8.23.13
Oil Spill
Judge: Phase 2 of oil spill trial should take 16 days
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW ORLEANS -- A federal judge said he expects the second phase of a trial
over BP's 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to last 16 days.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/08/22/4895100/judge-phase-2-of-oil-spill-trial.html
Bense tapped to lead oil spill endowment
Tallahassee Democrat
Senate President Don Gaetz has appointed former state House Speaker Allan
Bense to a five-member board that will manage the endowment set up to
manage money that may flow to the coastal Panhandle and Big Bend in the
wake of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.
http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20130822/POLITICSPOLICY05/130822018/Bense-tapped-lead-oil-spill-endowment?nclick_check=1
Analyst: Wetlands plan doesn't have enough money
Daily Comet
Jean-Paul Arguello
Published: Thursday, August 22, 2013 at 9:24 p.m.
The 50-year master plan the Legislature approved last year to restore
wetlands has a $50 billion budget, but that isn't enough according to a
financial analyst.
http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20130822/ARTICLES/130829832/1320?Title=Analyst-Wetlands-plan-doesn-8217-t-have-enough-money-
BP argues it's being bilked in spill claims
The Hill
By Zack Colman - 08/23/13 05:30 AM ET
BP has launched a public relations offensive to argue it is being bilked
for fraudulent damages related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/318375-bp-pushes-back-at-gulf-oil-spill-settlement
BP spill claims deadline may slip by year or more
Reuters
LONDON, Aug 23 (Reuters) - The April 2014 deadline for compensation claims
against BP over its U.S. oil spill is almost certain to be extended, say
both side of the legal settlement that governs payouts, possibly into 2015.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/23/hold-bp-spill-deadline-idUSL6N0GN2CH20130823
State
Utility Authority closing out paperwork on state funding
By Alexandra Hedrick
The Picayune Item
CARRIERE — The Pearl River County Utility Authority Board of Directors
started the process of closing out paperwork with the Mississippi
Department of Environmental Quality for the $55 million allocated to them
in 2006.
http://picayuneitem.com/local/x865760189/Utility-Authority-closing-out-paperwork-on-state-funding/?state=taberU
Jackson water, sewer hike proposal detailed
Mayor's plan would boost rates 29%, 107%, respectively
Clarion Ledger
Mayor Chokwe Lumumba told the Jackson City Council it is "imperative" that
the city raise water and sewer rates this year, as council members pored
over the proposal on day one of budget hearings.
The administration for the first time Thursday released the specifics of
the proposed hikes to the city's water and sewer rates, which the
administration says are necessary to meet its bond obligations and position
itself to tackle a $400 million consent decree from the Environmental
Protection Agency.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20130823/NEWS01/308230017/Jackson-water-sewer-hike-proposal-detailed
MDEQ issues water-contact advisory for east Gulfport beach
The Associated Press
August 22, 2013 at 4:05 PM
GULFPORT, Mississippi -- State environmental officials have issued a
water-contact advisory for a stretch of beach along Mississippi Sound in
Harrison County.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2013/08/mdeq_issues_water-contact_advi.html#incart_river
Advisory issued for Gulfport
Sun Herald
GULFPORT -- State environmental officials have issued a water-contact
advisory for a stretch of beach in Harrison County.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/08/22/4895087/around-south-mississippi.html
Regional
Plains Southcap asks federal judge to order Semmes to stop blocking oil
pipeline construction
Press-Register
Brendan Kirby
August 22, 2013 at 6:08 PM
MOBILE, Alabama – The company building a controversial oil pipeline in
Mobile County asked a federal judge Thursday to stop Semmes from blocking
the project, but the mayor said the filing was filled with "garbage."
Chief U.S. District Judge William Steele set an Aug. 29 hearing on the
matter.
http://blog.al.com/live/2013/08/plains_southcap_asks_federal_j.html#incart_river
National
Senators tell EPA not to force farmers to comply with spill rules
The Hill
By Ramsey Cox - 08/22/13 10:21 AM ET
Sens. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) demanded that the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) not retroactively require farmers to
comply with spill regulations.
http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/318227-senators-tell-epa-not-to-force-farmers-to-comply-with-spill-rules
Daryl Hannah, activists press White House on 'fracking' rule
The Hill
By Ben Geman - 08/22/13 11:40 AM ET
Actress Daryl Hannah and other "fracking" opponents will protest President
Obama's oil and gas policies just outside the White House on Thursday.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/318257-daryl-hannah-activists-press-white-house-on-fracking-rule
Pro- and anti-fracking groups plan show for Obama
Associated Press
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — Supporters and opponents of fracking for natural gas
are gathering in Binghamton to put on a show for President Obama when his
tour bus rolls in.
http://online.wsj.com/article/AP012624e83e14411f8245b6c04e96e5aa.html
Opinion
SUN HERALD | Editorial: DMR needs to recoup those misspent millions
Mississippi Department of Marine Resources Executive Director Jamie Miller
is asking the state Legislature for hundreds of thousands of additional tax
dollars. But until Miller and state Auditor Stacey Pickering recover
millions of dollars the DMR has misspent in recent years, the agency should
not receive additional taxpayer funding.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/08/22/4894552/sun-herald-editorial-dmr-needs.html
BP works toward culture of safety after 2010 oil spill
Written by
C.T. Carley
MSU professor emeritus
After an accident-marred decade, BP is no longer "beyond petroleum." It is
now a smaller and vastly better managed company than the one Mississippian
Bob Dudley took over when he became BP's chief executive officer in the
aftermath of the disastrous Deepwater Horizon oil spill three years ago.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/article/20130823/OPINION02/308230001/BP-works-toward-culture-safety-after-2010-oil-spill
