5.30.2013
Oil Spill
Citizen scientists in Ocean Springs will help study oil spill effects
SUN HERALD
OCEAN SPRINGS -- A free public event will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Saturday at the Mary C. O'Keefe Cultural Center for Arts and Education in
Ocean Springs to present information about how oil and dispersants affect
the Coast.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/05/29/4698310/citizen-scientists-in-ocean-springs.html
Interior moves ahead on offshore drilling safety institute
The Hill
By Ben Geman - 05/29/13 01:53 PM ET
The Interior Department is taking steps toward implementing its years-long
plan to create an "Ocean Energy Safety Institute," which officials say will
provide an independent forum for collaboration and research to improve
offshore drilling safety.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/302369-interior-to-create-offshore-drilling-safety-institute
State News
Poor financial planning downgrades city's sewer bond rating
WLBT
The City of Jackson's bond rating is downgraded by a major credit rating
company. Moody's Investor Service has issued its assessment and a not so
promising outlook.
http://www.msnewsnow.com/story/22453296/citys-watersewer-bond-rating-downgraded
Temple Inland ordered to pay $3.3 million fine for Pearl River spill in
2011
By Katherine Sayre, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
May 29, 2013 at 6:50 PM
Temple Inland, a subsidiary of International Paper, was ordered by a
federal judge Wednesday to pay $3.3 million and serve two years of
probation for polluting the Pearl River in 2011 with illegal discharges
from its Bogalusa paper manufacturing plant, killing more than 500,000
fish, federal prosecutors said.
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2013/05/temple_inland_ordered_to_pay_f.html#incart_river_default
New Mississippi Power CEO faces tough questions
Sun Herald
By MARY PEREZ — meperez@sunherald.com
GULFPORT -- Ten days after the announcement that G. Edison Holland Jr. was
elected the new president and CEO of Mississippi Power, the Public Service
Commission is questioning his conflicting statements on cost overruns at
the Kemper power plant and independent monitors at the site question
whether the plant can fire up on schedule.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/05/29/4698369/new-mississippi-power-ceo-faces.html
Teacher workshops center on conservation education
Clinton News
Teachers interested in learning more about conservation education can
register for the 50th annual Teachers Conservation Workshop, to be held
twice this summer.
http://www.clintonnews.com/article/20130522/NEWS/305220003/Teacher-workshops-center-conservation-education
National News
Is blocking Gina McCarthy at EPA a pyrrhic victory for Republicans? It just
might be.
Washington Post
By Juliet Eilperin, Updated: May 29, 2013
While Senate Republicans have succeeded so far in blocking President Obama
from installing Gina McCarthy as head of the Environmental Protection
Agency, that victory may be a pyrrhic one.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/05/29/are-republicans-winning-a-pyrrhic-victory-at-the-epa/
Think tank wants to see EPA nominee's texts
Washington Post
By Emily Heil
The Loop had a good chucklewhen Gina McCarthy, the nominee to head the
Environmental Protection Agency, joked during one of her confirmation
hearings that she couldn't possibly misuse instant messaging — because she
was too old to know how to use the technology in the first place.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/in-the-loop/post/think-tank-wants-to-see-epa-nominees-texts/2013/05/29/54dbd83c-c89a-11e2-9245-773c0123c027_blog.html#pagebreak
EPA cuts projected number of furlough days
Washington Post
By Eric Yoder, Updated: May 29, 2013
The Environmental Protection Agency has become the latest agency to cut
back on its projected furlough days, cutting three days to bring the total
to just under seven.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2013/05/29/epa-cuts-projected-number-of-furlough-days/
AG didn't advise Bullock in challenge to EPA rules
By MATT GOURAS, Associated Press
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The governor's office said Tuesday that it wasn't told
that Republican state Attorney General Tim Fox would make Montana one of
the states opposed to federal greenhouse gas emission rules.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/texas/article/AG-didn-t-advise-Bullock-in-challenge-to-EPA-rules-4554827.php
Opinion
Jimmie Gates: Capitol staffers deserve raises, too
Clarion Ledger
When the Legislature was in session, I observed hardworking state workers
cleaning the state Capitol, emptying garbage baskets, changing blown light
bulbs in the historic building that has 4,700 light bulbs.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20130530/NEWS/305300059/Jimmie-Gates-Capitol-staffers-deserve-raises-too
Press Releases
EPA Proposes Rules to Protect Americans from Exposure to Formaldehyde
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today proposed
two rules to help protect Americans from exposure to the harmful chemical
formaldehyde, consistent with a Federal law unanimously passed by Congress
in 2010. These rules ensure that composite wood products produced
domestically or imported into the United States meet the formaldehyde
emission standards established by Congress.
Formaldehyde is used in adhesives to make a wide range of building
materials and products. Exposure to formaldehyde can cause adverse public
health effects including eye, nose and throat irritation, other respiratory
symptoms and, in certain cases, cancer.
"The proposed regulations announced today reflect EPA's continued efforts
to protect the public from exposure to harmful chemicals in their daily
lives," said James J. Jones, EPA's acting assistant administrator for the
Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. "Once final, the rules
will reduce the public's exposure to this harmful chemical found in many
products in our homes and workplaces."
In 2010, Congress passed the Formaldehyde Standards for Composite Wood
Products Act, or Title VI of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which
establishes emission standards for formaldehyde from composite wood
products and directs EPA to propose rules to enforce the act's provisions.
EPA's proposed rules align, where practical, with the requirements for
composite wood products set by the California Air Resources Board, putting
in place national standards for companies that manufacture or import these
products. EPA's national rules will also encourage an ongoing industry
trend towards switching to no-added formaldehyde resins in composite wood
products.
EPA's first proposal limits how much formaldehyde may be emitted from
hardwood plywood, medium-density fiberboard, particleboard and finished
goods, that are sold, supplied, offered for sale, manufactured, or imported
in the United States. The emitted formaldehyde may be left over from the
resin or composite wood making process or be released when the resin
degrades in the presence of heat and humidity. This proposal also includes
testing requirements, laminated product provisions, product labeling
requirements, chain of custody documentation, recordkeeping, a stockpiling
prohibition, and enforcement provisions. It also includes a common-sense
exemption from some testing and record-keeping requirements for products
made with no-added formaldehyde resins.
The second proposal establishes a third-party certification framework
designed to ensure that manufacturers of composite wood products meet the
TSCA formaldehyde emission standards by having their composite wood
products certified though an accredited third-party certifier. It would
also establish eligibility requirements and responsibilities for
third-party certifier's and the EPA-recognized accreditation bodies who
would accredit them. This robust proposed third-party certification program
will level the playing field by ensuring composite wood products sold in
this country meet the emission standards in the rule regardless of whether
they were made in the United States or not.
More on Formaldehyde Proposals:
http://www.epa.gov/oppt/chemtest/formaldehyde/index.html
More on EPA's TSCA Work Plan chemical effort:
http://www.epa.gov/oppt/existingchemicals/pubs/workplans.html
