1/25/13
Oil Spill
Federal judge rejects motion to extend deadline for BP oil spill seafood
settlement
Safety of Gulf seafood debated 8 months after BP oil spill
By Richard Thompson, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
updated January 24, 2013 at 3:24 PM
The federal judge overseeing the massive BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill
litigation has denied a request to extend the deadline for commercial
fishing vessel owners and others to join a $2.3 billion settlement to cover
seafood-related claims.
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2013/01/federal_judge_rejects_motion_t.html
State News
DMR employee's South Mississippi home searched
Sun Herald
By ANITA LEE — calee@sunherald.com
BILOXI -- Investigators have searched the home of Tina Shumate, coastal
management and planning director at the Mississippi Department of Marine
Resources.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/01/24/4426973/dmr-employees-home-searched.html
Contractor financed car for Utility Authority director
Sun Herald
By MELISSA SCALLAN and ANITA LEE — Sun Herald
A contractor with the Harrison County Utility Authority bought a car in
2011 and a month later signed the title over to the authority's executive
director.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/01/24/4426971/contractor-financed-car-for-utility.html
Gautier Mayor still working to reduce litter in the city
WLOX
Gautier's Mayor Tommy Fortenberry waged a war against litter last year
after seeing discarded trash all around town. The mayor and some folks in
the city said Gautier is cleaning up its act.
http://www.wlox.com/story/20663950/gautier-maypr-still-working-to-reduce-litter-in-the-city
PSC, Miss. Power Reach Settlement Over Kemper Co. Plant
MPB
Mississippi Power and the Mississippi Public Service Commission have
reached a deal opening the possibility for rate increases to fund a
multi-billion dollar power plant in Kemper County. MPB's Daniel Cherry
reports...
http://mpbonline.org/News/article/784psc_miss._power_reach_settlement_over_kemper_co._plant
National News
Appeals court rejects EPA bid on pollution case
By MATTHEW DALY — Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court will not reconsider a decision
blocking an Obama administration effort to tighten restrictions on power
plant pollution.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/01/24/4426637/appeals-court-rejects-epa-bid.html
EPA Loses Bid for Full-Court Review of Cross-State Rule
Bloomberg
By Tom Schoenberg - Jan 24, 2013
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lost a bid for review by a full
federal appeals court of a three-judge panel's ruling that threw out
regulations designed to cut cross-state pollution from coal-fired power
plants.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-24/epa-loses-bid-for-full-court-review-of-cross-state-air-rule-1-.html
Democrats send wish list to Obama for executive action on climate change
The Hill
By Zack Colman - 01/24/13 10:44 AM ET
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) on
Thursday outlined a slate of climate change actions that President Obama
could execute with his own authority.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/279037-waxman-whitehouse-launch-bicameral-climate-effort-urge-obama-to-use-authority
California Sued for Allegedly Failing to Regulate Fracking
Bloomberg
By Karen Gullo - Jan 24, 2013
California was sued for allegedly failing to regulate and supervise
hydraulic fracturing by oil and gas companies under the state's underground
injection control program.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-24/california-sued-for-allegedly-failing-to-regulate-fracking-1-.html
Republicans threaten 'formal action' over EPA head's 'Richard Windsor'
emails
The Hill
By Ben Geman - 01/24/13 12:02 PM ET
House Republicans are threatening "formal action" against the Environmental
Protection Agency unless the agency hands over records about Administrator
Lisa Jackson's use of a secondary government email account.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/279069-house-gop-presses-epa-on-richard-windsor-email-account
Opinion
Collins would freeze, not cut, 13th checks for state workers
by Bill Crawford
Published: January 25,2013
State Sen. Nancy Collins of Tupelo is courageously preparing legislation to
address growing financial problems with the state retirement system (PERS).
She said her goal was to start a conversation about PERS' long-term
sustainability. "This is the elephant in the room," she told the Northeast
Mississippi Daily Journal. "We should not be afraid to talk about it."
http://msbusiness.com/blog/2013/01/25/collins-would-freeze-not-cut-13th-checks-for-state-workers/
Press Releases
EPA Announces Settlements with Company for Multiple Violations of Chemical
Reporting and Pesticide Laws
Release Date: 01/24/2013
Contact Information: Stacy Kika, Kika.stacy@epa.gov, 202-564-0906,
202-564-4355
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that
it reached settlements with two subsidiaries of the Kemira Group for
violations of chemical and pesticide laws.
The settlement with Kemira Chemicals resolves alleged violations of the
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, including the sale and
distribution of an unregistered pesticide, the sale and distribution of
misbranded pesticides, and pesticide production reporting violations. The
sale and distribution of unregistered or misbranded pesticides can cause
serious illness in humans and be harmful to the environment. Under the
terms of the agreement, Kemira Chemicals has corrected the alleged
violations and will pay a civil penalty of $301,600.
EPA also reached an agreement with Kemira Water Solutions after an EPA
inspection identified 27 violations of the Toxic Substance Control Act's
Inventory Update Reporting (IUR) rule for the 2006 reporting period. The
IUR rule requires manufacturers and importers of certain chemical
substances to report the production volume and location of each facility
producing these chemical substances. The information collected is used to
support risk screening and assessment and makes up the most comprehensive
source of basic screening-level, exposure-related information on chemicals
available to EPA. Kemira Water Solutions has since submitted the required
information to EPA and will pay a civil penalty of $503,110.
Kemira Chemicals, Inc. and Kemira Water Solutions, Inc. are both
subsidiaries of Kemira Group, a global chemical company with U.S.
headquarters in Atlanta, Ga.
More information about the settlement:
http://www.epa.gov/enforcement/waste/cases/kemiragroup.html
