Oil Spill
Coast Guard Asks for Public's Help in Finding Tar Balls
MPB
The Coast Guard is asking for the public's help in reporting any tar balls
or oil they may see on Mississippi coast beaches and barrier islands.
Officials say that only small numbers of tar balls from the BP oil spill
are being found now, but they want to make sure the public knows what to do
if they see any.
http://mpbonline.org/News/article/coast_guard_begins_tar_ball_removal_on_miss._gulf_coast
BP ordered to pay claims adminstrator $130 million, but magistrate
acknowledges 'legitimate concerns' (updated)
The Associated Press
August 07, 2013 at 2:07 PM
(Embedded image moved to file: pic27088.jpg) NEW ORLEANS -- A federal
magistrate on Wednesday ordered BP to pay more than $130 million in fees to
the court-supervised administrator of its multibillion-dollar settlement
with Gulf Coast businesses and residents after the company's 2010 oil
spill.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2013/08/bp_ordered_to_pay_claims_admin.html#incart_river
State
Recycling center gets federal grant
Grenada Star
8/6/2013
Grenada's new recycling business will receive a large, federal grant to
grow its operation.
http://www.grenadastar.com/contentitem/349639/1218/recycling-center-gets-federal-grant
Leonard Bentz to resign from Public Service Commission to head planning
district
The Associated Press
August 07, 2013 at 7:55 PM
JACKSON, Mississippi -- Leonard Bentz is leaving the state Public Service
Commission to become executive of the South Mississippi Planning and
Development District.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2013/08/leonard_bentz_to_resign_from_p.html#incart_river
MMC Materials fueling trucks with natural gas
MBJ
by Wally Northway
Published: August 2,2013
The Ridgeland-based Ready Mix Concrete and construction materials provider
announced last week the successful conversion of a dozen mixer trucks at
its 220 Plant location in Jackson to burn natural gas.
http://msbusiness.com/blog/2013/08/02/mmc-materials-fueling-trucks-with-natural-gas/
National
Officials Tighten Crude-Shipping Standards
Wall Street Journal
By BETSY MORRIS and RUSSELL GOLD
The Federal Railroad Administration plans to start asking shipping
companies to supply testing data they use to classify their crude-oil
shipments, saying it is concerned that some shipments are being
transported in tank cars that aren't safe enough.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323838204578654463632065372.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_5
Bid to Repeal Ethanol Mandate Seen Diluted by EPA Change
Bloomberg
By Laura Litvan - Aug 8, 2013
Corn ethanol producers say a pledge by U.S. regulators to lower the level
of renewable fuel use required next year may deflate a well-funded oil
industry effort aimed at persuading Congress to repeal the mandate.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-08/bid-to-repeal-ethanol-mandate-seen-diluted-by-epa-change.html
Press releases
Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council to Meet on August 28, 2013
The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (Council) will meet on
Wednesday, August 28, 2013, at 1:00 p.m. CDT to vote on the Initial
Comprehensive Plan: Restoring the Gulf Coast's Ecosystem and Economy
(Plan). The public is invited to attend the Council Meeting.
The meeting will take place at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, 601 Loyola Ave, New
Orleans, Louisiana. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, Chair of the
Council, will preside over the meeting, and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
will be in attendance as a Council member and host of the meeting. Council
representatives from the other Gulf States and participating federal
agencies will be in attendance.
Meeting materials, including the meeting agenda, the Plan, the "Response to
Public Comments," and a Programmatic Environmental Assessment, will be
available beginning August 21, 2013 on the Council's website:
http://www.restorethegulf.gov/.
In addition to voting on the Plan, the Council will hear from some of its
key restoration partners including representatives from the Deepwater
Horizon Natural Resource Damage Trustees, the National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
RESTORE Science Program about their Gulf restoration efforts.
The Draft Plan and the accompanying Draft Programmatic Environmental
Assessment were made available for public comment on May 23, 2013, and
comments were accepted through July 8, 2013. In June, the Council held
public engagement sessions in each of the five impacted Gulf States to
ensure the public had an opportunity to submit input on the Draft Plan and
the Council's future restoration planning efforts. In addition, the Council
has hosted several Tribal engagement sessions including one on the Draft
Plan in June.
The Council received more than 41,000 comments by mail, online and during
the engagement meetings. The Plan to be voted on in New Orleans
incorporates changes made in response to these comments. The public will
have the opportunity to offer comments at the August 28, 2013 meeting on
future Council actions.
For more information about the upcoming meeting, please contact the Council
at RestoreCouncil@doc.gov.
