11.12.2013
Oil Spill
Washington Briefs: Vitter introduces sequestration bill
Baton Rouge Advocate
by jordan blum
U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., teamed with U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet,
D-Colo., to introduce the new Return Our State Shares Act to exempt certain
programs, including the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund, from being
impacted by the ongoing sequestration budget cuts.
http://theadvocate.com/columnists/7524425-55/washington-briefs-vitter-introduces-sequestration
State
Low big for sewage treatment plant project comes in under budget in Summit
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
November 09, 2013
SUMMIT, Mississippi — The low-bid for construction of a new wastewater
treatment plant in Summit is nearly $250,000 under the budget for the
project.
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/1c213b0ec8994a7bbc6673d2b56665ba/MS--Summit-Sewage
Officials defend Kemper plant
Energy secretary, governor visit site
Clarion Ledger
A gathering at the Kemper County coal plant Friday produced strange
stage-mates: Republican Gov. Phil Bryant and Obama administration Energy
Secretary Ernest Moniz, both defending the plant, if from different
philosophies.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/article/20131109/NEWS01/311090015/Officials-defend-Kemper-plant
World leaders tour MS Power Kemper Co. lignite plant
WLOX
KEMPER COUNTY, MS (WLOX) -The eyes of the world are on Mississippi as more
counties look for ways to reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuels.
Leaders from eight nations toured Mississippi Power's new lignite plant in
Kemper County where new technology will allow carbon dioxide to be captured
and stored. Also making the trip was the United States Secretary of Energy.
He said Mississippi is a pioneer in what will be the future of energy
production.
http://www.wlox.com/story/23922025/world-leaders-tour-ms-power-kemper-co-lignite-plant
DMR
What's next with DMR investigations?
Subpoena gives clues to what federal investigators are looking into
BY PAUL HAMPTONAND KAREN NELSON
Sun HeraldNovember 9, 2013
The state's investigation of the state Department of Marine Resources is
not over. That much is known.
But the direction of both the state and federal investigations remains
something of a mystery.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/11/09/5101585/whats-next-with-dmr-investigations.html
Five DMR defendants brought to court in shackles, released on bond
Indictees leaving FBI office in handcuffs
Sun Herald
BY ANITA LEE
November 8, 2013
GULFPORT -- Five defendants in the federal DMR investigation shambled into
U.S. District Court on Friday morning in handcuffs and leg chains.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/11/08/5096970/walkers-janus-ziegler-meet-with.html
Former Marine Resources Director, Other Employees Face Charges
BY EVELINA BURNETT | PUBLISHED 10 NOV 2013 10:02PM
MPB
Former Mississippi Department of Marine Resources director Bill Walker, his
son and three others will be back in federal court on Wednesday for an
arraignment hearing.
http://mpbonline.org/News/article/former_ms_marine_resources_head_other_employees_face_charges
Five DMR defendants appear in federal court
WLOX
GULFPORT, MS (WLOX) -Five defendants in the DMR case entered a federal
courtroom Friday morning in handcuffs and leg irons. The day began early
for the five defendants. They surrendered at the FBI office beginning at
7AM.
http://www.wlox.com/story/23914768/five-dmr-defendants-appear-in-federal-court
Judges switched in DMR criminal case
BY ANITA LEE
Sun Herald
GULFPORT -- Criminal cases against Bill Walker, former executive director
of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, his son, Scott Walker,
and three others have been reassigned to U.S. District Court Judge Keith
Starrett.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/11/11/5105944/judges-switched-in-dmr-criminal.html
Auditor wants secret court proceedings in public records case; Sun Herald
objects
Sun Herald
State Auditor Stacey Pickering has sent a secret memorandum to the judge in
a public records lawsuit filed by the Sun Herald, but the newspaper objects
to any consideration of the document.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/11/11/5105945/auditor-wants-secret-court-proceedings.html
SUN HERALD | Editorial: The DMR indictments offer insight
November 9, 2013
Indictments issued by both federal and state grand juries Thursday against
individuals in the Department of Marine Resources investigation offer some
insight into the probe by the State Auditor's Office and the FBI.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/11/09/5100999/sun-herald-editorial-the-dmr-indictments.html
Regional
Environmental group's report says TVA sites polluted by coal ash 5 years
after Kingston spill
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
November 08, 2013
NASHVILLE, Tennessee — A new report by an environmental group says the
Tennessee Valley Authority has polluted groundwater supplies at all its
coal-fired power plants nearly five years after a massive coal ash spill at
its Kingston power plant.
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/5a32c8ef822b48dfa452be2a2e978761/TN--TVA-Coal-Ash
National
AP Investigation: Obama's green energy drive comes with an unadvertised
environmental cost
By Associated Press
Tuesday, November 12, 6:22 AM
CORYDON, Iowa — The hills of southern Iowa bear the scars of America's push
for green energy: The brown gashes where rain has washed away the soil. The
polluted streams that dump fertilizer into the water supply.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/ap-investigation-obamas-green-energy-drive-comes-with-an-unadvertised-environmental-cost/2013/11/04/c0ceb0b0-45ad-11e3-95a9-3f15b5618ba8_print.html
Biofuel Backers and Foes Battle Over Mandated Gasoline Blends
Wall Street Journal
WASHINGTON—An 11th-hour fight is under way over the Renewable Fuel
Standard, a federal mandate created at the height of fears over high oil
prices that dictates ever-increasing volumes of biofuels be blended into
U.S. fuel supplies.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304868404579190113860119016?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_5
Will Obama slash ethanol mandate?
Politico
By: Darren Goode
November 11, 2013 05:37 PM EST
The Obama administration may be about to hand the oil industry a major
victory by reducing the federal requirement for blending ethanol into fuel
— a decision with big implications for farm-state politics, food prices and
the nation's energy markets.
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/ethanol-epa-biofuel-blending-gasoline-agriculture-99689.html
Industry takes aim at AP ethanol investigation
The Associated Press
November 11, 2013
WASHINGTON — A new Associated Press investigation, which found that ethanol
hasn't lived up to some of the government's clean-energy promises, is
drawing a fierce response from the ethanol industry.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/11/11/5106123/industry-takes-aim-at-ap-ethanol.html
More oil and gas drillers turn to water recycling
The Associated Press
November 11, 2013 at 9:36 AM
When the rain stopped falling in Texas, the prairie grass yellowed, the
soil cracked and oil drillers were confronted with a crisis. After years of
easy access to cheap, plentiful water, the land they prized for its vast
petroleum wealth was starting to dry up.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2013/11/more_oil_and_gas_drillers_turn.html#incart_river
US Chamber urges support for new bill to thwart EPA climate rules
The Hill
The powerful U.S. Chamber of Commerce is trying to build political momentum
behind legislation that would greatly scale back Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) carbon emissions rules for new power plants.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/189876-us-chamber-urges-support-for-new-bill-to-thwart-epa-climate-rules
