7/24/13
Oil Spill
Rig owner loses round in oil spill document fight
AP
Transocean Deepwater Drilling Corp. has lost a round in its fight to avoid
handing over documents to a government board investigating the 2010
Deepwater Horizon explosion.
http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/326575/81/Rig-owner-loses-round-in-oil-spill-document-fight
State News
Creosote contamination almost contained at former plant site
by Associated Press
Published: July 23,2013
PICAYUNE — Soil on the property, contaminated by creosote where wood was
treated at the old Picayune Wood Treating plant from the 1940s to the late
1990s, is in the final states of being completely contained.
A Superfund open house was hosted recently by the Environmental Protection
Agency and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
http://msbusiness.com/blog/2013/07/23/cresotote-contamination-almost-contained-at-former-plant-site/
Dupont considers sale, spin-off of performance chemicals
WLOX
Dupont executives announced Tuesday they're considering either selling or
spinning off their performance chemicals segment. That means the Dupont
flag may not be flying at the Delisle titanium dioxide facility for much
longer.
http://www.wlox.com/story/22916340/dupont-considers-sale-spin-off-of-delisle-titanium-dioxide-facility
Pascagoula, Corps of Engineers partner to study drainage problems
Mississippi Press
April M. Havens
July 23, 2013 at 3:15 PM
PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- Pascagoula will partner with the Army Corps of
Engineers to investigate the causes of major drainage issues across the
city and to come up with a game plan to alleviate them, city Planning,
Inspections and Engineering Director Jaci Turner said today.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2013/07/pascagoula_corps_of_engineers.html#incart_river
MDWFP helping landowners deal with wild hogs
The Associated Press
JACKSON, MISS. — Mississippi wildlife officials say wild hogs are now in
more than half the counties of the state, tearing up crops and destroying
other kinds of vegetation.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/07/24/4817824/mdwfp-helping-landowners-deal.html
Barnett Reservoir considering new fees
WLBT
The Pearl River Valley Water Supply District is considering user fees for
boaters, hunters and campers at the Ross Barnett Reservoir.
http://www.msnewsnow.com/story/22915189/barnett-reservoir-considering-new-fees
National News
'08 smog standard upheld
Miss., others wanted to see it reduced
AP
WASHINGTON — A federal court on Tuesday upheld a 2008 air pollution
standard the Obama administration vowed to strengthen, but later reversed
itself and kept in place.
http://www.clarionledger.com/viewart/20130724/NEWS01/307240018/-08-smog-standard-upheld
Fire breaks out on evacuated Gulf gas well
AP
NEW ORLEANS — An out-of-control natural gas well off the Louisiana coast
has caught fire, hours after a blowout that prompted the evacuation of 44
workers.
http://www.clarionledger.com/viewart/20130724/NEWS/130724001/Fire-breaks-out-evacuated-Gulf-gas-well-
Coastal areas want their fair share of energy royalties
Obama administration won't support bipartisan legislation
Clarion Ledger
WASHINGTON — Sens. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
slammed the Obama administration Tuesday for opposing their bipartisan
legislation that would steer more royalties from energy production on
federal lands to coastal states.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20130724/BIZ/307240020/Coastal-areas-want-their-fair-share-energy-royalties
Mobile County Commission seeks greater oversight on oil pipeline issue
Press Register
Michael Dumas
July 23, 2013 at 5:49 PM
MOBILE, Alabama – Public sentiment against proposed oil projects throughout
the county continued at the Mobile County Commission's regular meeting on
Tuesday, July 23.
http://blog.al.com/live/2013/07/mobile_county_commission_seeks.html#incart_river
Senior House Republican readies EPA power plant regs bill
The Hill
By Zack Colman - 07/23/13 05:20 PM ET
Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) told The Hill he'll soon roll out legislation to
restrict the Environmental Protection Agency's reach over greenhouse gas
emissions from power plants.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/312975-senior-house-republican-readies-epa-power-plant-regs-bill
Louisiana Agency to Sue Energy Companies for Wetland Damage
NY Times
By JOHN SCHWARTZ
Louisiana officials will file a lawsuit on Wednesday against dozens of
energy companies, hoping that the courts will force them to pay for decades
of damage to fragile coastal wetlands that help buffer the effects of
hurricanes on the region.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/25/us/louisiana-agency-to-sue-energy-companies-for-wetland-damage.html?ref=earth&pagewanted=print
Opinion
BP settlement prospects may be dicey for local governments
Clarion Ledger
Sid Salter
In April, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood appointed his predecessor
Mike Moore and Ridgeland attorney Billy Quin as outside counsels to handle
the state's litigation against BP over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20130724/OPINION/307240013/BP-settlement-prospects-may-dicey-local-governments
Press Releases
EPA Reduces Regulatory Burden for Industrial Facilities Using Solvent Wipes
Common-sense exclusion will save industry up to $27.8 million per year
WASHINGTON - Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) modified
the hazardous waste management regulations under the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act (RCRA) to conditionally exclude solvent-contaminated wipes
from hazardous waste regulations provided that businesses clean or dispose
of them properly. The rule is based on EPA's final risk analysis, which
was peer reviewed in 2008 and published for public comment in 2009, that
concluded wipes contaminated with certain hazardous solvents do not pose
significant risk to human health and the environment when managed properly.
EPA estimates that the final rule will result in a net savings of between
$21.7 million and $27.8 million per year.
Wipes are used in conjunction with solvents for cleaning and other purposes
by tens of thousands of facilities in numerous industrial sectors, such as
printers, automobile repair shops and manufacturers of automobiles,
electronics, furniture and chemicals.
"Today's rule uses the latest science to provide a regulatory framework for
managing solvent-contaminated wipes that is appropriate to the level of
risk posed by these materials," said Mathy Stanislaus, assistant
administrator for EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. "I've
heard directly from stakeholders about the benefits of this rule and the
need to finalize it. The rule reduces costs for thousands of businesses,
many of which are small businesses, while maintaining protection of human
health and the environment."
Today's final rule excludes wipes that are contaminated with solvents
listed as hazardous wastes under RCRA that are cleaned or disposed of
properly. To be excluded, solvent-contaminated wipes must be managed in
closed, labeled containers and cannot contain free liquids when sent for
cleaning or disposal. Additionally, facilities that generate
solvent-contaminated wipes must comply with certain recordkeeping
requirements and may not accumulate wipes for longer than 180 days.
EPA estimates that the final rule will result in a net savings of $18
million per year in avoided regulatory costs and between $3.7 million and
$9.9 million per year in other expected benefits, including pollution
prevention, waste minimization and fire prevention benefits.
Today's rule is consistent with President Obama's Executive Order 13563,
Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review, which charges federal agencies
to monitor regulatory effectiveness and to help make agency regulatory
programs more effective or less burdensome in achieving the regulatory
objectives.
EPA first proposed modified regulations for solvent-contaminated wipes on
November 20, 2003, and published a revised risk assessment for public
comment on October 27, 2009. The docket for this rulemaking is
EPA-HQ-RCRA-2003-0004 and can be accessed at http://www.regulations.gov
once the final rule is published.
More information about this rulemaking:
http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/wastetypes/wasteid/solvents/wipes.htm
