6.4.2013
Oil Spill
Deciding what to do with Restore Act money
June 4 2013, 06:30 AM CDT
WEAR
ESCAMBIA COUNTY -- 260-million dollars up for grabs, and it's all up to the
Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council to decide who gets it. It's the
first payout from the parties responsible for the BP oil spill back in
2010.
http://www.weartv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/deciding-do-restore-act-money-32457.shtml
Senate committee to examine Restore Act progress
By Bruce Alpert, NOLA.com | Times-Picayune
June 03, 2013 at 5:18 PM
WASHINGTON -- A Senate committee this week will examine the status of Gulf
restoration efforts three years after the2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/06/senate_committee_to_examine_re.html
State News
Moss Point receives $25,000 MDEQ solid waste assistance grant
Mississippi Press
By Brittany Bright
June 03, 2013 at 10:48 AM
MOSS POINT, Mississippi -- The Mississippi Department of Environmental
Quality (MDEQ) has awarded the city of Moss Point a solid waste assistance
grant of $25,000 that will be used by the city for a solid waste
enforcement officer, according to Trudy D. Fisher, MDEQ Executive Director.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2013/06/moss_point_receives_mdeq_solid.html#incart_river
Moss Point to hire solid waste officer with grant funds
Sun Herald
By CHRISTINA STEUBE — csteube@sunherald.com
MOSS POINT -- The city of Moss Point will hire an enforcement officer to
help curb illegal disposal of waste with the help of a $25,000 solid waste
assistance grant by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/06/03/4708860/moss-point-to-hire-solid-waste.html
MDEQ awards solid waste assistance grant
WTVA
JACKSON, Miss. (WTVA) -- The Mississippi Department of Environmental
Quality (MDEQ) has awarded Choctaw County a solid waste assistance grant of
$27,060 that will be used by the county for a solid waste enforcement
officer and to clean up illegal dump sites.
http://www.wtva.com/news/local/story/MDEQ-awards-solid-waste-assistance-grant/VBMmIZwvoUq9xWWZhs8CLg.cspx
PSC member slams Miss. Power
But project, he says, 'past point of no return'
Clarion Ledger
Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley on Monday blasted Mississippi
Power's embattled and over-budget Kemper County coal plant, but noted the
$4.3 billion project is "past the point of no return" and "too big to
fail."
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20130604/NEWS01/306040017/PSC-member-slams-Miss-Power
DMR hires Sun Herald reporter as PIO
WLOX
More changes are on the way at the Department of Marine Resources.
Several people have left since Jamie Miller was hired to head up the DMR
less than two months ago. The new director is continuing to put his own
stamp on the agency, which is under state and federal investigation.
Miller confirmed Monday that a new public information officer has been
hired. She is Melissa Scallan, who is currently a reporter for the Sun
Herald newspaper. The position pays just under $49,000 a year.
http://www.wlox.com/story/22492277/dmr-hires-sun-herald-reporter-as-pio
Jackson County seeks grant to improve failing community water well
Mississippi Press
By April M. Havens | ahavens@al.com
June 03, 2013 at 3:26 PM
PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- Jackson County is seeking a grant to replace an
aging community water well system in Colonial Estates near Ocean Springs,
supervisors told residents this morning.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2013/06/jackson_county_seeks_grant_to.html#incart_river
National News
Ex-EPA chief allegedly used alias e-mail for certification tests on ethics,
cybersecurity
Washington Post
By Emily Heil
THE WASHINGTON POST)"Richard Windsor," the alias that former EPA
Administrator Lisa Jackson used for non-public e-mails, has been much
criticized by Republicans. But, according to one conservative think tank,
at least the fictional Windsor was a model employee.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/in-the-loop/post/ex-epa-chief-used-alias-e-mail-for-certification-tests-on-ethics-cybersecurity/2013/06/04/6e40804c-cc97-11e2-8845-d970ccb04497_blog.html#pagebreak
Internal watchdog finds 'deplorable' conditions at EPA warehouse rented for
$750,000 a year
By Associated Press, Published: June 3
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency has some cleaning up of
its own to do.
An inspector general's report released Monday found rodent feces, mold and
other problems at an EPA storage warehouse in suburban Washington that the
government leases for $750,000 a year. The report also found that 11
contract workers charged with protecting the warehouse and its contents
were using government-owned exercise equipment and watching television in
"hidden personal spaces" outside the range of security cameras.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/internal-watchdog-finds-deplorable-conditions-at-epa-warehouse-rented-for-750000-a-year/2013/06/03/61d14d34-cc86-11e2-8573-3baeea6a2647_story.html
Furloughs for National Weather Service employees axed
Clarion Ledger
Last week's decision by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
to call off planned furloughs for National Weather Service employees comes
just as the country enters hurricane season — and fresh off the heels of
two rounds of deadly tornadoes in Oklahoma and the Midwest.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20130604/NEWS01/306040024/Furloughs-National-Weather-Service-employees-axed
Press Releases
EPA and NIH Announce the Winning Team in My Air, My Health Challenge
Winners developed a low cost, real time personal digital device that
measures health effects of harmful air pollution
WASHINGTON — Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the
National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the winner of the My Air, My
Health Challenge. The Challenge called upon innovators nationwide to design
a small, low-cost sensor that integrates air quality measurements with
related health data, such as heart rate and breathing. Such innovations
will help EPA and NIH as they continue their work together to better
understand, in real time, the impacts of harmful air pollution on people's
health.
Judges for the EPA and NIH challenge selected the team of David Kuller,
Gabrielle Savage Dockterman, and Dot Kelly from among finalist teams. The
award will be presented today at Health Datapalooza IV in Washington, D.C.
The winning team will receive a $100,000 award for developing Conscious
Clothing, a wearable, real-time breathing analysis tool that calculates the
amount of polluted air a person inhales. Estimates of pollution exposure
result from how deeply the person breathes and how much pollution is in the
air. This data is transmitted to any Bluetooth-enabled device, such as a
cellphone.
"This integration of technologies represents a growing area of interest for
environmental and health scientists," said Glenn Paulson, Ph.D., EPA
science advisor. "We're at the edge of a technology wave where anyone can
use these sensors – these innovations will help EPA better understand air
pollution's impacts on people's health. The potential impact on personal
health care and local environmental quality is tremendous."
"With people wearing these new data-collecting devices, researchers will be
able to see and understand the relationships between varying levels of
chemical exposures and individual health responses—in real time," said
Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., director of the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences, part of the NIH. "This is a big step forward toward
treating, and more importantly, preventing disease and illness. This is an
exciting time in research."
These types of low-cost, portable, easy-to-use sensors have the potential
to produce a more complete picture of air quality and individual health in
communities across the country.
More information on the My Air, My Health Challenge:
http://epa.gov/research/challenges
