12/20/2013
Oil Spill
BP disputes report linking La. dolphin illnesses to oil spill
Report author says BP got surveys
Baton Rouge Advocate
By AMY WOLD
BP has taken issue with a report released Wednesday linking the poor health
of dolphins in Barataria Bay to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010,
saying the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hasn't proven a
connection.
http://theadvocate.com/home/7890928-125/bp-disputes-report-linking-la
Scientists Charge BP Oil Spill 'Gravely' Injured Dolphins
by DEBBIE ELLIOTT
December 19, 2013
NPR
Dolphins are getting very sick from exposure to the BP oil spill in the
Gulf of Mexico. A government study confirms a host of problems in dolphins
who live in one of the heaviest-oiled bays in Louisiana. Scientists say the
dolphins are gravely ill with injuries consistent with the toxic effects of
exposure to petroleum hydrocarbons.
http://www.npr.org/2013/12/19/255406326/scientists-charge-bp-oil-spill-gravely-injured-dolphins
State, federal agencies team up to clean polluted beach areas
Houma Courier
Jacob Batte
Published: Thursday, December 19, 2013 at 9:52 p.m.
Shortly after Tropical Storm Karen's brief visit along the Gulf Coast in
early October, a familiar foe reared its head after being buried for more
than three years.
It was MC 252, more commonly known as BP oil from 2010 Deepwater Horizon
oil spill.
http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20131219/ARTICLES/131219497/1211/news01?Title=State-federal-agencies-team-up-to-clean-polluted-beach-areas
State
U.S. attorney says DMR records shouldn't be public in filing with federal
judge
The Associated Press
December 19, 2013 at 9:18 AM
JACKSON, Mississippi -- The U.S. Attorney's office has asked a federal
judge to deny State Auditor Stacey Pickering's request to authorize the
release of Mississippi Department of Marine Resources records that are
being sought by a Gulf Coast newspaper.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2013/12/us_attorney_says_dmr_records_s.html#incart_river
Disposal event makes farm clean-up easier
By Keri Collins Lewis
MSU Ag Communications
MISSISSIPPI STATE – Producers accumulate a variety of unused materials on
the farm over time, and some of them require special handling for disposal.
A pesticide disposal program has been making clean-up on the farm easier
since 1994 by providing a way to get rid of waste pesticides and
potentially hazardous materials.
http://msucares.com/news/print/agnews/an13/20131219_pesticide.html
Regional
Report recommends Tennessee refund $1.6 million to EPA
AP
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — An audit report from the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency's Office of Inspector General has recommended requiring the state of
Tennessee to pay back most of a $2 million federal grant.
http://timesfreepress.com/news/2013/dec/19/report-recommends-tennessee-refund-16-million-epa/
National
EPA unveils carbon capture regulations
The Hill
By Ben Goad
Regulations issued Thursday would ease the path toward technology needed to
allow new coal-fired power plants to operate in the face of President
Obama's effort to tackle climate change, the Environmental Protection
Agency said.
http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/energy-environment/193684-epa-unveils-carbon-capture-regulations
Poll: Americans see impact of global warming
USA Today
Most Americans say global warming is serious and want the United
States to address it, but their support for government regulations
has fallen in recent years, says a poll out Friday conducted for USA
TODAY.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/12/19/americans-global-warming/4127803/
GOP lawmakers accuse EPA of muzzling scientists on climate regulations
Published December 20, 2013
FoxNews.com
Republican leaders on the House Science Committee are accusing the
Environmental Protection Agency of disregarding science in its push to
impose carbon dioxide limits on power plants.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/12/20/gop-lawmakers-accuse-epa-muzzling-scientists-on-climate-regulations/
Sinking Land Brings Calls for Pumping Alternative
NY Times
By NEENA SATIJA
Amid a persistent drought, a growing population and a dwindling supply of
surface water, much of Texas is searching for underground water resources.
But a large swath of Texas — home to close to one-quarter of its population
— is looking for water supplies anywhere but beneath its surface. A century
of intense groundwater pumping in the fast-growing Houston metropolitan
area has collapsed the layers of the Gulf Coast Aquifer, causing the land
above to sink. The only solution is to stop pumping, a strategy that some
areas are resisting.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/20/us/sinking-land-brings-calls-for-pumping-alternative.html?ref=earth&_r=0&pagewanted=print
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Lets Towns Limit Drilling
Wall Street Journal
By KRIS MAHER and
DANIEL GILBERT
Dec. 19, 2013 8:04 p.m. ET
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Thursday that municipalities can
retain some control over drilling within their borders, handing a victory
to local groups that brought a challenge in one of the nation's top
gas-producing states.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303773704579268591951539158?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_5
Opinion
Jackson must seize opportunity to invest in restoring the Gulf
Transparency needed in use of RESTORE funds
Clarion Ledger
Written by
Daniel M. Rothschild
Guest Columnist
A federal judge in New Orleans will soon rule on how much oil company BP
must pay in Clean Water Act fines for its role in the 2010 Deepwater
Horizon oil spill. The fine will likely rank among the largest civil fines
in U.S. history, and it comes on top of a record-setting criminal fine and
several other penalties and settlements.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20131220/COL04/312200008/Jackson-must-seize-opportunity-invest-restoring-Gulf
Alabama's Coast needs wise RESTORE act investments (Opinion by Daniel M.
Rothschild)
Special to AL.com
December 19, 2013 at 8:37 AM
by Daniel M. Rothschild
Early next year, a federal judge will decide how large a fine BP must pay
for its role in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. No matter what the
judge decides, BP will pay one of the largest Clean Water Act fines in
history. And this will have ramifications for Alabama's Gulf Coast for
decades to come, as will choices made in Montgomery and in the state's
coastal communities.
http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2013/12/alabamas_coast_needs_wise_rest.html
BP attack on Emeril Lagasse was off base: Editorial
The Editorial Board
The Times-Picayune
BP wants the world to think the company is a victim, that greedy people are
taking advantage of its promise to "make things right" after its broken
well spewed millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.
http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2013/12/bp_attack_on_emeril_lagasse_wa.html
Press Releases
EPA Rule Provides a Clear Pathway for Using Carbon Capture and
Sequestration Technologies
WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a
final rule that helps create a consistent national framework to ensure the
safe and effective deployment of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS)
technologies.
"Carbon capture and sequestration technology can help us reduce carbon
pollution and move us toward a cleaner, more stable environment," said
Mathy Stanislaus, EPA assistant administrator for Solid Waste and Emergency
Response. "Today's rule provides regulatory clarity to help facilitate the
implementation of this technology in a safe and responsible way."
CCS technologies allow carbon dioxide to be captured at stationary sources
- like coal-fired power plants and large industrial operations - and
injected underground for long-term storage in a process called geologic
sequestration.
The new rule clarifies that carbon dioxide streams captured from emission
sources, injected underground via UIC Class VI wells approved for the
purpose of geologic sequestration under the Safe Drinking Water Act, and
meeting certain other conditions (e.g., compliance with applicable
transportation regulations), will be excluded from EPA's hazardous waste
regulations. Further, EPA clarifies that carbon dioxide injected
underground via UIC Class II wells for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is not
expected to be a waste management activity.
EPA concluded that the careful management of carbon dioxide streams under
the specified conditions does not present a substantial risk to human
health or the environment. EPA's determination will help provide a clear
pathway for the deployment of CCS technologies in a safe and
environmentally protective manner while also ensuring protection of
underground sources of drinking water.
Today's rule is complementary to previous EPA rulemakings, including Safe
Drinking Water Act regulations that ensure the Class VI injection wells are
appropriately sited, constructed, tested, monitored, and closed.
EPA is also releasing draft guidance for public comment that provides
information regarding transitioning Class II wells used to inject carbon
dioxide for oil and gas development to Class VI wells used for carbon
capture and sequestration. The comment period for the draft guidance is 75
days.
Information on the final rule –
http://www.epa.gov/wastes/nonhaz/industrial/geo-sequester/
Information on the Geologic Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide:
http://water.epa.gov/type/groundwater/uic/wells_sequestration.cfm
Read the draft guidance on transitioning from Class II to Class VI wells:
http://water.epa.gov/type/groundwater/uic/class6/gsguidedoc.cfm
