11.25.13
Oil Spill
$3M grant a boon for Gulf snapper fishery
Funding targets data collection effort in Gulf if Mexico
Pensacola News Journal
A $3 million, five-year project to expand data collection on red snapper
and other reef fish stocks in the northern and eastern Gulf of Mexico is
being hailed by Ocean Conservancy as a major milestone in the recovery of
the marine resources affected by the 2010 BP oil spill disaster.
http://www.pnj.com/article/20131124/NEWS09/311240024/-3M-grant-targets-data-collection-effort-in-Gulf-if-Mexico-fishery
Federal judge denies BP's 'disappointing' attempt to rewrite oil spill
business claims rules
Mark Schleifstein
The Times-Picayune
November 22, 2013 at 6:36 PM
A federal judge overseeing the settlement of private claims stemming from
the BP Deepwater Horizon accident and oil spill issued a harshly worded
opinion late Friday, charging BP with going back on its word by asking him
and the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to require proof that all
business economic losses were caused by the oil spill before claims are
paid.
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2013/11/federal_judge_denies_bps_disap.html#incart_river
County hires new RESTORE counsel
By MATTHEW BEATON | The News Herald
Published: Saturday, November 23, 2013 at 23:01 PM.
PANAMA CITY — Hoping to rake in as much as $120 million in RESTORE Act
money, Bay County has hired a federal rules lawyer to make sense of the red
tape.
http://www.newsherald.com/news/government/county-hires-new-restore-counsel-1.239566
State
Jackson County checking into landfill's height-limit compliance
Sun Herald
BY CHRISTINA STEUBE
November 22, 2013
The Jackson County Planning Commission is looking into whether MacLand
Disposal in Escatawpa is exceeding its height limit.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/11/22/5139939/jackson-county-checking-into-macland.html?sp-tk=C1F5C6E0CA6380153B87762B6C0FD08EBEE396F8BB76A1F3B034F0CF0FFD5043CD2B61808424DBD2C556D36CA925F6F4862E288F7A44B9C8165493545B844CDF5AB8E3FF0BD8FE11417C1276E6688EC99594BD7955DA9CE6F93B2C38BFD17F357F513E6283BA46454C89C8A5E0C0DC544193961289F0488FD49DEBEF56102593C42670D9A9345312D7046BB8BA47613CF09854BCC6918D1C78BB6C285D0EE7AE46BF3E5C
MDEQ awards nearly $90,000 in grants
WTVA
JACKSON, Miss. (WTVA) -- The Mississippi Department of Environmental
Quality has awarded Panola County a solid waste assistance grant of $71,900
that will be used by the county for illegal dumping enforcement and to
expand recycling efforts.
http://www.wtva.com/news/local/story/MDEQ-awards-nearly-90-000-in-grants/kAeV9WPh70K40nmS8XfVbg.cspx
Utility Authority seeks new executive director
By Jodi Marze
The Picayune Item
POPLARVILLE — The Pearl River County Utility Authority announced the
resignation of Jeff McClain as executive director, addressed transparency
in business practices and hired new employees at its meeting Thursday in
Poplarville's City Hall.
http://www.picayuneitem.com/local/x1267066890/Utility-Authority-seeks-new-executive-director
Lumberton could benefit from recycling program
Hattiesburg American
Recycling was one of the ideas discussed during the recent "Think Meeting"
for Lumberton leaders.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/article/20131124/NEWS01/311240021/Lumberton-could-benefit-from-recycling-program?nclick_check=1
Mixed views on National Wildlife Refuge
Goal: Protect land for future generations
Clarion Ledger
In an open-house meeting this week, where members of the U. S. Fish and
Wildlife Service explained the possibilities of a proposed National
Wildlife Refuge in the Jackson area, little opposition was heard.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20131124/SPORTS08/311240060/Mixed-views-National-Wildlife-Refuge
Study indicates where many drifting sea turtles may have died
Sun Herald
BY LAUREN WALCK
November 23, 2013
The Mississippi Sound is a popular hangout for a lot of underwater
creatures, but for young Kemp's ridley sea turtles it's the place to be.
The warm, shallow waters and plentiful supplies of tasty blue crabs and
shrimp make it downright irresistible for a juvenile reptile on the go.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/11/23/5142232/study-indicates-where-many-drifting.html?sp-tk=850638D7717FB5705268F57E8E1CBE828ED07D9212BB895E2FEA1A91125D642A6275811C965DF5A3FCDAD06647A306376CFC1F187E7C621326D5060ABEB6413666E36B1CB22680D9C2893497CFF4D8D6378C61A973497068EE4AAF7AB0B39D900D348ABDB604CB151512AA5C1231FD6112A3C0353885E65DCD419420FAF68650E69BE3C0F12278A2032285437EE458D91B75729D29D0A7312B6B00A80AB9BC1425863C74
People in the News: Natural Resources Conservation Service
Clarion Ledger
• Kurt Readus has been selected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service as Mississippi's state
conservationist for NRCS.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20131124/BIZ/311240057/People-News-Natural-Resources-Conservation-Service
Newspaper seeks contempt ruling against Pickering, auditor's office
Sun Herald
BY ANITA LEE
November 22, 2013
The Sun Herald has filed a motion in Chancery Court asking that Judge
Jennifer Schloegel hold State Auditor Stacey Pickering and his office in
civil contempt of court for failing to produce public records, which the
court had ordered and the auditor had agreed to do.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/11/22/5138741/newspaper-seeks-contempt-ruling.html
Regional
La. lawsuits may portend shifting political tide
By KEVIN McGILL
Associated Press
November 23, 2013
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — When a south Louisiana flood control board filed a
lawsuit last summer against nearly 100 oil and gas companies over the loss
of coastal wetlands, it was treated as a political pariah for attacking an
important Louisiana industry.
http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/La-lawsuits-may-portend-shifting-political-tide-5005891.php
National
Greens, industry spar over 'sue and settle'
The Hill
By Julian Hattem
Industry and environmental activists traded fire on Friday over
controversial legal settlements that critics say force agencies to speed up
their regulations.
http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/energyenvironment/191215-greens-industry-spar-over-sue-and-settle
Duke Energy to pay $1 million after Wyoming wind farms' blades kill 14
eagles, other birds
The Associated Press
November 22, 2013 at 7:25 PM
WASHINGTON -- The government for the first time has enforced environmental
laws protecting birds against wind energy facilities, winning a $1 million
settlement Friday from a power company that pleaded guilty to killing 14
eagles and 149 other birds at two Wyoming wind farms.
http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2013/11/duke_energy_to_pay_1_million_a.html#incart_river
House bill warns of EPA threat to fire hydrants
The Hill
By Pete Kasperowicz
Reps. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) and Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) introduced legislation
this week to block an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule that would
require fire hydrants to use lead-free pipes starting next year.
http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/energyenvironment/191208-members-look-to-block-epa-rule-requiring-lead-free-fire
Obama nominates Hopkins professor for EPA post
Thomas A. Burke would lead agency research
By John Fritze
The Baltimore Sun
President Barack Obama has nominated a Johns Hopkins University professor
to lead research at the Environmental Protection Agency — an appointment
likely to stir controversy among senators concerned about the agency's
reach.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-thomas-burke-20131120,0,1887970.story
Opinion
WLOX Editorial: Ethics hotline is a step toward accountability
The embattled Mississippi Department of Marine Resources may soon be in a
battle for its very existence. Following the indictments of several former
DMR staffers including the former director, some legislators want to do
away with the agency and put its responsibilities under the Department of
Wildlife and Fisheries. The indictments paint a picture of fraud and
embezzlement.
http://www.wlox.com/story/24034205/wlox-editorial-ethics-hotline-is-a-step-toward-accountability
BP process remains tangled with questions, departures: James Varney
James Varney
The Times-Picayune
November 23, 2013 at 11:38 PM
It's threads, anecdotal, really, but is all well with the BP matter and the
legal morass it has engendered? If the rosters are any indication, perhaps
not.
That is to say, there appears to be considerable turnover in the Deepwater
Horizon spill Claims Administrative Office. Whether that reflects personal
career moves or some fear over what may be coming in an expanded
investigation of the whole lawsuit/claims swamp is anyone's guess, but it
is striking nonetheless.
http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2013/11/bp_process_remains_tangled_wit.html
