9/20/13
Oil Spill
Judge accepts Halliburton's $200,000 plea agreement for deleting data after
the BP oil spill; former employee faces individual charge
Mark Waller
The Times-Picayune
September 20, 2013 at 6:21 AM
U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo on Thursday accepted a plea
agreement requiring Halliburton Energy Services Inc. to pay a $200,000 fine
and serve three years probation in exchange for pleading guilty to computer
fraud after deleting data related to the 2010 BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2013/09/judge_accepts_halliburtons_200.html
Ex-Halliburton manager charged in Gulf spill probe
AP
NEW ORLEANS — A former Halliburton manager was charged Thursday with
destroying evidence following BP's 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a
case that coincides with a guilty plea to a related charge by the
Houston-based oilfield services company.
http://www.clarionledger.com/viewart/20130920/BIZ/309200010/Ex-Halliburton-manager-charged-Gulf-spill-probe
Former Halliburton Manager Charged in Gulf Spill Probe
Move Comes as Judge Accepts Plea Agreement From Oilfield-Services Company
Wall Street Journal
By TOM FOWLER
The Justice Department charged a former Halliburton Co. manager Thursday
with destroying evidence in the aftermath of BP PLC's 2010 Gulf of Mexico
oil spill.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324492604579085180890324954.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_5
New Hatchery to be built in downtown Pensacola
WEAR
We have new information about the location of a fish hatchery that will
soon be built in Pensacola. The hatchery will be next door to Nick's
Boathouse. This land will soon encompass 3 ponds and an indoor facility.
The hatchery, which will cost 20 million dollars will be paid for with
funds that the city secured from BP through the Natural Resource Damage
Assessment process.
http://www.weartv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/new-hatchery-built-downtown-pensacola-36213.shtml
BP: State can't order removal of anchors
By KEVIN McGILL — Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — BP has filed a federal lawsuit against Louisiana authorities
over an August order that the oil giant remove anchors that were placed in
the Gulf of Mexico following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/09/20/4966517/bp-state-cant-order-removal-of.html?sp-tk=D1593E3DFD3A5E4E6F1BFAB2CADF90340CCE8DD35989E6CFE1BD7AC61DF5447FB84CCFA687C6EB9361938069A27C0806BCDBF73A3EC219904631B4F00B45E427094891806802A90ED48A330CDF62BEC0675E8888F9EEF5D4E9EAD1ABFC62E765EDA2D328F13BE75D5D8F4371A0BB57133EDF9865600341FD1C8D72AB5D76E3B9611A852F42A24452DB78D66D2DD38F2B2914B5DC4288BD68CD30D3ECB7F94F8AFFE1B5B8
State
Miss. agencies ask lawmakers for $750M more for next fiscal year
Clarion Ledger
State agencies at this week's annual budget hearings asked to spend an
extra $750 million next year, down from last year's mostly unfulfilled
requests for $1.1 billion in extra spending.
…The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality was the only other
state agency to make a budget request Thursday, the final day of the
hearings that began Monday.
DEQ is seeking a $2 million budget increase. Executive Director Trudy
Fisher said her agency's budget request includes $900,000 to restore 12
vacant positions and $750,000 to continue Superfund cleanup of 12 large
contaminated sites that rank nationally as health threats.
Fisher said that since 2008 there has been a 25 percent reduction in DEQ's
general fund budget, amounting to a $3.5 million in loss.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20130920/NEWS01/309200032/Miss-agencies-ask-lawmakers-750M-more-next-fiscal-year
Tourism leaders say the litter must stop
WLOX
Trash is all over the interstate, down city streets and along the beach in
South Mississippi.
http://www.wlox.com/story/23480499/tourism-leaders-say-the-litter-must-stop
New EPA regulations could drive electricity costs sky high
WDAM
The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to release new regulations
on the building of new coal-fired power plants.
The CEO of South Mississippi Electric Power Association Jim Compton says
the new regulations will cause either a spike in electricity costs, or a
shortage of energy for South Mississippi.
http://www.wdam.com/story/23479717/new-epa-regulations-could-drive-electricity-costs-sky-high
Water advisory issued for Long Beach
LONG BEACH -- A water contact advisory has been issued for Long Beach from
Oak Gardens Avenue to Girard Avenue.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/09/19/4965989/around-south-mississippi.html
National
EPA Wants To Limit Greenhouse Gases From New Coal Power Plants
NPR
by ELIZABETH SHOGREN
September 20, 201312:01 AM
The Environmental Protection Agency's second stab at a proposal to set the
first-ever limits on greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants would
make it impossible for companies to build the kind of coal-fired plants
that have been the country's biggest source of electricity for decades.
http://www.npr.org/2013/09/20/223817507/epa-wants-to-limit-greenhouse-gases-from-new-coal-power-plants
White House to Press Curbs on Power-Plant Emissions
Proposal Would Help Move U.S. Toward Cleaner Energy Sources
Associated Press
WASHINGTON—The Obama administration will press ahead Friday with tough
requirements for new coal-fired power plants, moving to impose for the
first time strict limits on the pollution blamed for global warming.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323808204579086123486325350.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_6
Administration Presses Ahead With Limits on Emissions From Power Plants
NY Times
By MICHAEL D. SHEAR
WASHINGTON — A year after a plan by President Obama to limit greenhouse gas
emissions from new power plants set off angry opposition, the
administration will announce on Friday that it is not backing down from a
confrontation with the coal industry and will press ahead with enacting the
first federal carbon limits on the nation's power companies.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/us/politics/obama-administration-announces-limits-on-emissions-from-power-plants.html?ref=earth&pagewanted=print
Will coal survive the EPA's new carbon rules?
Washington Post
By Brad Plumer, Updated: September 19, 2013
On Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency is expected to propose
limits on carbon-dioxide emissions from all new power plants built in the
United States. It's the first big plank in the Obama administration's
second-term climate plan.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/19/will-coal-survive-the-epas-new-carbon-rules/?print=1
Coal in President Obama's climate crosshairs
Politico
By: Erica Martinson
September 19, 2013 10:42 PM EDT
The Obama administration is preparing to draw a red line against coal
pollution, with a proposal that for the first time would limit
climate-changing emissions from all future power plants.
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/coal-barack-obama-epa-greenhouse-gas-emissions-97104.html?hp=f3
Obama's coming climate crackdown
Politico
By: Andrew Restuccia
September 19, 2013 03:30 PM EDT
The Obama administration is about to take a major step forward on climate
change — a crucial piece of a long-term strategy to join other countries in
tackling the Earth's environmental woes, but one sure to fuel a furious GOP
counterattack in 2014.
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/epa-obama-carbon-climate-power-plants-97068.html?hp=l10
Legal, political battles await EPA's power plant emissions limits
The Hill
By Ben Geman - 09/20/13 06:40 AM ET
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will propose carbon emissions
limits for new power plants Friday, a pillar of the White House climate
agenda that's facing attacks from industry groups and Republicans who call
it an assault on the coal industry.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/323569-epa-moves-on-coal-plants-sparking-political-and-legal-battles
EPA's emission limits require coal plants adopt new tech
USA Today
Lawsuits are expected to challenge the Environmental Protection
Agency's proposal today to limit emissions from new power plants,
and the main reason is cutting-edge, anti-pollution technology.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/19/epa-limits-emissions-coal-power-plants-carbon-capture-technology/2838391/
Dakotas, Texas and Nevada sue EPA
By JAMES MacPHERSON, Associated Press
Updated 2:03 pm, Thursday, September 19, 2013
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Nevada are
suing the Environmental Protection Agency, alleging it has failed to
determine the states' compliance with a new federal clean air requirement
that limits sulfur dioxide emissions.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/texas/article/North-Dakota-leads-3-states-in-lawsuit-against-EPA-4827461.php
Opinion
SUN HERALD | Editorial: How would offshore drilling bring 'favorable
notice' to Coast tourism?
Having championed the creation of a single tourism agency for the entire
Coast, the Sun Herald certainly wants the Mississippi Gulf Coast Regional
Convention and Visitors Bureau to get off to a good start.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/09/19/4965615/sun-herald-editorial-how-would.html
Press Releases
EPA Announces First WaterSense-Labeled Product Available for Commercial
Kitchens
Pre-rinse spray valves will help restaurants save water, energy, and money
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized
the first WaterSense specification for a commercial kitchen product. EPA
estimates that approximately 51 billion gallons of water is used every year
to rinse dishes by almost one million American food service establishments.
Pre-rinse spray valves—which remove excess food waste from dishes prior to
dishwashing—are now eligible to earn the WaterSense label and help food
service establishments save water, energy, and money.
If every U.S. commercial food service establishment installed and used a
WaterSense-labeled pre-rinse spray valve, Americans could save more than 10
billion gallons of water and more than $225 million in water and energy
costs annually.
Like all WaterSense-labeled products, pre-rinse spray valves that earn the
WaterSense label must be independently certified for efficiency and
performance. Working in conjunction with industry stakeholders, EPA
specifies a maximum flow rate for WaterSense-labeled pre-rinse spray valves
of 1.28 gallons per minute, 20 percent less water than the federal
standard. To ensure that these fixtures will work well and meet the demands
of high-volume kitchens while using less water, EPA also includes spray
force performance criteria and a requirement for life cycle testing for the
products to earn the WaterSense label.
"Pre-rinse spray valves can account for nearly one-third of the water used
in a typical commercial kitchen," said Veronica Blette, chief of EPA's
WaterSense Branch. "Replacing just one of these fixtures with a
WaterSense-labeled model can save a typical restaurant more than 7,000
gallons of water per year—the amount of water needed to wash nearly 5,000
racks of dishes."
A restaurant that replaces just one pre-rinse spray valve with a
WaterSense-labeled model could recoup its investment in four to eight
months and save more than $115 per year on water and energy costs,
depending on how its water is heated. WaterSense-labeled pre-rinse spray
valves will be promoted by EPA's ENERGY STAR program as part of a suite of
energy-saving products and practices for the restaurant industry.
To develop the specification, WaterSense worked with a project team
associated with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
(ASME)/Canadian Standards Association (CSA) to evaluate pre-rinse
spray-valve performance and develop a meaningful test protocol. The
ASME/CSA project team was open to the public and comprised a wide variety
of interested parties, including manufacturers, utilities, testing
laboratories, representatives from ASTM International, and other
water-efficiency experts.
WaterSense, a partnership program sponsored by EPA, seeks to protect the
future of our nation's water supply by offering people a simple way to use
less water with water-efficient products, new homes, and services. Since
the program's inception in 2006, WaterSense has helped consumers save 487
billion gallons of water and $8.9 billion in water and energy bills. For
more information, visit www.epa.gov/watersense.
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