8.16.2013
Oil Spill
N.O. firm challenges hold on processing its BP claims
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN — Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS -- A New Orleans law firm asked a federal judge Thursday to
lift a hold on processing BP oil spill claims for hundreds of its clients
while former FBI Director Louis Freeh investigates allegations of
misconduct by an attorney who referred a client to the firm.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/08/15/4877943/no-firm-challenges-hold-on-processing.html
In unusual catch, Gulf of Mexico researchers find Greenland shark near
Deepwater Horizon
The Associated Press
August 16, 2013 at 2:19 AM
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State University researchers have made an
unusual catch in the Gulf of Mexico: a cold-water shark typically found in
Arctic waters.
http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2013/08/gulf_of_mexico_researcher_find.html
Commissioner: Use RESTORE money for water, sewer tie-ins and stormwater
drainage
By MATTHEW BEATON | The News Herald
Published: Wednesday, August 14, 2013 at 22:34 PM.
PANAMA CITY — County Commissioner Mike Thomas stole the show at a meeting
Wednesday focused on spending RESTORE Act money on projects in the St.
Andrew and St. Joseph Bay Watershed.
http://www.newsherald.com/news/government/commissioner-use-restore-money-for-water-sewer-tie-ins-and-stormwater-drainage-1.187081
National
EPA chief promises better relationship with Iowa farmers
Des Moines Register
The government's top environmental official pledged to build trust with
farmers in Iowa and elsewhere who have been roundly critical of federal
regulation.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20130815/NEWS/130815016/1056/news05?nclick_check=1
Mulch Misstep Leads To Row in Oklahoma
A Program that Promised to Recycle Yard Waste but Instead Burned It
Triggers a Political Flap in Tulsa
Wall Street Journal
A Tulsa, Okla., program that promised to recycle yard waste into mulch—and
charged residents extra for the service—has been burning it all instead,
triggering a political flap in the state's second largest city.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323455104579015080745783124.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_5
EPA turns to pesticides to protect bees from colony decline
The Hill
By Julian Hattem - 08/15/13 03:45 PM ET
Federal officials have developed new labels to warn users that some
pesticides may kill honeybees.
http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/energyenvironment/317299-epa-unveils-labels-for-pesticides-that-kill-bees-
EPA looks to revise gas mileage rules
USA Today
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to change the way it
allows automakers to group similar vehicles into "families" for gas
mileage ratings, a top official told USA TODAY Thursday.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2013/08/15/epa-gas-mileage-mpg-change/2662355/
Opinion
Ethanol quotas pump money from your pocket: Our view
USA Today
When members of Congress decided in 2007 to require that Americans
put 36 billion gallons of ethanol in their gas tanks annually by
2022, they must have thought there was an award for bad public
policy.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/08/15/ethanol-mandate-energy-editorials-debates/2663215/
Press releases
New Pesticide Labels Will Better Protect Bees and Other Pollinators
WASHINGTON – In an ongoing effort to protect bees and other pollinators,
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed new pesticide
labels that prohibit use of some neonicotinoid pesticide products where
bees are present.
"Multiple factors play a role in bee colony declines, including pesticides.
The Environmental Protection Agency is taking action to protect bees from
pesticide exposure and these label changes will further our efforts," said
Jim Jones, assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and
Pollution Prevention.
The new labels will have a bee advisory box and icon with information on
routes of exposure and spray drift precautions. Today's announcement
affects products containing the neonicotinoids imidacloprid, dinotefuran,
clothianidin and thiamethoxam. The EPA will work with pesticide
manufacturers to change labels so that they will meet the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) safety standard.
In May, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and EPA released a
comprehensive scientific report on honey bee health, showing scientific
consensus that there are a complex set of stressors associated with honey
bee declines, including loss of habitat, parasites and disease, genetics,
poor nutrition and pesticide exposure.
The agency continues to work with beekeepers, growers, pesticide
applicators, pesticide and seed companies, and federal and state agencies
to reduce pesticide drift dust and advance best management practices. The
EPA recently released new enforcement guidance to federal, state and tribal
enforcement officials to enhance investigations of beekill incidents.
More on the EPA's label changes and pollinator protection efforts:
http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/ecosystem/pollinator/index.html
View the infographic on EPA's new bee advisory box:
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/ecosystem/pollinator/bee-label-info-graphic.pdf
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