8/6/13
Oil Spill
Treasury moves ahead with BP spill restoration rule
The Hill
By Ben Geman - 08/05/13 09:11 AM ET
The Treasury Department is getting ready to steer billions of dollars in
civil penalties from the 2010 BP oil spill to Gulf Coast states for
ecological and economic restoration.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/315469-treasury-moves-ahead-with-bp-spill-restoration-rule
Gulf oil spill effects endure
Group explains study of toxic chemicals in sperm whales
Pensacola News Journal
The sperm whale population in the Gulf of Mexico may be the most polluted
in the world, according to a researcher who has spent the past four years
studying the effects of the BP Oil Spill and the dispersants used to clean
it.
http://www.pnj.com/article/20130805/NEWS01/308050026/Gulf-oil-spill-effects-endure
BP cites new fraud allegations in spill settlement involving Mobile claim
office
The Associated Press
August 05, 2013 at 6:26 PM
NEW ORLEANS -- BP said Monday that it has uncovered new allegations of
fraud and conflicts of interest inside the settlement program that has
awarded billions of dollars to Gulf Coast businesses and residents for
damage from the company's 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2013/08/bp_cites_new_fraud_allegations.html#incart_river
BP presents evidence of fraudulent claims, demands temporary halt of claims
payments again
Mark Schleifstein
The Times-Picayune
August 06, 2013 at 12:33 AM
BP on Monday renewed its request for a federal judge to temporarily halt
the payment of millions of dollars of economic claims stemming from the
2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, charging it has found new evidence of
improper payment of claims by an employee at a Mobile, Ala., claims office
and of apparent conflicts of interest involving attorneys handling appeals
in the payment process.
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2013/08/bp_claims_evidence_of_fraudule.html
State
Air quality meeting set
Public input needed
DeSoto Times
By ROBERT LEE LONG
Published: Tuesday, August 6, 2013 1:05 AM CDT
HERNANDO — Members of the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the
Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality along with DeSoto County
officials are inviting the public to an air quality informational meeting
and reorganization of the DeSoto County Ozone Action Committee on Aug. 12
in the third floor meeting room of the DeSoto County Board of Supervisors
in the DeSoto County Administrative Building at Losher and Caffey Street in
Hernando.
http://www.desototimes.com/articles/2013/08/06/news/doc5200375e046f4116668764.txt
George County authorizes $1.3 million in low-interest loans for pellet mill
site work
Mississippi Press
April M. Havens
August 05, 2013 at 1:40 PM
LUCEDALE, Mississippi -- George County supervisors this morning signed off
on nearly $1.3 million in U.S. Department of Agriculture loans to pay for
land where a new $115 million wood pellet plant will go.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2013/08/george_county_authorizes_13_mi.html#incart_river
Port commissioner questions expenses in $35M contract
Sun Herald
By ANITA LEE — calee@sunherald.com
GULFPORT -- The state port is negotiating reductions in contract costs with
CH2M Hill, the global consulting and engineering firm that conceived
ambitious expansion plans unveiled in 2008 but since curtailed.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/08/05/4850791/port-commissioner-questions-expenses.html
PSC Commissioner Bentz a finalist for SMPDD director job
Sun Herald
By MICHAEL NEWSOM — mmnewsom@sunherald.com
Southern District Public Service Commissioner Leonard Bentz is among five
finalists for the Southern Mississippi Planning and Development District's
executive director job.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/08/05/4850788/psc-commissioner-bentz-a-finalist.html
Water woes continue to plague Byram
WLBT
Byram gets its water from the city of Jackson, but now some Byram residents
and city leaders believe the new city should have its own water department.
http://www.msnewsnow.com/story/23050854/byram-residents-and-leaders-ready-for-new-water
Region
MAWSS attorney says Plains Southcap not appropriately monitoring pipeline
construction
Press-Register
John Sharp
August 05, 2013 at 6:07 PM
MOBILE, Alabama – An attorney representing the Mobile Area Water and Sewer
System said Monday that the company installing the 45-mile crude oil
pipeline from Mobile County's Ten Mile facility to a Chevron refinery in
Pascagoula, Miss., might have violated terms of its permit at one of its
properties.
http://blog.al.com/live/2013/08/mawss_attorney_says_plains_sou.html#incart_river
Cleanup underway at derailment site in Louisiana
AP
LAWTELL, La. — About 100 homes remained evacuated Monday as officials
worked to clean up the site of a 26-car train derailment near the small
community of Lawtell, about 60 miles west of Baton Rouge.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/viewart/20130805/NEWS01/130805002/Cleanup-underway-derailment-site-Louisiana-
National
EPA relaxes deadline for gas storage tank standards
The Hill
By Julian Hattem - 08/05/13 01:00 PM ET
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is updating rules for the tanks
that companies use to store crude oil and natural gas before the fuel gets
shipped off in tankers and pipelines.
http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/energyenvironment/315533-epa-finalizes-relaxed-standards-for-gas-storage-tanks
U.S. Regulators Ask BP to Respond to Alleged Market Manipulation
Wall Street Journal
By Tennille Tracy
WASHINGTON--U.S. regulators ordered BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) on Monday to respond
to charges that it allegedly manipulated natural gas markets.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20130805-706416.html
Press releases
EPA Screens More Than 66,000 Contaminated Sites for Renewable Energy
Potential
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) updated
its RE-Powering Mapping and Screening Tool, which will now provide
preliminary screening results for renewable energy potential at 66,000, up
from 24,000, contaminated lands, landfills, and mine sites across the
country. The RE-Powering America's Land Initiative, started by EPA in 2008,
encourages development of renewable energy on potentially contaminated
land, landfills and mine sites when it is aligned with the community's
vision for the site.
"We see responsible renewable energy development on contaminated lands and
landfills as a win-win-win for the nation, local communities, and the
environment," said Mathy Stanislaus, assistant administrator for the Office
of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. "In President Obama's Climate Action
Plan, the administration set a goal to double renewable electricity
generation by 2020. By identifying the renewable energy potential of
contaminated sites across the country, these screening results are a good
step toward meeting national renewable energy goals in order to address
climate change, while also cleaning up and revitalizing contaminated lands
in our communities."
Pulling from EPA databases of potentially and formerly contaminated lands,
as well as partnering with state agencies from California, Hawaii, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, West Virginia, and Virginia, the
RE-Powering Initiative expanded the universe of sites from 24,000 to more
than 66,000 sites. Working in collaboration with the U.S. Department of
Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), RE-Powering developed
screening criteria for solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal potential at
various levels of development. The sites are tracked by EPA and selected
state agencies.
The updated screening provides insight into the significant potential for
renewable energy generation on contaminated lands and landfills nationwide.
For solar energy alone, EPA identified over 10,000 contaminated sites with
the potential to install a 300-kilowatt solar array or greater. Based on
mapped acreage, these sites could cumulatively host solar energy systems
that capture greater than 30 times more solar energy than all renewable
energy systems operating in the United States today.
The RE-Powering Initiative supports the transformation of liabilities into
assets for surrounding communities. Since RE-Powering's inception, more
than 70 renewable energy projects have been installed on contaminated lands
or landfills. These early projects represent just over 200 MW of installed
capacity, which could power approximately 30,000 homes, and provide a
foundation for future development as demonstrations of the latest
technologies in both renewable energy and remediation design.
In 2013, RE-Powering America's Land Initiative was recognized as one of the
Top 25 Innovations in American Government by Harvard University. This award
program is one of the nation's most prestigious and highlights exemplary
models of government innovation and efforts to address the nation's most
pressing public concerns.
More information on the RE-Powering Mapper:
http://www.epa.gov/renewableenergyland/rd_mapping_tool.htm
More information on the RE-Powering America's Land Initiative:
http://www.epa.gov/renewableenergyland
EPA Updates Oil and Gas Standards for Storage Tanks
WASHINGTON – Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued
updates to its April 2012 oil and natural gas standards for storage tanks,
which allow responsible oil and natural gas production, while ensuring air
emissions are reduced as quickly as possible. The updates will phase in
emission control deadlines, starting with higher-emitting tanks first, and
will provide the time needed to ramp up the production and installation of
controls. EPA is making the changes based on information received after the
2012 standards were issued that shows more storage tanks will come online
than the agency originally estimated.
Storage tanks that emit 6 or more tons of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
a year must reduce emissions by 95 percent. Today's rule establishes two
emission control deadlines:
• tanks that come online after April 12, 2013 are likely to have higher
emissions and must control VOC emissions within 60 days or by April 15,
2014, whichever is later; and
• tanks that came online before April 12, 2013 are likely to have lower
emissions and must control VOC emissions by April 15, 2015.
The updated standards also establish an alternative emissions limit that
would allow owners/operators to remove controls from tanks if they can
demonstrate that the tanks emit less than 4 tons per year of VOC emissions
without controls. In addition, the rule streamlines compliance and
monitoring requirements for tanks that have already installed controls.
The oil and natural gas industry uses tanks for temporary storage of crude
oil, condensate and other liquids, before those liquids are moved to a
pipeline, sold or moved for disposal. These storage tanks can be sources of
emissions of ozone-forming VOCs, along with several toxic air pollutants,
including benzene. Today's final action does not affect the April 2012
standards for capturing natural gas from hydraulically fractured wells.
Today's updates respond to petitions for reconsideration of the 2012 New
Source Performance Standards for Oil and Natural Gas Production. Those
cost-effective standards rely on proven technologies and best practices to
reduce emissions of ozone-forming VOCs and air toxics, including benzene
and hexane. Exposure to ozone is linked a variety of health effects,
including aggravated asthma, reduced lung function and increased
susceptibility to respiratory infections, in addition to increased risk of
premature death from heart or lung disease. Benzene and hexane are air
toxics, which can cause cancer and other serious health effects.
More information: http://www.epa.gov/airquality/oilandgas/actions.html
