2.18.2014
Oil Spill
Kimberly Blair: Conservancy's call to action
Pensacola News Journal
With the deadline for public vetting of 44 projects slated for BP early
restoration dollars looming tomorrow, Ocean Conservancy is calling on the
public to weigh in.
http://www.pnj.com/article/20140218/NEWS09/302180006/Kimberly-Blair-Conservancy-s-call-to-action
Legal-Bay: BP claims settlement headed to Supreme Court
by MBJ
Published: February 17,2014
NEW ORLEANS — Legal-Bay LLC, The Lawsuit Settlement Funding Company,
believes the British Petroleum Inc. Business Economic Loss (BEL) claims
settlement will eventually make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court under a
writ of certiorari.
http://msbusiness.com/blog/2014/02/17/legal-bay-bp-claims-settlement-headed-supreme-court/
State
Alabama company challenges permit for Mississippi Silicon
Daily Journal
An Alabama company has filed a petition with the Mississippi Department of
Environmental Quality over the agency's fast-tracking of a permit for
Mississippi Silicon, the company that announced last month it was building
a plant in Tishomingo County and adding 200 jobs.
http://djournal.com/news/alabama-company-challenges-permit-mississippi-silicon/
MDEQ stands by permit issued to Mississippi Silicon
WTVA
BURNSVILLE, Miss. (WTVA) -- The Mississippi Department of Environmental
Quality stands by its decision to issue a permit for Mississippi Silicon to
build a plant in Tishomingo County.
http://www.wtva.com/news/local/story/MDEQ-stands-by-permit-issued-to-Mississippi/ZY1uKPLf-0SEY35d-4Va4A.cspx
Ohio-based company challenging state permit for planned silicon-metal
facility
Clarion Ledger
An Ohio-based company is challenging a state permit issued for Mississippi
Silicon's planned silicon-metal production facility in Tishomingo County,
saying the developers haven't proven their Burnsville plant will be able to
contain potentially harmful emissions.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20140215/BIZ/302150018/Ohio-based-company-challenging-state-permit-planned-silicon-metal-facility
MDEQ: Claim of incomplete permit review for silicon plant a 'guise' by
competitor
MBJ Blog
February 17, 2014
JACKSON, Mississippi — The head of the Mississippi Department of
Environmental Quality says an Alabama silicon manufacturer's claim the
state agency erred in granting an operating permit to competitor
Mississippi Silicon Metals lacks merit.
http://msbusiness.com/businessblog/2014/02/17/mdeq-claim-incomplete-permit-review-silicon-plant-guise-competitor/
KiOR shutting down production at Columbus plant
by MBJ Staff
Published: February 17,2014
COLUMBUS — KiOR has halted production at its Columbus plant in December to
make improvements and has no plans to resume production during the first
quarter of 2014.
http://msbusiness.com/blog/2014/02/17/kior-shutting-production-columbus-plant/
Energy efficiency: Mississippi already benefiting from U.S. moving toward
energy self sufficiency
MBJ
by Becky Gillette
Published: February 14,2014
Not that many years ago there were concerns about "the end of oil," the
depletion of the oil reserves that fuel the world economy. One of the
largest economic problems in the U.S. was the cost of importing so much
oil. But drilling technology innovations including fracking now have some
experts predicting that by 2035 the U.S. will achieve something almost
unthinkable until now: Energy self sufficiency, making it no longer
dependent on oil imports from unstable countries in the Middle East.
http://msbusiness.com/blog/2014/02/14/energy-efficiency-mississippi-already-benefiting-u-s-moving-toward-energy-self-sufficiency/
Clogged sewer line creates smelly problem at Lanier
WAPT
JACKSON, Miss. —Parents of Lanier High School students said their children
have smelled something foul in classrooms for weeks.
http://www.wapt.com/news/central-mississippi/jackson/clogged-sewer-line-creates-smelly-problem-at-lanier/24536116
Growth in South Mississippi: Who's coming and going?
Sun Herald
BY MARY MARGARET HALFORD
The number of people who are drawn to live in South Mississippi is greater
than the number of people who left the region in recent years, according to
new census data.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/02/15/5343098/growth-in-south-mississippi-whos.html
Is hunting and fishing a right? You make the call this fall
WLOX
BILOXI, MS (WLOX) -Right now, hunting and fishing in Mississippi is legally
considered a privilege. That could change in November when a constitutional
amendment is placed on the ballot. If a majority of citizens vote yes,
Mississippi will join 17 others states in the country that make hunting and
fishing a right.
http://www.wlox.com/story/24745418/is-hunting-and-fishing-a-right-you-make-the-call-this-fall
AP analysis: Mississippi voters to decide on right to hunt and fish
amendment
The Associated Press
February 16, 2014 at 5:53 PM
JACKSON, Mississippi -- Mississippi voters will decide in November whether
to amend the state constitution to guarantee the right to hunt and fish.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2014/02/ap_analysis_mississippi_voters.html
National
AFBF, attorneys general want states to dictate nutrient runoff ... not EPA
Feb. 13, 2014
Brad Haire | Southeast Farm Press
What's happening at the Chesapeake Bay watershed matters to states in the
Southeast. Attorneys general from 21 states have joined an American Farm
Bureau Federation appeal against the Environmental Protection Agency's
efforts to dictate the management of nutrient runoff around the bay.
http://southeastfarmpress.com/government/afbf-attorneys-general-want-states-dictate-nutrient-runoff-not-epa
Tulane $1 million prize aimed at low-oxygen 'dead zones' could be first of
many prizes
Mark Schleifstein
The Times-Picayune
February 17, 2014 at 5:30 PM
Backed by an initial $1 million donation from the Patrick F. Taylor
Foundation, Tulane University on Monday launched a Grand Challenge prize
program to find a new technological solution for the low-oxygen hypoxia
areas known as "dead zones" that form off the coast of Louisiana and at
other locations around the world.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2014/02/tulane_1_million_prize_aimed_a.html#incart_river
Water War: Southern states battle to keep faucets flowing
Fox News
The drought-parched states of Georgia, Alabama and Florida are back at it
-- fighting for a slice of water rights in a decades-long water war that's
left all three thirsty for more.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/02/17/water-war-southern-states-battle-to-keep-faucets-flowing/?intcmp=latestnews
EPA Says Some Coal Ash Uses Are Safe
February 16, 2014
By IAN HICKS - Staff Writer , The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register
WHEELING - A report released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
declares coal ash safe for reuse in certain construction materials -
providing coal industry supporters a measure of hope as the agency
prepares to issue its first-ever regulations on the substance.
http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/595968/EPA-Says-Some-Coal-Ash-Uses-Are-Safe.html?nav=515
Obama Orders New Efficiency Standards for Trucks
Wall Street Journal
President Barack Obama plans to announce Tuesday that his administration
will issue new fuel efficiency standards for trucks, the White House said.
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/02/18/obama-orders-new-efficiency-standards-for-trucks/
Heavy-duty vehicles in Obama crosshairs
The Hill
By Laura Barron-Lopez
President Obama will unveil the next phase of fuel economy and greenhouse
gas standards for heavy-duty vehicles on Tuesday.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/198554-obama-to-launch-new-fuel-efficiency-standards-for-trucks
Obama launches climate change fund
By Laura Barron-Lopez
President Obama announced a new climate change "resiliency fund" in a
Friday night speech in drought-struck California.
The fund, which would need to be approved by Congress, is intended to help
communities dealing with negative weather like drought, wildfires, and
floods that are the result of climate change.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/198486-obama-climate-change-influence-on-drought-undeniable
