7.15.2013
Oil Spill
D'Iberville lists ways to spend RESTORE funds
Sun Herald
By MARY PEREZ — meperez@sunherald.com
D'IBERVILLE -- City officials have identified several projects they want to
submit for possible RESTORE Act funding but first will seek public opinion.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/07/14/4795899/diberville-lists-ways-to-spend.html
Renowned whale expert studying Deepwater Horizon's effect on Gulf sperm
whales
Press Register
Dennis Pillion
July 12, 2013 at 11:53 AM
PENSACOLA, Florida -- To get a better understanding of the full impact of
the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, renowned marine scientist Roger Payne
is thinking big.
http://blog.al.com/gulf-coast/2013/07/renowned_whale_expert_studying.html
Louisiana Seafood: In wake of BP spill and river diversions, oysters show
strain
Benjamin Alexander-Bloch
The Times-Picayune
July 14, 2013 at 1:03 AM
It's difficult to talk about Louisiana seafood these days without the BP
oil spill working its way into the conversation. It wasn't that long ago,
after all, that television screens were filled with high-def images of
fouled coastal marsh and angry fishermen forlornly staring at their idled
fleet.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2013/07/louisiana_seafood_bp_oil_spill.html
Louisiana Seafood: Shrimp, crab catch mixed post BP oil spill, river
diversions
Benjamin Alexander-Bloch
The Times-Picayune
July 13, 2013 at 10:29 PM
While the oyster harvest east of the Mississippi River has dropped
precipitously in the years since the BP oil spill and an influx of fresh
water from several Mississippi River diversions, white shrimp and blue crab
fared much better there.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2013/07/louisiana_seafood_bp_oil_spill_1.html
Louisiana seafood graphic: Map, charts show 10 years of trawling, before
and after the BP oil spill
Dan Swenson
The Times-Picayune
July 13, 2013 at 5:25 PM
Graphic shows percent changes in seafood harvested in the three major
Louisiana fisheries regions since the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in
2010, compared to the 2002-09 average. Graphic also shows the breakdown of
state-wide landings, value and price per pound for oysters, shrimp and
crabs for the past 10 years.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2013/07/louisiana_seafood_graphic_what.html
Once a villain, BP plays the victim in claims challenge
Press Register
George Talbot
July 14, 2013 at 8:33 AM
NEW ORLEANS - Will BP win its attempt to deny claims sought by businesses
in the wake of the 2010 Gulf oil spill?
Don't bet on it, according to legal experts.
http://blog.al.com/wire/2013/07/once_a_villain_bp_plays_the_vi.html#incart_river
US makes final pitch to Gulf oil spill judge to hit BP, others with
punitive damages
Houston Chronicle
BP's spread-the-blame strategy is evidence of a corporate culture at the
British oil giant that caused the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the U.S.
government said in a court filing Friday that is likely its final push to
encourage a federal judge to make the company subject to billions of
dollars in punitive damages.
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2013/07/12/us-makes-final-pitch-to-gulf-oil-spill-judge-to-hit-bp-others-with-punitive-damages/
Gulf oil spill settlement not paying enough, some claimants say
Houston Chronicle
While BP argues that businesses are reaping an unfair windfall from the
settlement it reached with victims of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill,
some businesses and individuals say they aren't getting enough money or any
money at all.
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2013/07/12/gulf-oil-spill-settlement-not-big-enough-some-claimants-say/
BP Gulf Spill Victims Challenge Economic-Loss Settlement
Bloomberg
By Laurel Brubaker Calkins and Margaret Cronin Fisk on July 12, 2013
BP Plc (BP/)'s $8.2 billion settlement of most private economic-damage
claims from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill is unfair and should be
rejected, victims opposed to the deal told a federal appeals court.
http://www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/549792?type=bloomberg
Governor OKs use of $429,000 in BP funds for Fairhope park improvements,
mayor says
Press Register
Marc D. Anderson
July 12, 2013 at 10:44 AM
FAIRHOPE, Alabama -- Nearly a half million dollars in leftover BP funds in
the city's coffers will be used for planned improvements at one of its most
popular children's park.
http://blog.al.com/live/2013/07/governor_oks_use_of_429000_in.html
State News
Site, apps help monitor air quality
Posted on July 12, 2013
Clarion Ledger Consumer Watch Blog
If you've spent any amount of time in a large city, you probably have
become very familiar with air quality alerts. Often, these alerts peak in
the summer, when oppressive heat and stagnant air combine to create
potential hazards in the atmosphere.
http://blogs.clarionledger.com/consumerwatch/2013/07/12/site-apps-help-monitor-air-quality/
Agencies collect and process fish at Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo
By STEVE MCCALL — Special to the Sun Herald
Behind all the ooohs and aaahs at area fishing tournaments, there is
serious scientific and environmental work and research going on.
At the recent Mississippi Deep Sea fishing Rodeo, numerous state agencies
collaborated to collect important data on the species of fish that were
caught during the rodeo. Data dealing with length, weight, age, gender of
the fish gives researchers and scientists great insight into the gulf coast
marine life.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/07/13/4794326/agencies-collect-and-process-fish.html
Crude-oil pipeline pushing through Jackson County wetlands
Sun Herald
By KAREN NELSON — klnelson@sunherald.com
JACKSON COUNTY -- Forty-one miles is a long way when it's heavy machinery
digging ditches deep and wide through the coastal terrain.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/07/13/4794895/crude-oil-pipeline-pushing-through.html
Company builds an AL-MS pipeline to Chevron refinery
WLOX
Work is underway to make sure Chevron has the crude oil it needs to run its
new 1 point 4 million dollar Pascagoula expansion. Chevron officials say
construction on the base oil project should wrap up around the end of year.
Meanwhile, a pipeline that spans two states is also being built by Plains
All American Pipeline.
http://www.wlox.com/story/22829879/company-builind-al-ms-pipeline
Pearl River: Treasured... and trashed
Effort underway to clean up Pearl
Clarion Ledger
On the Pearl River above Ross Barnett Reservoir, temporary camps dot the
shoreline and white sand beaches call to boaters who frequent them for
picnics, parties and a spot to swim and cool down in the summer heat.
Despite the heavy use, the beaches and islands are largely free of litter
and signs are in place reminding boaters to take their trash with them when
they leave.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20130714/COL0511/307140012/Pearl-River-Treasured-trashed?odyssey=mod|
newswell|text|Home|p
Participation in recycling program still lacking
Hattiesburg American
The story
In November 2011, the City of Hattiesburg entered into a three-year
contract with Waste Pro to collect recyclables from city residences.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/article/20130714/NEWS01/307140028/Participation-recycling-program-still-lacking
DMR looking for a firm to help with CIAP program
Sun Herald
By PAUL HAMPTON — jphampton@sunherald.com
The state Department of Marine Resources is looking for help in closing out
the Coastal Impact Assistance Program.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/07/12/4793850/dmr-looking-for-a-firm-to-help.html
Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve schedules cleanup
The Associated Press
July 13, 2013 at 4:30 PM
MOSS POINT, Mississippi -- The Grand Bay National Estuarine Research
Reserve needs help cleaning up ahead of a visit from marine educators from
across the country.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2013/07/grand_bay_national_estuarine_r_1.html#incart_river
USM professor working to preserve underwater forest in Gulf of Mexico
The Associated Press
July 15, 2013 at 7:24 AM
HATTIESBURG, Mississippi -- Divers have discovered an underwater forest in
the Gulf of Mexico about 10 miles off the coast of Mobile, Ala.
It's called the Bald Cyprus Forest. It was buried in 60 feet of water under
ocean sediments and protected in an oxygen free environment for more than
50,000 years, until Hurricane Katrina and hurricanes following.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2013/07/usm_professor_working_to_prese.html#incart_river
National News
Tough job ahead as Obama puts climate talk into action, sells ambitious
plan to a wary public
By Associated Press,
WASHINGTON — Frustrated by a recalcitrant Congress, President Barack Obama
has vowed to take climate change into his own hands. Now he has to deliver.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/tough-job-ahead-as-obama-puts-climate-talk-into-action-sells-ambitious-plan-to-a-wary-public/2013/07/15/f474a544-ed26-11e2-b46e-f15eec37b46c_story.html
Court Strikes Down EPA Delay on Biomass Power Plant Standard
Wall Street Journal
By TENNILLE TRACY
WASHINGTON—A federal appeals court on Friday put pressure on the
Environmental Protection Agency to move quickly on a rule that addresses
carbon-dioxide emissions from power plants that burn timber and
agricultural waste to generate electricity.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324879504578602760947700422.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_5
The week ahead: Battle over EPA nominee draws to a close
The Hill
By Zack Colman - 07/15/13 08:55 AM ET
Gina McCarthy, President Obama's pick to run the Environmental Protection
Agency, could see her long-awaited confirmation vote on the Senate floor
this week.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/310935-the-week-ahead-battle-over-epa-nominee-draws-to-a-close
Opinion
SUN HERALD | Editorial: Supervisors are right to oppose rigs near shore
Back in April, the Harrison County Board of Supervisors reiterated its
opposition to oil and gas drilling in the Mississippi Sound and within 12
miles south of the barrier islands.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/07/13/4793525/sun-herald-editorial-supervisors.html
PATRICK SULLIVAN: Shutting energy out is selling the Coast short
By PATRICK SULLIVAN — A Sun Herald Forum
Life is a series of choices. For our state and country, important energy
and economic policy questions persist in the public debate. Our options are
rather simple: we either produce energy where it is locally available --
and every place is local to someone -- or we rely totally on production
from elsewhere.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/07/13/4793518/patrick-sullivan-shutting-energy.html
MICHAEL NEWSOM: Don't expect to halt a pipeline in this deregulated
environment
Sun Herald
Unless you've been living under a boulder this past week, you've probably
heard about this little ol' oil pipeline running from Semmes, Ala.,
crossing under the Escatawpa River to Chevron's Pascagoula refinery.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/07/13/4793520/michael-newsom-dont-expect-to.html
Changes needed in MDEQ Permit Board process
Letter to the Editor - Meridian Star
The Environmental Permit Board at the Mississippi Department of
Environmental Quality is designed so that people, especially those who live
in counties without zoning, have a steep uphill battle opposing permits.
Project questions that should be answered by local planning, or by County
Supervisors, are mixed into a single vote meant only to cover compliance
with MDEQ regulations. Permit Board members regularly apologize for this
confusion, saying: " Sorry, but we are not a zoning board."
http://meridianstar.com/letters/x1614271017/Sunday-July-7-2013
BP is just having buyer's remorse on spill settlement: Jim Hood
Contributing Op-Ed columnist
July 14, 2013 at 6:35 AM
Along the Gulf Coast, we are all too familiar with BP's disingenuous
advertisements. Since the Deepwater Horizon disaster on April 20, 2010,
we've been subjected to BP's protestations that it is trying to "make
things right." Three years and thousands of ads later, nothing could be
further from the truth.
http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2013/07/bp_is_just_having_buyers_remor.html
Gill: BP fleece a done deal
Baton Rouge Advocate
By James Gill
New Orleans bureau
Anyone know a slick attorney? I need one to extract maximum moolah from BP
for losses suffered by Gill Enterprises Inc. as a result of the Macondo
well blowout.
http://theadvocate.com/columnists/6494935-55/bp-fleece-a-done-deal
Our Views: Don't waste BP funds
Baton Rouge Advocate
On the question of what coastal states should do with the windfall from BP
fines, Ben Raines has a modest proposal: Use some of the money to buy up
fragile wetlands.
http://theadvocate.com/news/opinion/6486992-123/our-views-dont-waste-bp
BONNY SCHUMAKER: The Gulf of Mexico: We must protect this natural resource
By BONNY SCHUMAKER — A Sun Herald Forum
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster made it clear that more effective
oversight of offshore industry is absolutely necessary.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/07/12/4793513/bonny-schumaker-the-gulf-of-mexico.html
