10.28.2013
State
Natchez Teams for Recycling Grants
The Associated Press
NATCHEZ, MISS. ? Natchez is partnering with Brookhaven and possibly another
local government to apply for a grant to start a regional recycling
initiative.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/10/28/5064483/natchez-teams-for-recycling-grants.html
Brownfields meetings set in Pascagoula
Sun Herald
PASCAGOULA -- The city plans a brownfields Public Outreach meeting Monday
at the Pascagoula Senior Center at 5 p.m. to inform residents of the
brownfields grant the city has been awarded, and to solicit feedback on
possible sites to include in the brownfields redevelopment project.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/10/24/5058189/around-south-mississippi.html?sp-tk=07A9CBDEF6837F55E91F1E2E698386A045D3FD536D4BECE9D5CEC4FE07A3B2568DF15BAAFDC6848A836FADFA9A586400F72FDE297E595920DDB80B3FABD338B998C6306F4C4A35633D5E041C9384010E61ED9586A4943A4DD0344CF91BCE5D8DE62519E2012EA1C929040444682E0299B17E1038549CAB8031B14349F2219E46B1D4DFDF99F3FC6771469F9308DB19CB65B62AC0891FA6D5AE2792588E15CD3CB1EB58F8
Waterworks: Lagoons are Columbus' ace in the hole
Commercial Dispatch
October 26, 2013 11:27:16 PM
Nathan Gregory - ngregory@cdispatch.com
■ EDITORS NOTE: There are few infrastructure systems as critical to a
community's health and prosperity as a city's water supply. Beginning
today, the Dispatch takes a closer look at three critical elements in that
system in a three-part series that begins with a look at the wastewater
system.
The Reynolds R. Ridgley Wastewater Treatment Plant in Columbus has the
capacity to treat 10 million gallons of wastewater a day. It typically sees
6-8 million gallons on a daily basis.
http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=28264
Pearl River lake meeting set for Tuesday
By Jennifer Lenain
The Picayune Item
PICAYUNE ? The Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District
will host a public meeting Tuesday evening at Margaret Reed Crosby Memorial
Library to discuss plans to alleviate flooding and create a lake in the
Jackson metropolitan area.
http://picayuneitem.com/local/x134990200/Pearl-River-lake-meeting-set-for-Tuesday/?state=taberU
Curbside recycling getting underway in Picayune
By Jennifer Lenain
The Picayune Item
PICAYUNE ? City-wide curbside recycling is set to begin the second week of
November.
http://picayuneitem.com/local/x252037244/Curbside-recycling-getting-underway-in-Picayune
Drug Enforcement Encourages Safe Disposal of Unused Prescriptions
MPB
The number of overdose deaths from prescription drugs in Mississippi has
grown ten-fold since 1990. That's according to the Mississippi Department
of Health.
http://mpbonline.org/News/article/drug_enforcement_encourages_safe_disposal_of_unused_prescriptions
Mississippi auditor seeks secret hearing in Sun Herald's attempt to get DMR
records
Sun Herald
By PAUL HAMPTON ? jphampton@sunherald.com
GULFPORT -- The State Auditor's Office wants a secret hearing on its
attempt to seal records from the Department of Marine Resources
investigation.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/10/25/5060268/state-auditor-seeks-secret-hearing.html?sp-tk=C1094B02EE2B87CE885F624E9FD7384A0352EB96B61B802BF5A8692AFD2DE265121754BD1A46DC978B379CAC89A0C8BBC84FDB83993215BAA4D44348259BF9F24E32D6BCB2500B2BC27FAE869AFE4058736AB74541A9E4B70209AD0C0790A375ADDF29A4D2CDD9691DBA4DE65ADE0977B42F8B59B035D51B21D20FC7AF216E7B2A59A7525EFCD69B8B75BD7ECD1AC4C6057488E6ED188A83B54E6B91377B7223E49637F4
People on the Move: Ducks Unlimited
Clarion Ledger
Tom Moorman has been selected to serve as director of operations for Ducks
Unlimited's Southern Region. Moorman will oversee DU's conservation
delivery in 13 states. He was the leader of DU's Gulf Coast Oil Spill
Response Team.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20131027/BIZ/310270048/People-Move-Ducks-Unlimited?nclick_check=1
Regional
Eco laws broken repeatedly by businesses, government agencies in SC
The State
By SAMMY FRETWELL ? sfretwell@thestate.com
South Carolina's effort to enforce environmental laws hasn't stopped
companies and government agencies from repeatedly breaking rules to protect
the air, land and water during the past two decades.
http://www.thestate.com/2013/10/26/3061455/eco-laws-broken-repeatedly-by.html
National
Coal advocates to storm Capitol Hill
The Hill
By Laura Barron-Lopez - 10/25/13 11:31 AM ET
Coal executives and miners will storm the Capitol next week to put pressure
on Congress and the White House over regulatory policies that they say are
killing jobs.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/330621-coal-advocates-to-storm-capitol-hill
Dems tell White House to speed up fracking guidance
The Hill
By Julian Hattem - 10/25/13 01:24 PM ET
House Democrats want the Obama administration to finalize tough guidance
for hydraulic fracturing operations, also known as fracking, that use
diesel to develop oil and natural-gas resources.
http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/pending-regs/330659-dems-tell-white-house-to-speed-up-fracking-guidance
Businesses flock to White House ahead of biofuel rule
The Hill
By Julian Hattem - 10/25/13 03:35 PM ET
Officials at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) have been busy
meeting with chemical and energy companies in recent days, ahead of the
expected release of new biofuel standards.
http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/energyenvironment/330695-businesses-flock-to-white-house-ahead-of-biofuel-rule-
Oil industry says EPA may need to go further to reduce ethanol requirements
Des Moines Register
Despite growing evidence that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will
reduce the amount of renewable fuels that must be blended into the
country's motor fuel supply in 2014, the petroleum industry warned Thursday
the agency may not go far enough to give refiners "more breathing room."
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20131024/BUSINESS01/131024029/Oil-industry-says-EPA-may-need-to-go-further-to-reduce-ethanol-requirements?nclick_check=1
Energy Boom Puts Wells In America's Backyards
Wall Street Journal
By
RUSSELL GOLD and
TOM MCGINTY
Oct. 25, 2013 11:09 p.m. ET
Over the summer, something sprang up in the view from Dorsey Johnson's back
deck north of Denver, where she watches sunsets over Colorado's front
range.
It was a noisy, towering rig, drilling a new oil well.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB20001424052702303672404579149432365326304
Polls show energy doesn't spark Americans' interest
Politico
By: Darren Goode
October 28, 2013 05:03 AM EDT
The U.S. is a rising energy power with soaring oil and gas production and
lots of big decisions to make about pipelines, fracking, the future of wind
and solar power, and how to tackle climate change.
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/polls-show-energy-doesnt-spark-americans-interest-98904.html?hp=r5
Scientists dig for fossils in LA a century later
By ALICIA CHANG ? AP Science Writer
LOS ANGELES ? Surrounded by a gooey graveyard of prehistoric beasts, a
small crew diligently wades through a backlog of fossil finds from a
century of excavation at the La Brea Tar Pits in the heart of Los Angeles.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/10/28/5064331/scientists-dig-for-fossils-in.html
If Only Hunters Could Sell Venison
Could loosening rules on deer meat help combat a suburban scourge?
Wall Street Journal
By
JIM STERBA
Oct. 18, 2013 8:49 p.m. ET
What explains the fact that we have a glut of white-tailed deer in this
country, yet an estimated 85% of the venison sold in restaurants and at
meat counters is imported from farms in New Zealand?
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304410204579139424081224050?mod=WSJ_Books_LS_Books_5
Press Releases
EPA Awards $400,000 to Communities to Reduce Water Pollution, Build
Resilience to Climate Change
Communities in Rhode Island, Michigan, Nebraska, Indiana, Arizona, and
South Carolina will receive funding for green infrastructure
WASHINGTON ? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced
$400,000 to help six communities expand their use of green infrastructure
to reduce water pollution and boost resilience to the impacts of climate
change. The funding is in support of President Obama's Climate Action Plan,
which directs federal agencies to identify climate-resilient investments
such as agency grants and technical assistance for communities across the
country.
"Investing in green infrastructure pays off for our environment and our
economy. It reduces water pollution and energy consumption. It creates jobs
and boosts local economic activity," said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.
"And these investments help local communities build resilient systems to
protect from severe storms, floods, and other impacts of climate change."
This new funding continues the agency's support for communities using green
infrastructure to reduce water pollution and protect human health while
increasing economic activity and neighborhood revitalization, job creation,
energy savings, and open space. Green infrastructure builds resilience to
the impacts of climate change, particularly by reducing the burden on local
water infrastructure.
Green infrastructure decreases pollution to local waterways by treating
rain where it falls and keeping polluted stormwater from entering sewer
systems. Green infrastructure tools and techniques include green roofs,
permeable materials, alternative designs for streets and buildings, trees,
rain gardens and rain harvesting systems. Communities are increasingly
using innovative green infrastructure to supplement or substitute for
"gray" infrastructure such as pipes, filters, and ponds.
The six new communities to receive assistance include:
- Providence, R.I. ($75,000) ? Assistance will support the design and
construction of up to four public green infrastructure practices, with
associated operation and maintenance plans, as well as public outreach
efforts to help educate the public about green infrastructure practices.
- Detroit, Mich. ($65,000) ? Assistance will help develop a range of green
infrastructure alternatives to meet polluted runoff reduction targets and
contribute to regional revitalization.
- Lincoln, Neb. ($65,000) ? Assistance will help develop a menu of green
infrastructure options for the Antelope Creek Watershed Basin Management
Plan, which seeks to improve water quality in a highly urbanized creek in
the center of the city.
- Gary, Ind. ($65,000) ? Assistance will help develop strategies to meet
water quality goals through retrofitting underutilized parcels with green
infrastructure. EPA assistance may also help develop a green infrastructure
jobs training program.
- Pima County, Ariz. ($65,000) ? Assistance will help complete a green
infrastructure guidance manual addressing selection, design, construction,
and maintenance of green infrastructure practices, and assess the costs and
multiple benefits of green infrastructure practices in a desert
environment.
- Spartanburg, S.C. ($65,000) ? Assistance will support the development of
conceptual designs for green infrastructure practices throughout the
Northside Community, a low-income community located in the headwaters of
the impaired Fair Forest Creek that is targeted for revitalization.
In the last two years, EPA has provided $1.35 million to more than 20
communities for green infrastructure. To share lessons learned from green
infrastructure projects, EPA is releasing a series of reports highlighting
the work of communities that received technical assistance from the agency
in 2012, including Denver, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Portland.
EPA has also released a new report analyzing the economic benefits of green
infrastructure in 13 locations to help utilities, states, municipalities,
and other stormwater professionals understand the potential financial
benefits in their communities. Green infrastructure typically can cost less
than traditional water infrastructure. Locations in the report include
Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn. Milwaukee, Wis., Portland, Ore., and West
Union, Iowa.
More information on the green infrastructure assistance, progress reports
and strategy:
http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/greeninfrastructure/gi_support.cfm.
More information on the economic benefits case studies:
http://www.epa.gov/nps/lid.
