3.14.14
Oil Spill
EPA lifts ban barring BP from federal government contracts
Jennifer Larino
The Times-Picayune
March 13, 2014 at 8:26 PM
The Environmental Protection Agency agreed Thursday (March 13) to lift its
ban barring BP from doing business with the federal government, ending a
months-long suspension imposed on the company in the wake of the 2010 Gulf
of Mexico oil spill. The move comes just days before the March 19 federal
oil and gas lease sale in New Orleans, which will open millions of acres in
Gulf for exploration.
http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2014/03/epa_lifts_ban_barring_bp_from.html
BP Reaches Agreement With U.S.
Pact Will Allow Energy Company To Do Business Again With Federal Government
Wall Street Journal
By TOM FOWLER
March 13, 2014 6:42 p.m. ET
BP and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have reached an agreement
that will allow the oil and gas company to start doing business again with
the federal government.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303546204579437613468445986?KEYWORDS=tom
+fowler
BP deal opens door for new U.S. drilling
Politico
By: Darren Goode
March 13, 2014 05:05 PM EDT
BP will be allowed to sign new leases to drill for oil and gas in the Gulf
of Mexico under a deal announced Thursday with the U.S. government that
resolves outstanding issues tied to the British giant's role in the 2010
Deepwater Horizon disaster.
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/03/bp-deal-opens-door-for-new-us-drilling-104649.html
BP Can Again Bid for U.S. Leases, Contracts After Spill
Bloomberg
By Mark Drajem, Jim Snyder and Jef Feeley - Mar 14, 2014
BP Plc (BP/) won the right to again compete for U.S. contracts and new
leases in the Gulf of Mexico, where its massive 2010 oil spill prompted
regulators to bar it from new government business.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-13/u-s-lifts-bp-s-ban-on-contracting-imposed-after-spill.html
Researchers to use Alvin sub to study mile-deep seafloor near BP well
blowout
Mark Schleifstein
The Times-Picayune
March 13, 2014 at 7:44 PM
A team of scientists led by University of Georgia marine biologist Samantha
Joye will spend most of April using the deepsea submarine Alvin to study
the mile-deep seafloor near the site of BP's ill-fated Macondo well for the
lingering effects of the 87-day flow of oil and gas following the blowout
that sank the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in April 2010.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2014/03/researchers_to_use_alvin_sub_t.html
Margaret Brown wins top honor at SXSW with Deepwater Horizon documentary
'The Great Invisible'
Press-Register
Lawrence Specker
March 12, 2014 at 3:01 PM
Mobile native Margaret Brown has won a top award at the prestigious SXSW
Film Festival with her documentary on the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2014/03/margaret_brown_wins_top_honor.html
State
MSU joins Mexican groups to study Gulf ecosystem
The Associated Press
March 14, 2014
STARKVILLE, MISS. — A research consortium led by Mississippi State
University is partnering with a group of institutions in Mexico to advance
further study of the Gulf of Mexico's ecosystem.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/03/14/5415098/msu-joins-mexican-groups-to-study.html
European company begins production of torrefied biomass
MBJ
by Wally Northway
Published: March 13,2014
QUITMAN — The Belgium company Solvay has launched the production of
torrefied biomass on an industrial scale in the United States.
The business will be run by the recently created Solvay Biomass Energy
joint venture between Solvay and U.S.-based New Biomass Energy (NBE).
http://msbusiness.com/blog/2014/03/13/european-company-begins-production-torrefied-biomass/
MEMA taps True North to develop hazard mitigation plan
by MBJ Staff
Published: March 13,2014
JACKSON — The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) has selected
True North Emergency Management, LLC, to develop a regional Hazard
Mitigation Plan for MEMA's District 3.
http://msbusiness.com/blog/2014/03/13/mema-taps-true-north-develop-hazard-mitigation-plan/
HPD, DEA to offer safe drug disposal
Hattiesburg American
Hattiesburg Police Department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
are teaming up in April for the DEA National Drug Take Back Initiative.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/article/20140313/NEWS01/140313009/HPD-DEA-offer-safe-drug-disposal
Landowner swaps land with Fish and Wildlife Service
by MBJ Staff
Published: March 13,2014
CHARLESTON — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has reached an
agreement with landowner James Kennedy to exchange a 306-acre parcel of its
land in Tallahatchie County for a tract of York Woods, Kennedy's
conservation-easement property.
http://msbusiness.com/blog/2014/03/13/landowner-swaps-land-fish-wildlife-service/
National
Private water rights bill clears House
The Hill
By Pete Kasperowicz
A fight over access to water for ski resorts on public land spilled into
the House today, and prompted passage of a bill to protect all private
water rights from being taken by the federal government.
http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/votes/200773-private-water-rights-bill-clears-house
Press Releases
Cleanup Activities Have Begun at the Chemfax, Inc. Site in Gulfport, MS
EPA to Hold a Public Availability Session on March 18, 2014
Release date: 3/13/2014
Contact Information: James Pinkney, (404) 562-9183 (Direct), (404) 562-8400
(Main) pinkney.james@epa.gov
(ATLANTA –March 13, 2014) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
will hold a Public Availability Session on Tuesday, March 18, 2014 in
Gulfport, MS. Representatives from EPA and the State of Mississippi will be
available to provide information and answer questions about cleanup
activities at the Chemfax, Inc. Site.
The Public Availability Session will be held from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at
the Cross Roads Elementary School Library, 10453 Klein Road, Gulfport, MS
39503.
The Chemfax Inc. Superfund Site, located in Gulfport, Harrison County,
Mississippi is an 11-acre property bordered by Three Rivers Road to the
east, Creosote Road to the south, and adjacent to the intersections of
Highways 10 and 49. Residential, commercial, and industrial areas presently
surround the Site. The Site is situated on Sixteenth Section land. Title
to Sixteenth Section land is vested in the State of Mississippi, to be held
in trust for the support of public education.
Chemfax, Inc. manufactured resins and waxes from petroleum products for
industrial use from 1955 to 1995. The primary operation was a paraffin
blending process in which different grades of paraffin wax were heated
together to a liquid state, blended, and then cooled with water.
Community members interested in obtaining additional information are
encouraged to contact Sherryl A. Lane, EPA Community Involvement
Coordinator, at (877) 718-3752 or 404-562-8611.
For more information about the Site, please visit:
http://www.epa.gov/region4/superfund/sites/npl/mississippi/chemfaxms.html
A media availability session will be held at Cross Roads Elementary School
Library, 10453 Klein Road, Gulfport, MS from 5:30 to 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday,
March 18, 2014. Site representatives will be available to answer media
questions concerning cleanup activities at the Site.
Connect with EPA Region 4 on Facebook: www.facebook.com/eparegion4
And on Twitter: @EPASoutheast
###
EPA to Lift Suspension and Debarment of BP From Federal Government
Contracts
Agreement contains strong provisions to continue safety and ethics
improvements in order to comply
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Environmental Protection Agency and BP today
executed an agreement resolving all suspension and debarment actions
against BP that barred the company from doing business with the federal
government following the company's guilty plea in the Deepwater Horizon
disaster of April 2010. The administrative agreement will be in place for
five years.
"This is a fair agreement that requires BP to improve its practices in
order to meet the terms we've outlined together," said EPA Assistant
Administrator of Administration and Resources Craig Hooks. "Many months of
discussions and assessments have led up to this point, and I'm confident
we've secured strong provisions to protect the integrity of federal
procurement programs."
Under the agreement, BP is required to retain an independent auditor
approved by EPA who will conduct an annual review and report on BP's
compliance with the agreement. There are also specific provisions
addressing ethics compliance, corporate governance, and process safety. The
agreement additionally provides EPA the authority to take appropriate
corrective action in the event the agreement is breached. EPA coordinated
this matter with the Department of Interior, Defense Logistics Agency and
U.S. Coast Guard.
Since November 2012, EPA has suspended 25 BP entities and disqualified BP
Exploration and Production, Inc. from performing federal contract work at
its corporate facility in Houston, Texas, stemming from its criminal
conviction in the U.S. Government's Deepwater Horizon case. Suspensions are
issued where there is an immediate need to protect the public interest
supported by adequate evidence. The suspension did not affect existing
agreements BP had with the government.
The agreement announced today takes effect immediately.
