1.6.2014
Oil Spill
Louisiana asks 5th Circuit to transfer its BP claims to another judge
Mark Schleifstein
The Times-Picayune
January 04, 2014 at 12:28 AM
"In effect, the district court has told Louisiana that its rights are
non-existent." -- Attorney General Buddy Caldwell's motion
Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell on Tuesday asked the 5th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals to transfer the state's Deepwater Horizon oil
spill damages lawsuit against BP and its drilling partners to another
judge, because U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier has refused to hear the
state's case until other legal proceedings involving BP are completed.
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2014/01/louisiana_asks_5th_circuit_cou.html#incart_river
Councilwoman-environmentalists-question-19-million-fish-hatchery-proposal
WEAR
PENSACOLA - A proposed fish hatchery on Pensacola Bay is close to getting
BP funding, but some are asking if it will even be effective. The Florida
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Wildlife Foundation of
Florida want to develop the $19 million hatchery.
http://www.weartv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/councilwoman-environmentalists-question-19-million-fish-hatchery-proposal-39959.shtml
State
Recycled materials market steadily improving
China, big retailers driving change
Becky Gillette
Mississippi Business Journal
Clarion Ledger
One difficulty with making a recycling program work is finding adequate
buyers for the recyclable materials who will turn those into a new product.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20140106/NEWS01/301060007/Recycled-materials-market-steadily-improving
Mississippi Power Co. says project will top $5 billion
ASSOCIATED PRESS
January 3, 2014
JACKSON -- Mississippi Power Co. now says the cost of its Kemper County
project will top $5 billion.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/01/03/5232210/mississippi-power-co-says-project.html
Lawmaker Wants To Beef Up Boards at Gulfport Port, DMR
MPB
BY EVELINA BURNETT | PUBLISHED 06 JAN 2014
Mississippi lawmakers are back in session tomorrow, and one coast senator
says he has a plan to beef up oversight at some state agencies.
http://mpbonline.org/News/article/lawmaker_wants_to_shake_up_boards_of_port_dmr
Regional
Few Katrina legal battles linger 8 years later
The Associated Press
January 04, 2014 at 12:03 PM
NEW ORLEANS -- A team of plaintiffs' attorneys has spent roughly $16
million to sue the Army Corps of Engineers over levee breaches that flooded
most of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Joseph Bruno, one of those
lawyers, estimates that they ultimately will recoup a mere $3.5 million of
their investment.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2014/01/few_katrina_legal_battles_ling.html#incart_river
National
Some states confirm water pollution from drilling
Complaints from Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Texas examined
AP
PITTSBURGH — In at least four states that have nurtured the nation's energy
boom, hundreds of complaints have been made about well-water contamination
from oil or gas drilling, and pollution was confirmed in a number of them,
according to a review that casts doubt on industry suggestions that such
problems rarely happen.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/viewart/20140106/NEWS01/301060014/Some-states-confirm-water-pollution-from-drilling
U.S. EPA unlikely to step up fracking enforcement efforts for now -analysts
Reuters
Sun, Jan 5 2014
By Valerie Volcovici
WASHINGTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Federal regulators are unlikely to step up
enforcement of potential water contamination cases linked to natural gas
drilling - despite new concerns about water safety - given a lack of
political will and limited resources to pursue such cases, analysts said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/05/usa-energy-fracking-idUSL2N0KC0T320140105
Study Shows Fracking Is Bad for Babies
Bloomberg
By Mark Whitehouse - Jan 4, 2014
The energy industry has long insisted that hydraulic fracking -- the
practice of fracturing rock to extract gas and oil deep beneath the earth's
surface -- is safe for people who live nearby. New research suggests this
is not true for some of the most vulnerable humans: newborn infants.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2014-01-04/study-shows-fracking-is-bad-for-babies.html
EPA unveils new furnace, boiler standards
The Hill
By Ben Goad
The Environmental Protection Agency proposed new standards Friday for
harmful emissions from new woodstoves and heaters, saying the rules could
yield as much as $2.4 billion in annual public health benefits.
http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/energy-environment/194362-epa-unveils-new-furnace-boiler-standards
Opinion
SUN HERALD | Editorial: Accountability should be a legislative priority
The Mississippi Legislature has two opportunities this year to immeasurably
bolster public confidence in every aspect of state government.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/01/04/5232055/sun-herald-editorial-accountability.html
Column: How to spend oil spill fines wisely
· Tampa Bay Times
· By Daniel M. Rothschild
Friday, January 3, 2014 3:50pm
A federal judge in New Orleans will soon decide how much oil company BP has
to pay in Clean Water Act fines for its role in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon
spill. His decision will have ramifications for Florida's Gulf Coast for
decades to come, as will choices made in Tallahassee and in county seats
across the state.
http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/column-how-to-spend-oil-spill-fines-wisely/2159533
How the EPA Sticks Miners With a Motherlode of Regulation
The years-long wait for mining permits in the U.S. is the worst in the
world.
Wall Street Journal
By DANIEL MCGROARTY
Jan. 3, 2014 7:00 p.m. ET
On Dec. 13, the proposed Rosemont Copper project in southwestern
Arizona—which would produce about one-tenth of all the copper in the U.S.
every year—got the green light from the U.S. Forest Service to begin
operations.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304367204579268771980972030
Press Releases
EPA Proposes Updates to Air Standards for Newly Manufactured Woodstoves and
Heaters
Updates would make the next generation of woodstoves and heaters
significantly cleaner and more efficient
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing
standards for the amount of air pollution that can be emitted by new
woodstoves and heaters, beginning in 2015. The agency's proposal would make
the next generation of stoves and heaters an estimated 80 percent cleaner
than those manufactured today, leading to important air quality and public
health improvements in communities across the country. The proposal would
affect a variety of wood heaters manufactured beginning in 2015 and will
not affect heaters and stoves already in use in homes or currently for sale
today.
Smoke from residential wood heaters, which are used around the clock in
some communities, can increase toxic air pollution, volatile organic
compounds, carbon monoxide and soot, also known as particle pollution, to
levels that pose serious health concerns. Particle pollution is linked to a
wide range of serious health effects, including heart attacks, strokes and
asthma attacks. In some areas, residential wood smoke makes up a
significant portion of the fine particle pollution problem. EPA's proposal
would work in concert with state and local programs to improve air quality
in these communities.
The agency's proposal covers several types of new wood-fired heaters,
including: woodstoves, fireplace inserts, indoor and outdoor wood boilers
(also called hydronic heaters), forced air furnaces and masonry heaters.
Many residential wood heaters already meet the first set of proposed
standards, which would be phased in over five years to allow manufacturers
time to adapt emission control technologies to their particular model
lines. Today's proposal does not cover fireplaces, fire pits, pizza
ovens, barbecues and chimineas.
When these standards are fully implemented, EPA estimates that for every
dollar spent to comply with these standards, the American public will see
between $118 and $267 in health benefits. Consumers will also see a
monetary benefit from efficiency improvements in the new woodstoves, which
use less wood to heat homes. The total health and economic benefits of the
proposed standards are estimated to be at $1.8 to $2.4 billion annually.
EPA will take comment on the proposal for 90 days after it is published in
the Federal Register. The agency will hold a public hearing Feb. 26, 2014
in Boston. EPA expects to issue a final rule in 2015.
For more information, visit:
http://www2.epa.gov/residential-wood-heaters
