6.14.2013
Oil Spill
Santa Rosa hires Pensacola firm as RESTORE Act consultant
Pensacola News Journal
The Santa Rosa County Commission voted unanimously this morning to hire the
Atkins North America engineering firm of Pensacola as its consultant on
RESTORE Act projects.
http://www.pnj.com/article/20130613/NEWS10/130613012/Santa-Rosa-hires-Pensacola-firm-RESTORE-Act-consultant
State News
City sewer fix will cost up to $13M
The Associated Press
GREENVILLE, MISS. — Greenville Mayor John Cox says the city will undertake
a multimillion dollar, five-year program to upgrade the aging sewer system.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/06/14/4733981/city-sewer-fix-will-cost-up-to.html
Gas tanker overturns into ditch, closes portion of I-55
MHP: Cleanup lasted hours while fuel was removed from tanker
WAPT
LINCOLN CO., Miss. —A gas tanker accident caused a portion of Interstate 55
to close overnight in Lincoln County.
http://www.wapt.com/news/central-mississippi/gas-tanker-overturns-into-ditch-closes-portion-of-i55/-/9156946/20552144/-/ppd10d/-/index.html
Apartment residents angry about dumped roofing materials
WLBT
Residents of the Grand Chateau Apartments say the dumping that occurred
there is the responsibility of the owners. They say a building maintenance
worker actually dumped a load of shingles and other raw materials behind a
dumpster at the apartments on Capitol street.
http://www.msnewsnow.com/story/22585730/aparment-residents-angry-about-dumped-roofing-materials
National News
Obama Tells Keystone Foes He Will Unveil Climate Package in July
Bloomberg
By Lisa Lerer on June 13, 2013
With his administration under pressure from environmentalists to reject the
Keystone XL pipeline project, President Barack Obama plans to unveil a
package of separate actions next month focused on curbing U.S. greenhouse
gas emissions.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-06-13/obama-tells-keystone-foes-he-will-unveil-climate-package-in-july
Department of Energy's Crusade Against Leaks of a Potent Greenhouse Gas
Yields Results
NY Times
By MICHAEL WINES
Every year, the United States Department of Energy's far-flung operations
generate millions of tons of climate-warming greenhouse gases. By
tightening valves, replacing worn gaskets and such, Josh Silverman and the
department's engineers have managed to cut the annual leaks of one gas by
about 35,000 pounds.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/14/us/department-of-energys-crusade-against-leaks-of-a-potent-greenhouse-gas-yields-results.html?_r=1&&pagewanted=print
Supreme Court rejects Texas effort to gain access to Oklahoma water
By Michael Doyle — McClatchy Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — Oklahoma beat Texas at the Supreme Court on Thursday in a
cross-border contest over water for the Fort Worth area.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/06/13/4732455/supreme-court-plugs-up-oklahoma.html
Explosion Rocks Louisiana Chemical Plant
Wall Street Journal
By BEN LEFEBVRE and ALISON SIDER
GEISMAR, La.—An explosion ripped through a chemical plant here Thursday
morning, killing at least one person and injuring 73 others, officials
said.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324688404578543264004066942.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_5
U.S., Arkansas sue Exxon over Pegasus pipeline spill
Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Justice Department filed a joint lawsuit with
Arkansas on Thursday against oil producer Exxon Mobil Corp over the
pipeline spill in March of thousands of barrels of heavy Canadian crude oil
in a suburban neighborhood.
http://news.yahoo.com/u-arkansas-sue-exxon-over-pegasus-pipeline-spill-192859563.html
Press Releases
EPA Announces More Than $3 Million in Environmental Workforce Development
and Job Training Grants to Help Facilitate Environmental Stewardship and
Cleanup Across the Country
WASHINGTON –Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is
announcing the selection of 16 grantees for a total award of $3.2 million
through the agency's Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training
(EWDJT) Program. The grants support local work to recruit, train, and place
unemployed individuals in jobs that address environmental challenges in
their communities. By providing Americans in economically disadvantaged
communities with environmental job training, EWDJT grants promote
environmental justice by equipping trainees with environmental health and
safety certifications while creating a locally skilled workforce that
advances local economies. Rather than filling jobs with contractors from
distant cities, EWDJT grants provide employment opportunities for local
residents to participate in the revitalization of their communities.
"These grants are provided to local community job training organizations
that have demonstrated partnerships with employers who have expressed a
willingness to interview and hire graduates. I am happy to continue to
support this important and tremendously successful EPA program that has
successfully placed more than 71 percent of program graduates in
environmental careers since the program's inception in 1998," said Mathy
Stanislaus, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Solid Waste and
Emergency Response. "Graduates are well respected in their communities and
many have secured employment in jobs in environmental firms such as
response and cleanup, clean energy installation, wastewater treatment, and
environmental health and safety."
The EWDJT Program is unique because graduates are provided with a wide
range of skills and certifications that improve their ability to secure not
only short-term work, but full-time careers in the environmental field. The
program also underscores President Obama's call to strengthen job training
across the United States. Program graduates acquire training and
certifications in a variety of areas, such as: Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) hazardous waste operations (HAZWOPER), CPR and
first-aid, confined space entry, chemical safety, lead and asbestos
abatement, landfill management, wastewater treatment facility operations
and stormwater management, brownfields assessment and cleanup, Superfund
site-specific cleanup, leaking underground storage tank removal,
electronics recycling, emergency response and disaster site worker
certification, clean energy and solar installation, weatherization, native
plant revegetation and landscaping, oil spill cleanup, heavy machinery
operations and hazardous waste transport (HAZMAT), and uranium
mine-tailings cleanup and mine-scarred land remediation.
As of May 2013, more than 11,000 Americans have completed training through
the support of the EWDJT Program, of which, more than 8,000 have obtained
employment in the environmental field. Individuals who have completed the
training include unemployed, low-income and minority residents of all age
groups, as well as veterans, single mothers, ex-offenders, dislocated
workers who have lost their jobs as a result of manufacturing plant
closures, and other individuals with significant barriers to employment.
The 16 grantees for Fiscal Year 2013 are:
Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board, Connecticut – Plans to train
42 students, and place 40 graduates in environmental jobs.
Merrimack Valley Workforce Investment Board, Massachusetts – Plans to train
45 students, and place 31 graduates in environmental jobs.
The Fortune Society, Inc., New York – Plans to train 45 students and place
33 graduates in environmental jobs.
Pathways-VA, Inc., Virginia – Plans to train 40 students and place 32
graduates in environmental jobs.
Florida State College at Jacksonville, Fla. – Plans to train 60 students
and place 45 graduates in environmental jobs.
OAI, Inc., Illinois – Plans to train 45 students and place 40 graduates in
environmental jobs.
EmployIndy, Indiana – Plans to train 48 students and place at least 36
graduates in environmental jobs.
Mott Community College, Michigan – Plans to train 51 students and place 36
graduates in environmental jobs.
Southern University at Shreveport, La. – Plans to train 60 students and
place 55 graduates in environmental jobs.
Rose State College, Oklahoma – Plans to train 95 students and place 70
graduates in environmental jobs.
St. Louis Community College, Missouri - Plans to train 81 students and
place 55 graduates in environmental jobs.
Northern Arizona University, Arizona – Plans to train 36 students and place
35 graduates in environmental jobs.
City of Oxnard, California - Plans to train 55 students and place 45
graduates in environmental jobs.
City of Richmond, California – Plans to train 60 students and place 45
graduates in environmental jobs.
Zender Environmental Health and Research Group, Alaska – Plans to train 32
students and place 28 graduates in environmental jobs.
City of Tacoma, Washington - Plans to train 54 students and place 39
graduates in environmental jobs.
More information on EPA's Environmental Workforce Development and Job
Training Grants Program: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/pilot_grants.htm
