for EPA post
By Matthew Tresaugue
January 11, 2013 9:46pm
Houston Chronicle
The EPA has hired a Houston activist to help integrate the concept of
environmental justice into the agency's everyday decision-making.
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Houston-activist-chosen-for-EPA-post-4187906.php
Opinion
PERS bill would lead to lawsuits
Sam Hall
Clarion Ledger
A proposed bill floating around the Capitol would make significant changes
to the Public Employee Retirement System, including changing benefits to
current enrollees — a move that would most likely land the state in a
massive legal battle with thousands of state employees.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20130113/COL0401/301130010/PERS-bill-would-lead-lawsuits?odyssey=mod|
newswell|text|Annie%20Oeth|p
EPA: Green Gone Wild
Forbes
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants to vastly expand its
power. Last year, the agency paid nearly $700,000 to the National Academy
of Sciences to draft the document "Sustainability and the U.S. EPA." This
manifesto rationalizes why the EPA has the right to regulate every
business, community and ecosystem in the country.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidmarotta/2013/01/13/epa-green-gone-wild/
Press Releases
Mississippi Job Creation Announcements Fill First Days of 2013
Gov. Bryant: Dedication to Job Creation Generating Results for Mississippi
Workers
Jackson, Miss. –Economic development announcements dominated the first week
of the 2013 legislative session, including news of business expansions that
will create 550 new jobs, a celebration of Nissan's 10 year anniversary in
Mississippi and the addition of the company's eighth model to its Canton
production facility, and the groundbreaking for an expansion to the state's
school of medicine. Gov. Phil Bryant said these announcements set the pace
for a year of supporting job creation and cultivating new investments in
the state's economy.
"Mississippi has been turning heads the last few days, with announcements
of companies expanding and investing in their Mississippi operations and
creating hundreds of new jobs," Gov. Bryant said. "Our state will continue
to grow our business-friendly climate, and my office will ensure
Mississippi remains attractive to new businesses and supportive of existing
ones. The team at the Mississippi Development Authority has done a
remarkable job in helping make these projects happen, and I appreciate
their hard work and drive to achieve."
Gov. Bryant began the week by breaking ground on a new 151,000-square-foot
facility at University of Mississippi Medical Center's School of Medicine.
The expansion will provide additional classroom and laboratory space,
allowing the medical school to increase the number of students it admits to
each incoming class from 135 to more than 160.
The new facility will further Gov. Bryant's goal of adding 1,000 new
physicians in Mississippi by 2025.
"This facility will help us reach our goal of training more physicians and
providing better health care access," Bryant said. "Plus, these new doctors
will create a significant economic impact in the communities where they
practice."
According to the University of Mississippi Medical Center, the larger class
sizes afforded by the expansion will generate about $1.7 billion in
economic impact in Mississippi by 2025. The increased the number of
physicians who will train at the school is expected to support more than
19,000 new jobs in the state by the same year.
Also on Monday, Gov. Bryant traveled to Columbus to join Aurora Flight
Sciences in opening its new 30,000-square-foot manufacturing facility. The
company will increase its commercial composites manufacturing operations
and create 250 new advanced manufacturing jobs.
Gov. Bryant also announced global consumer products manufacturer Helen of
Troy would locate a 1.3 million-square-foot distribution facility and more
than 300 jobs in Olive Branch. The facility will be the company's second in
DeSoto County.
On Thursday, Gov. Bryant celebrated Nissan's tenth year as a part of the
Mississippi business community. He joined company officials in announcing
the move of the Nissan Murano crossover model to the Canton facility. The
Murano is Nissan's flagship crossover; it will be the eighth vehicle built
in Canton and will require several hundred employees for production. The
Canton facility currently employs more than 5,000 people.
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|USDA Announces Investments in Bioenergy Research and Development to Spur New|
| Markets, Innovation, and Unlimited Opportunity in Rural America |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
|KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa., Jan. 11, 2013—Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack |
|visited a state-of-the-art bioindustrial facility at Renmatix today, where |
|he announced $25 million to fund research and development of next-generation|
|renewable energy and high-value biobased products from a variety of biomass |
|sources. |
| |
| |
|"USDA's continuing investments in research and development are proving a |
|critical piece of President Obama's strategy to spur innovation of clean |
|bioenergy right here at home and reduce our dependence on foreign oil," said|
|Vilsack. "The advances made through this research will help to boost local |
|economies throughout rural America, creating and sustaining good-paying |
|jobs, while moving our nation toward a clean energy economy." |
| |
| |
|The projects announced today are funded by USDA's National Institute of Food|
|and Agriculture (NIFA) through the Biomass Research and Development |
|Initiative, established in the 2008 Farm Bill. The funded research will help|
|increase the availability of alternative renewable fuels and biobased |
|products to diversify the nation's energy resources. The Department of |
|Energy will make additional awards through this program. Each award was made|
|through a competitive selection process. |
| |
| |
|Grant recipients are required to contribute a minimum of 20 percent matching|
|funds for research and development projects and 50 percent matching funds |
|for demonstration projects. Awardees must pursue projects that integrate |
|science and engineering research in three areas: feedstocks development, |
|biofuels and biobased products development, and biofuels and bioproducts |
|development analysis. |
| |
| |
|The following projects have been selected for awards: |
| |
| |
| · Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan., $5,078,932. The goal of this|
| project is to make the oilseed crop camelina a cost-effective biofuel |
| and bioproduct feedstock. Camelina production will be incorporated |
| into a cropping system with wheat-based crop rotations in Montana and |
| Wyoming. Once harvested and processed, camelina oil and meal will be |
| chemically converted to a variety of adhesives, coatings and |
| composites. A life cycle analysis from agronomic production to end |
| products will assess the feasibility of a nonfood oilseed as a |
| sustainable resource with minimal negative impact on food crop systems|
| or the environment and will provide needed information for |
| decision-making on camelina production as a replacement for fallow in |
| wheat-based systems. |
| |
| |
| · Ohio State University, Wooster, Ohio, $6,510,183. This project will |
| result in an anaerobic digestion system for the production of liquid |
| transportation fuels and electricity from animal manure, agricultural |
| residues, woody biomass and energy crops. The novel anaerobic |
| digestion system will be integrated with partial oxidation and |
| Fisher-Tropsch technologies to produce gasoline. A life cycle analysis|
| will incorporate thermodynamic principles to assess the resource use, |
| energy/fuel production and the environmental impact of the conversion |
| technologies. |
| |
| |
| · Ceramatec, Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah, $6,599,304. This project will |
| convert lignocellulosic biomass to infrastructure-compatible renewable|
| diesel, biolubricants, animal feed and biopower. New hybrids of energy|
| sorghum will be developed, and other biomass resources include |
| switchgrass and forestry residues. The biomass will be converted to |
| hydrocarbons (molecules that are just like petroleum based |
| hydrocarbons but derived from biomass) using innovative pretreatment, |
| fermentation and electrochemical technologies. These hydrocarbons will|
| be finished into premium synthetic bio-lubricants and biofuels via |
| commercial petroleum refinery processes. A life cycle analysis will |
| include energy efficiency impacts and assessment of impacts on rural |
| development. |
| |
| |
| · USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Eastern Regional Research Center, |
| Wyndmoor, Pa., $6,865,942. ARS scientists will develop an on-the-farm |
| distributed technology for converting forest residues, horse manure, |
| switchgrass and other perennial grasses into biofuels and high-value |
| specialty chemicals. The process will be implemented at on-the-farm |
| scale using a patent-pending unit that will mimic the petroleum |
| industry's catalytic cracking process. The project integrates a life |
| cycle assessment from collection and handling of the biomass to end |
| products and will use thermodynamic principles to assess its |
| sustainability. |
| |
| |
|USDA is working to develop the biofuels industry in every region of the |
|country. In addition to today's awards, USDA has previously announced major |
|support for public and private research in renewable energy and products in |
|every major American region, aimed at developing renewable energy markets, |
|generating rural jobs, and decreasing America's dependence on foreign oil. |
|By partnering with industry, the research is enabling private-sector |
|partners to produce advanced ready-to-use liquid transportation and aviation|
|biofuels. |
| |
| |
|In addition, USDA is helping companies build biorefineries—including the |
|first ever commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol facilities—and supporting |
|farmers, ranchers, and businesses taking risks to pursue new opportunities |
|in biofuels. More than 130 biodiesel and ethanol projects funded by USDA are|
|currently producing almost 3.7 billion gallons of biodiesel and ethanol |
|annually, enough fuel—in equivalence to gasoline—to keep five million |
|vehicles on the road every year. |
| |
| |
|Through federal funding and leadership for research, education and extension|
|programs, NIFA focuses on investing in science and solving critical issues |
|impacting people's daily lives and the nation's future. For more |
|information, visit www.nifa.usda.gov. |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
