2.6.13
Oil Spill
Transocean toolpusher recalls harrowing final moments aboard rig as
testimony continues in BP oil spill trial
By NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
updated March 05, 2013 at 10:58 PM
The senior toolpusher aboard the Deepwater Horizon described on Tuesday the
harrowing final hours on the drilling rig in 2010, saying he knew there was
concern about a negative pressure test and that he offered to stay on duty
beyond his shift to help.
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2013/03/transocean_toolpusher_recalls.html#incart_river
Survivor of Deepwater Horizon rig explosion testifies at oil spill trial
By The Associated Press
updated March 05, 2013 at 2:07 PM
NEW ORLEANS -- A Transocean employee who survived the Deepwater Horizon rig
explosion testified at the Gulf oil spill trial Tuesday that a subordinate
killed in the blast was one of the workers who apparently missed signs the
well was about to blow out.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2013/03/survivor_of_deepwater_horizon.html#incart_river
Judge rejects BP attempt to reinterpret part of settlement
WWL
NEW ORLEANS - A federal judge has made a final ruling against BP denying
its request to change the way certain business loss claims are handled in
its multibillion-dollar settlement with private victims of the 2010 Gulf
oil spill.
This culminates an issue first exposed by WWLTV.
http://www.wwltv.com/news/local/Judge-rejects-BP-attempt-to-reinterpret-part-of-settlement-195443931.html
BP Faces 2014 Trial Over Investors' Gulf Spill Claims
Bloomberg
By Margaret Cronin Fisk and Laurel Brubaker Calkins - Mar 5, 2013
BP Plc will face a jury trial Aug. 25, 2014, in federal court in Houston on
investors' multibillion-dollar allegations that the company hid the true
size of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill to limit the effect on its stock
price.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-05/bp-to-face-august-trial-over-investors-spill-claims.html
Sen. Mary Landrieu seeking to lift BP suspension, newspaper reports
By Richard Thompson, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
March 06, 2013 at 6:26 AM
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., is seeking to lift a temporary suspension the
Obama administration put in place on BP four months ago, preventing the
British oil giant from winning new federal contracts or oil leases by the
U.S. government, The Monroe News Star reported Wednesday.
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2013/03/sen_landrieu_seeking_to_lift_b.html#incart_river
State News
Natchez Water Works recognized by Mississippi DEQ
Natchez Democrat
Published 12:03amWednesday, March 6, 2013
NATCHEZ — Natchez Water Works has been selected as a member of a state
program that recognize
environmental leaders in Mississippi.
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality accepted city-owned
Water Works this week as a member of the department's enHance program.
http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/2013/03/06/natchez-water-works-recognized-by-mississippi-deq/
Public Service Commission approves rate hikes for Mississippi Power
(updated)
By The Associated Press
updated March 05, 2013 at 8:59 PM
JACKSON, Mississippi --A state commission voted Tuesday to allow
Mississippi Power Co. to start billing customers to pay for the Kemper
County power plant it's building, but not as much as the company wanted.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2013/03/public_service_commission_appr.html#incart_river
National News
EPA, Energy Department can tackle climate change on several fronts
Washington Post
By Juliet Eilperin, Published: March 5
Now that President Obama has selected his top climate and energy
policymakers, having nominated Massachusetts Institute of Technology
physicist Ernest Moniz as energy secretary and Environmental Protection
Agency air and radiation administrator Gina McCarthy to head EPA, the
question still looms: how much can they get done using executive authority
alone?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/epa-doe-can-tackle-climate-change-on-several-fronts/2013/03/05/ee6c0d64-85bf-11e2-98a3-b3db6b9ac586_story.html
EPA warns employees of up to 13 furlough days
Washington Post
By Eric Yoder , Updated: March 5, 2013
The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday formally notified its
employees of planned furloughs of up to 13 discontinuous days, a number in
the mid-range of what agencies have announced to date in response to
sequestration.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2013/03/05/epa-warns-employees-of-up-to-13-furlough-days/
EPA won't appeal ruling on Va. storm-water regulation
Washington Post
By Errin Haines, Published: March 5
RICHMOND — The Environmental Protection Agency will not appeal a federal
district court's ruling declaring it is illegal for the EPA to regulate
storm water as a pollutant as it flows into Virginia waterways.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/va-politics/epa-wont-appeal-ruling-on-va-storm-water-regulation/2013/03/05/dae2faa0-85c4-11e2-999e-5f8e0410cb9d_story.html
Louisiana ag braces for new hypoxia challenge
Delta Farm Press
Environmental activists have renewed their push to limit fertilizer runoff
into rivers, streams and water bodies in the Mississippi River Basin.
They've chosen Louisiana agriculture as a convenient whipping boy.
http://deltafarmpress.com/blog/louisiana-ag-braces-new-hypoxia-challenge
Are celebrity 'fractivists' overlooking science in their condemnation of
the fracking industry?
Published March 05, 2013
Associated Press
advertisement
The scene: a Manhattan art-house theater. The cause: a campaign against the
gas drilling process known as fracking that's being led by more than 100
celebrities, including Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon, Robert Redford, Mark Ruffalo
and Mario Batali.
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/03/05/are-celebrity-fractivists-overlooking-science-in-their-condemnation-fracking/
Opinion
With Proposed Policy Change, EPA Fully Embraces Role of "Environmental
Justice" Advocate
Forbes
Cory L. Andrews, Contributor
The Environmental Protection Agency has not been shy in its embrace and
promotion of the "environmental justice" (EJ) movement. "Working for
Environmental Justice" was one of seven priorities on EPA's regulatory
agenda last year.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/wlf/2013/03/05/with-proposed-policy-change-epa-fully-embraces-role-of-environmental-justice-advocate/
