12.19.2013
Oil Spill
Half of bottlenose dolphins in Barataria Bay were seriously ill or dying in
2011, new study finds
Mark Schleifstein
The Times-Picayune
December 18, 2013 at 4:16 PM
Nearly half the bottlenose dolphins in Barataria Bay tested in mid-2011 to
assess natural resources' damage in the aftermath of the BP Deepwater
Horizon oil spill were in "guarded or worse" condition, including 17
percent that were not expected to survive, according to a peer-reviewed
study released Wednesday morning.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2013/12/half_of_bottlenose_dolphins_of.html#incart_river
NOAA study documents injuries to bottlenose dolphins from oil spill
NOAA study documents injuries to dolphins from oil spill
Sun Herald
BY KAREN NELSON
Findings from a dolphin study published Wednesday ties injuries in dolphins
from heavily oiled Barataria Bay, La., to the 2010 BP oil spill.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/12/18/5204217/noaa-study-documents-injuries.html
New study links BP oil spill with sick dolphins
WLOX
BILOXI, MS (WLOX) -A study released on Wednesday points to the BP oil spill
as the culprit for causing serious illness and death among dolphins.
http://www.wlox.com/story/24256735/new-study-links-bp-oil-spill-with-sick-dolphins
Dolphins Suffering From Lung Disease Due to Gulf Oil Spill, Study Says
Study Finds Strong Connection Between Deepwater Horizon Spill and Dolphin
Deaths
Wall Street Journal
Dolphins in an area hard hit by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010 are
suffering from lung diseases and other abnormalities that are consistent
with toxic exposure to oil, according to a study backed by the federal
government and released on Wednesday.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303773704579265970128223630?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_5
Former BP engineer convicted of obstructing probe of Gulf oil spill
BY MICHAEL MUSKAL
Los Angeles Times
NEW ORLEANS -- A former engineer for BP was convicted of obstructing an
investigation of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico after the first
criminal trial to come from the environmental disaster.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/12/18/5205165/former-bp-engineer-convicted-of.html
State
Aberdeen among recipients of Livable Communities grant
Monroe Journal
by Ray Van Dusen | 6:30 am | December 18, 2013
ABERDEEN – Aberdeen is among four southeastern towns to share in federal
grant money through the Livable Communities competition. Awarded by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Appalachian Regional Committee
and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the local share of the grant is
intended for a cannery where people can bring fresh produce and jars for
the goods to be preserved and learn the trade for themselves.
http://monroecountyjournal.com/2013/12/18/aberdeen-among-recipients-livable-communities-grant/
Roadside trash: Illegal dumps are literally wasteful
Itawamba County Times
by Adam Armour | 6:59 am | December 18, 2013 |
* MDEQ recently gave Itawamba County more than $15,000 to clean up illegal
du
Itawamba County has a trash problem.
Each year, the county's solid waste department spends both time and money
cleaning up at least a dozen illegal dump sites. Recently, the department
was provided a $15,000-plus grant from the Mississippi Department of
Environmental Quality to fund their efforts at cleaning up these sites. The
grant money is provided annually, its amount based on estimates from the
county's solid waste department.
http://itawambatimes.com/2013/12/18/roadside-trashillegal-dumps-literally-wasteful/
SCUA liner problems referred to legal counsel
Stone County Enterprise
By Jody O'Hara
Dec 12, 2013, 11:30
Two weeks ago, Mike Essary of Neel-Schaffer Engineering told the Stone
County Utility Authority that a contractor should be required to fix a
liner at the S-9 wastewater treatment plant.
http://www.stonecountyenterprise.com/article_1956.shtml
Mississippi Phosphates fails to pay on tax arrears
Sun Herald
BY KAREN NELSON
PASCAGOULA -- Jackson County's sixth largest taxpayer, Mississippi
Phosphates Corp., has failed to make good on a promise to pay property
taxes from 2012 that were due months ago.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/12/18/5205438/mississippi-phosphates-fails-to.html
HUD: State must negotiate with HUD on Gulfport port project or face funding
loss
Sun Herald
BY ANITA LEE
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development warns it could suspend
funding for a $580 million port restoration and expansion in Gulfport or
bar the Mississippi Development Authority from receiving other federal
assistance unless the state agency agrees to enter negotiations with HUD
over low-income hiring issues.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/12/18/5205439/hud-state-must-negotiate-with.html
Regional
Citing Northern Beltline, Alabama joins lawsuit questioning EPA's role in
permitting for public works projects
Press-Register
Kelsey Stein
December 17, 2013 at 2:49 PM
MONTGOMERY, Alabama – The state of Alabama has declared its support of West
Virginia officials who are seeking a U.S. Supreme Court review of a lower
court's decision to allow the Environmental Protection Agency to veto a
surface mine water permit.
http://blog.al.com/montgomery/2013/12/citing_northern_beltline_alaba.html
National
Oil trains raise concerns in small towns, cities
BY JOSH FUNK AND MATTHEW BROWN
The Associated Press
WOLF POINT, MONT. — It's tough to miss the trains hauling crude oil out of
the Northern Plains. They are growing more frequent by the day, mile-long
processions of black tank cars that rumble through wheat fields and towns,
along rivers and national parks.
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/12/19/5205612/oil-trains-raise-concerns-in-small.html
EPA's 'Catch Me If You Can' employee gets 32 months for missing work with
claims of CIA job
Bruce Alpert
Times-Picayune
December 18, 2013 at 12:51 PM
WASHINGTON - The federal government's own "Catch me if You Can" story ended
Wednesday when a judge sentenced a former high ranking EPA official to 32
months in prison after he missed 2½ years of work by claiming to work for
the CIA.
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/12/epas_catch_me_if_you_can_emplo.html#incart_river
