7/18/13
Oil Spill
Public weighs in on early restoration money from BP
WLOX
On Tuesday night 125 people attended the Mississippi Department of
Environmental Quality (MDEQ) meeting to hear about early restoration
projects and to provide input on early restoration following the BP Oil
spill in 2010.
http://www.wlox.com/story/22859277/gulf-restoration-meeting
Judge will hear BP's bid to halt claims payouts
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW ORLEANS -- A federal judge has scheduled a hearing Friday on BP's bid
to temporarily block settlement payments to Gulf Coast businesses and
residents who claim they lost money after the company's 2010 oil spill.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/07/17/4803422/judge-will-hear-bps-bid-to-halt.html
BP Requests Freeze on Spill Payments During Probe
Company Alleges Wrongdoing by Lawyers Handing Payments; Lawyers Dispute
This
Wall Street Journal
By TOM FOWLER
A federal judge in New Orleans will hear arguments Friday over BPPLC's
request to freeze all payments from its oil-spill settlement fund while
former FBI Director Louis Freeh investigates alleged wrongdoing by fund
lawyers.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324448104578611951513752568.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_5
Restore Act Money
WEAR
NORTHWEST FLORIDA -- More than three years after the Deepwater Horizon
oil spill, there are still many questions left to be answered.
http://www.weartv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/restore-act-money-33966.shtml
Post-spill, Gulf oil profits lure $16 billion more rigs by 2015
By David Wethe, Bloomberg News
HOUSTON — The deep-water Gulf of Mexico, where operations were curtailed
after the record 2010 BP oil spill, has rebounded to become the fastest
growing offshore market in the world.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-wp-blm-news-bc-gulf17-20130717,0,3303158.story
State News
MDEQ confirms chemical spill at Hattiesburg wood preservation plant
Hattiesburg American
According to Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Communications
Director Robbie Wilbur, a chemical spill occurred late last month at
Southern Wood Preserving, located at 627 Hood Rd. in the Palmer's Crossing
community.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/article/20130717/NEWS01/130717035/MDEQ-confirms-chemical-spill-Hattiesburg-wood-preservation-plant
County given waste grant
Bolivar Commercial
by Rory Doyle
07.17.13 - 02:34 pm
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality recently awarded
Bolivar County a solid waste assistance grant of $17,286 that will be used
for cleaning up illegal dumps throughout the county.
http://www.bolivarcom.com/view/full_story/23151070/article-County-given-waste-grant?instance=homesecondleft
Hammack has many roles as emergency director
Madison County Journal
On June 1, when hurricane season officially began, emergency management
agencies throughout the South began formulating checklists and preparing
for the unexpected.
http://onlinemadison.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=26906
Tupelo recognized for public works, public safety
Daily Journal
TUPELO – The city was recognized with two excellence awards at the
Mississippi Municipal League conference Wednesday for the its devotion to
public safety and green infrastructure.
http://djournal.com/news/tupelo-recognized-for-public-works-public-safety/
National News
Federal officials move to protect loggerhead turtles' ocean habitats
By ERIKA BOLSTAD — McClatchyWashington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- The federal government moved Wednesday to protect the ocean
habitat of loggerhead turtles, listed since 1978 in some places as an
endangered species because of threats from pollution, injury caused by
fishing gear and loss of nesting beaches.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/07/17/4803412/federal-officials-move-to-protect.html
Weeks Bay Foundation hopes to protect Alabama's underwater forest
Press Register
July 17, 2013 at 6:05 PM
The Weeks Bay Foundation has launched a campaign to permanently protect
Alabama's underwater forest by creating a marine protected zone around it.
http://blog.al.com/live/2013/07/weeks_bay_foundation_hopes_to.html#incart_river
Exxon secrecy over ruptured pipeline may mask national danger
Bloomberg
The 1940s-era construction process that ExxonMobil said caused an oil pipe
to rupture in Arkansas earlier this year is a common and well-documented
problem the pipeline industry has battled for decades—and one the industry
believes can be detected and controlled with appropriate vigilance.
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2013/07/17/exxon-secrecy-over-ruptured-pipeline-may-mask-national-danger/
Interior chief defends 'fracking' rules amid GOP, industry attacks
The Hill
By Ben Geman - 07/17/13 11:41 AM ET
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, facing fresh GOP criticism, on Wednesday
defended plans to impose new regulations on oil and gas "fracking" on
public lands.
http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/energyenvironment/311651-interior-chief-defends-fracking-rules-as-gop-attacks
Energy panel votes to rein in EPA rules
The Hill
By Ben Goad - 07/17/13 12:54 PM ET
The House Energy and Commerce Committee voted Wednesday to impose tough new
restrictions on the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to enact
costly new regulations.
http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/energyenvironment/311695-energy-panel-votes-to-rein-in-epas-regulating-power-
White House seeks carbon curbs through energy efficiency gains
The Hill
By Ben Geman - 07/18/13 05:24 AM ET
The Obama administration is taking several steps Thursday that officials
say will advance the energy efficiency portion of the White House climate
change plan unveiled in late June.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/311883-white-house-on-three-fronts-seeks-carbon-curbs-through-efficiency-gains
House GOP push repeal of government 'big thumb' biofuel program
The Hill
By Julian Hattem - 07/17/13 06:27 PM ET
A group of House Republicans are urging an end to the federal program that
calls for gasoline to be mixed with renewable biofuel like ethanol.
http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/energyenvironment/311825-house-gop-push-repeal-of-government-big-thumb-biofuel-program
EPA headquarters named for Bill Clinton
LA Times
By Michael A. Memoli
July 17, 2013, 1:12 p.m.
WASHINGTON – The Environmental Protection Agency's Washington headquarters
now carries the name of former President Clinton, who acknowledged
Wednesday that the honor could have gone instead to his vice president, Al
Gore, who is perhaps best known for his work on climate change.
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-epa-headquarters-bill-clinton-20130717,0,6235161.story
Green-Energy Mandates Find Improbable Allies
Wall Street Journal
Conservatives fighting against alternative-energy mandates—which they see
as unwarranted and costly market interference—are losing ground even in
some Republican-controlled states, where legislatures are standing behind
policies that force electric utilities to buy renewable energy.
Some of the most vocal support for the policies is coming from an unlikely
corner: farmers who see profit in rural renewable-energy projects.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324260204578584262604997312.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_5
Iowa governor expresses concern over proposed EPA rules
Published July 17, 2013
Associated Press
DES MOINES – Environmental groups pushing the federal government to take
over enforcement of Clean Water Act regulations in Iowa said Tuesday that
Gov. Terry Branstad is lobbying on behalf of agriculture groups, ignoring
the environmental damage being done to rivers and streams by manure spills
and farm runoff.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/07/17/iowa-governor-expresses-concern-over-proposed-epa-rules/print#ixzz2ZP8VlVIo
Opinion
Chaotic times for Mississippi Power's Kemper County plant
Clarion Ledger
Jeff Ayres
If the old adage that the journey is just as interesting as the destination
is true, then the start of operations of Mississippi Power's lignite-coal
power plant in Kemper County could be downright anticlimactic.
http://blogs.clarionledger.com/theprofitmargin/2013/07/17/chaotic-times-for-mississippi-powers-kemper-county-plant/
