4/12/13
Oil Spill
Legislator: South Mississippi ready with RESTORE Act projects
Sun Herald
By CHRISTINA STEUBE — csteube@sunherald.com
PASCAGOULA -- Touting projects designed to move the Coast forward,
representatives from throughout the county discussed ideas for RESTORE Act
money during the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce Breakfast Roundtable on
Thursday.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/04/11/4587120/jackson-county-city-projects-focus.html
Cities looking to get recreation, infrastructure, economic development
projects out of BP fines
Mississippi Press
By April M. Havens | ahavens@al.com
April 11, 2013 at 11:45 AM
PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- The Mississippi coast has an once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity to change its landscape as BP oil spill fines filter into the
state, local municipal and county leaders said this morning during a
Jackson County Chamber of Commerce Breakfast Roundtable.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2013/04/cities_looking_to_get_recreati.html#incart_river
Jackson County leaders coordinate Restore Act funding projects
WLOX
As BP's civil trial in New Orleans continues, there is no denying that big
money is at stake if the oil giant is found guilty. A large chunk of those
funds could be used right here to restore the Gulf Coast.
http://www.wlox.com/story/21948826/jackson-county-leaders-ready-for-restore-act
Electrical engineer says dead battery, miswired switch caused BP Macondo
well blowout preventer to fail
By Mark Schleifstein, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
April 11, 2013 at 7:24 PM
A New Orleans electrical engineer testified Thursday that a miswired
solenoid switch and a dead battery resulted in the pods not being able to
cause shears to cut off the flow of gas on the day BP's Macondo well blew
out, resulting in the explosion and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon
drilling rig.
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2013/04/electrical_engineer_says_dead.html
Ex-BP engineer charged in Gulf spill investigation accuses prosecutors of
'farcical' claims
By Associated Press, Published: April 11
NEW ORLEANS — A former BP engineer charged with deleting text messages
about the company's response to its 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico
says federal prosecutors have tacked on "farcical" allegations that he also
deleted dozens of voicemails.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/ex-bp-engineer-charged-in-gulf-spill-probe-accuses-prosecutors-of-making-farcical-claims/2013/04/11/f7b8df02-a2cd-11e2-bd52-614156372695_story.html
RESTORE Act coordinator looking forward to the job
By MATTHEW BEATON
Penscola News Herald
Published: Thursday, April 11, 2013 at 20:53 PM.
PANAMA CITY— Bay County's new RESTORE Act coordinator is ready to go after
the big bucks.
http://www.newsherald.com/news/government/restore-act-coordinator-looking-forward-to-the-job-1.125637
Coastal Bend conservationists eye draft goals for Gulf oil spill settlement
plan
Corpus Christi Caller
By David Sikes
Updated 10:20 p.m., April 10, 2013
CORPUS CHRISTI — Mayor Nelda Martinez on Wednesday night stressed the
importance of partnerships over competition before about 100
conservationists vying for a piece of the anticipated settlement from the
Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
http://www.caller.com/news/2013/apr/10/coastal-bend-conservationists-eye-draft-goals/
BP shareholders urge stronger fight against 'extortionate' Gulf spill
claims
Houston Chronicle
Angry British shareholders of oil giant BP urged the company Thursday to be
more forceful in its legal fight against tens of billions of dollars in
claims still being asserted by the U.S. government and several Gulf states
affected by the 2010 oil spill. One suggested BP boycott Walt Disney World
in Florida to get Americans "to come to their senses."
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2013/04/11/bp-shareholders-question-extortionate-gulf-oil-spill-claims/
State News
Proposed Magnolia Bowl demolition invites speculation
Commercial Dispatch
April 11, 2013 10:00:15 AM
Sarah Fowler - sfowler@cdispatch.com
The future of the historic Magnolia Bowl remains uncertain but the Columbus
Municipal School District is exploring its options.
http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=23473
Large turnout expected for Earth Day
Bolivar Commercial
by Rory Doyle
04.11.13 - 09:07 pm
Local leaders are continuing the effort to keep Cleveland and Bolivar
County clean, and the movement is heating up in anticipation of Earth Day
2013.
The Cleveland-Bolivar County Earth Day occurs every April in partnership
with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
http://www.bolivarcom.com/view/full_story/22228181/article-Large-turnout-expected-for-Earth-Day?instance=homesecondleft
Agency issues warnings on two sections of beach
by MBJ Staff
Published: April 11,2013
HANCOCK COUNTY — The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality
(MDEQ), through its Beach Monitoring Program, issued water contact
advisories for two sampling stations.
http://msbusiness.com/blog/2013/04/11/agency-issues-warnings-on-two-sections-of-beach/
City seeking loan to shore up utility fund
By Megan Huckaby, Enterprise-Journal (subscription required)
McComb Mayor Whitney Rawlings said Tuesday the city board is putting the
finishing touches on its application for a low-interest state loan that
will allow officials to release needed money back into the city utility
fund and avoid a bond issue.
"This is the final piece to this ... loan to complete our application and
put everything in (the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality's)
hands," Rawlings said of the state agency that issues the state revolving
fund loan.
http://www.enterprise-journal.com/news/article_434977d6-a2d5-11e2-99d2-0019bb2963f4.html
National News
Gina McCarthy, nominee to head EPA, pledges common-sense approach to
climate change
Washington Post
By Lenny Bernstein,
Gina McCarthy, President Obama's nominee to head the Environmental
Protection Agency, Thursday pledged a "common-sense" approach to battling
climate change and touted a career that included working for five
Republican governors in an effort to counter GOP criticism of the agency
she hopes to lead.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/gina-mccarthy-nominee-to-head-epa-pledges-common-sense-approach-to-climate-change/2013/04/11/798812ae-a2de-11e2-9c03-6952ff305f35_story.html
Senators at EPA nominee's hearing explore use of secret email aliases by
top agency officials
By Associated Press,
WASHINGTON — To whom? ToWhit? Tofu?
Senators sidetracked their confirmation hearing Thursday for Gina McCarthy,
President Barack Obama's nominee to head the Environmental Protection
Agency, to discuss secret government email addresses that have been used by
senior EPA officials for at least a decade. The agency's inspector general
is investigating Republican charges that the secret accounts — discovered
in 2012 — have been used to hide sensitive matters from Congress in its
oversight role and the public under the Freedom of Information Act.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/congress/congress-at-new-nominees-hearing-explores-use-of-secret-email-aliases-by-senior-epa-officials/2013/04/11/a1d20534-a2cb-11e2-bd52-614156372695_story.html
EPA nominee Gina McCarthy doesn't use IM
Washington Post
By Emily Heil
Appointees, here's a good defense against potential accusations of
technological malfeasance: being too dang old to understand how the gizmos
work. That is, you can't misuse technology if you don't know how to use it
at all.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/in-the-loop
EPA nominee's supporters stress history of work for GOP
The Hill
By Ben Geman - 04/11/13 10:59 AM ET
Democratic supporters of Gina McCarthy, President Obama's choice to run the
Environmental Protection Agency, are highlighting her past work for GOP
governors early and often during McCarthy's Thursday appearance before a
Senate panel.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/293273-backers-of-epa-pick-hope-resume-is-destiny
EPA nominee Gina McCarthy is grilled on email, transparency
Politico
By: Erica Martinson
April 12, 2013 04:48 AM EDT
Republican senators grilled EPA administrator-nominee Gina McCarthy over
the agency's recent email controversy on Thursday, asking her to commit to
greater transparency at the already embattled agency.
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/04/epa-nominee-is-grilled-on-email-transparency-89972.html?hp=l17
Business groups push for regulatory transparency
The Hill
By Julian Hattem - 04/11/13 05:38 PM ET
Fifty-four business organizations pushed Congress on Thursday to abandon a
controversial rule-making process they claim uses the courts to avoid
regulatory transparency.
http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/legislation/293473-business-groups-push-for-regulatory-transparency-
EPA proposes loosening natural-gas storage standards
The Hill
By Julian Hattem - 04/11/13 01:32 PM ET
After pushback from outside groups, the federal government is proposing to
relax its rules on tanks used to store liquids at oil and natural-gas
production sites.
http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/energyenvironment/293343-epa-proposes-loosening-natural-gas-storage-standards-
Fracking rule is 'imminent'
The Hill
By Ben Geman and Zack Colman - 04/11/13 06:39 PM ET
GET READY: The Interior Department is on the cusp of releasing a
controversial, heavily lobbied proposal to regulate oil-and-gas "fracking"
on public lands.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/293479-overnight-energy-fracking-rule-is-imminent-outgoing-interior-chief-says
Climate Change-Drought Connection Not 'Significant' In 2012 U.S. Dry Spell,
NOAA Reports
AP
WASHINGTON -- Last year's huge drought was a freak of nature that wasn't
caused by man-made global warming, a new federal science study finds.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/11/climate-change-drought-2012_n_3064801.html?utm_hp_ref=green
New science standards have America's educational publishers turning the
page
By Joshua Rhett Miller
Published April 12, 2013
FoxNews.com
The release of proposed new national science standards, including the
emphasis of manmade climate change, will alter the classroom landscape for
millions of students in the United States, as well as for at least one
education publisher readying for the "major" undertaking.
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/04/12/new-science-standards-have-americas-educational-publishers-turning-page/
Press Releases
Gov. Bryant Declares a State of Emergency due to Severe Storms
JACKSON – Gov. Phil Bryant declared a State of Emergency today for Kemper
and Noxubee counties due to the impacts of severe storms and tornadoes.
Any additional counties with damages or impacts due to the severe weather
will also be covered by this State of Emergency.
"This State of Emergency will help expedite the support needed as local and
state officials work together to assess the damages," Gov. Phil Bryant
said.
The State of Emergency is an administrative tool that allows the state to
offer support and resources to the areas affected by this weather event.
Mississippi Emergency Management Agency has deployed state resources
including a forward command center to support the local governments as they
respond to this event.
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Seven Counties Reporting Damages to MEMA
PEARL – The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency has received a report
of one death and at least five injures from severe storms and a tornado
that moved through Kemper County earlier this afternoon.
Seven counties have submitted damage reports to the State Emergency
Operations Center in Pearl. The reports are as follows:
* Clarke: One home major damage, one home with minor damage.
* Clay: Trees down in the Cedar Bluff Community. Minor roof damage to
a few homes.
* Forrest: At least one home damaged. Minor damage to a fire station.
* Harrison County: Trees down throughout the county. Minor street
flooding.
* Kemper: One death and five injuries. Several home and at least one
business damaged.
* Noxubee: Trees and power lines down in the Shuqulak and Macon areas.
* Quitman: Several buildings damaged and roads closed near Marks.
4-County Electric Power Association is reporting 2,900 members without
power, primarily in Noxubee County.
First United Methodist Church in Macon will begin feeding operations
beginning at 9 p.m. tonight at 104 Jefferson St., Macon.
Damage assessment in these and other counties affected by today's severe
weather are ongoing. MEMA will update these damages are reports are
received.
MEMA Director Robert Latham is in Noxubee County assisting the local
response efforts and coordinating state assets deployed to support the
local governments. MEMA has deployed a mobile communications trailer to
Noxubee County in support of emergency operations in the affected areas.
Three MEMA Area Coordinators and a Public Information Officer are also
assisting local emergency managers in Kemper and Noxubee counties.
Earlier this evening Gov. Phil Bryant declared a State of Emergency in
Kemper and Noxubee counties.
The public is encouraged to follow MEMA on Twitter and Facebook for
updates.
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