3.17.14
Oil Spill
BP questioning oil spill payments to some Tampa Bay area businesses
Tampa Bay Times
Who deserves to be compensated for the catastrophic BP oil spill of 2010?
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/bp-questioning-oil-spill-payments-to-some-tampa-bay-area-businesses/2170215
Walton County Receives $7 Million in Settlement Money from BP
WJHG
Nearly four years after the Deepwater Horizon Rig explosion and oil spill,
the effects are still fresh in the memories of Walton Countybusiness
leaders.
http://www.wjhg.com/home/headlines/Walton-County-Receives-7-Million-in-Settlement-Money-from-BP-250594801.html
Jindal wants BP money in 'rainy day' fund
By MELINDA DESLATTE
Associated Press
Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration wants to use Gulf oil spill recovery
money to help refill the Louisiana's "rainy day" fund and settle a lawsuit
claiming the state needs to return roughly $300 million to the fund.
http://theadvocate.com/home/8632617-125/jindal-wants-to-steer-bp
State
Lee County and Tupelo Officials in Water Dispute
WCBI
LEE CO./TUPELO, Miss. (Miss.) – After months of discussions and citizen's
concerns, Tupelo officials are contemplating their next move involving the
North Lee County Water Association.
http://www.wcbi.com/wordpress/lee-county-and-tupelo-officials-in-water-dispute
North Lee, Tupelo could land in court over water
By Robbie Ward
Daily Journal
TUPELO – Tupelo officials' optimism about convincing the North Lee County
Water Association to exchange current and future customers in newly annexed
areas for cash has turned to concern.
http://djournal.com/news/north-lee-tupelo-land-court-water/
Grant sought to collect hazardous waste
Paint, electronics common items
AP
CORINTH — Officials in Alcorn County are gearing up for a collection of
household hazardous waste which probably will take place in April or May.
The Daily Corinthian reported the county Board of Supervisors will apply
for grant funding from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality
to support the collection.
http://www.clarionledger.com/viewart/20140317/NEWS01/303170013/Grant-sought-collect-hazardous-waste
Bay High students turn trash into fashion to promote recycling
WLOX
BAY ST. LOUIS, MS (WLOX) -Bay St. Louis is gearing up to host a fashion
show with a twist. It's the 4th annual No-Trash Bash Fashion Show. WLOX
News spoke with the organizers and some of the models preparing to walk the
runway.
http://www.wlox.com/story/24989578/bay-st-louis-helps-turn-trash-into-faishon-to-help-beautify-the-city
New rules on spotted seatrout along Miss. Gulf
BY LAUREN WALCK
The Sun Herald
March 17, 2014
BILOXI, MISS. — The most frequently caught fish in the Gulf of Mexico will
soon be off limits to part-time fishermen who sell their catches for extra
cash, but that's good news for full-timers.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/03/17/5421328/new-rules-on-spotted-seatrout.html
Public records access may improve
Bills deal with enforcement, cost
AP
Mississippians seeking government records soon could have a stronger appeal
route while avoiding court, and they might be charged less for the records.
http://www.clarionledger.com/viewart/20140316/NEWS010504/303160057/Public-records-access-may-improve
Rulings limit investigations exemption for records
BY ANITA LEE
The Sun Herald
March 16, 2014
BILOXI, MISS. — State and federal court rulings in Mississippi have put
public officials on notice that they can't keep public records private by
seizing them for investigations.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/03/16/5413000/rulings-limit-investigations-exemption.html
Public records laws need improvement
Editorial - Clarion Ledger
Lawmakers have at least two opportunities to improve Mississippi's
admittedly weak open records laws and allow more transparency in the way
public money is spent.
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2014302160077
WILL BARDWELL: Legislation would improve transparency in Mississippi
BY WILL BARDWELL
Mississippi Centerfor Freedom of InformationMarch 16, 2014
If you're a champion of open government, then for the past several years
you've lived in an exciting but bewildering time.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/03/16/5416840/will-bardwell-legislation-would.html
State agencies face budget deficits
Corrections, Medicaid need most money
Clarion Ledger
About $85 million is being earmarked by Mississippi senators to cover
deficits this year in state agencies' budgets, including $50 million in the
Division of Medicaid and $15 million in the Department of Corrections.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20140317/NEWS010504/303170005/State-agencies-face-budget-deficits
Miss.'s ability to borrow adequate, report says
AP
Mississippi could borrow $1.8 billion to use for new buildings, highways
and economic development incentives over the next five years and rising
state revenue probably could support that amount of borrowing, a report by
Treasurer Lynn Fitch suggests.
http://www.clarionledger.com/viewart/20140317/NEWS01/303170011/Miss-s-ability-borrow-adequate-report-says
Regional
Oil Mars Ala. Swamp Months After Crude Train Crash
By JAY REEVES
Associated Press
Environmental regulators promised an aggressive cleanup after a tanker
train hauling 2.9 million gallons of crude oil derailed and burned in a
west Alabama swamp in early November amid a string of North American oil
train crashes.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/oil-mars-ala-swamp-months-crude-train-crash-22923636?singlePage=true
National
Senators Meeting Regularly on TSCA Reform But Have No Time Frame for Moving
Bill
Monday, March 17, 2014
Bloomberg
March 14 --The lead Senate proponents of reforming the Toxic Substances
Control Act have been meeting regularly but do not yet have a time frame
for attempting to move legislation, Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) told Bloomberg
BNA March 13.
http://www.bna.com/senators-meeting-regularly-n17179885657/
Railway crude oil shipments up 83 percent
The Hill
By Laura Barron-Lopez
The number of railcars carrying crude oil surged 83 percent last year over
2012 levels.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/200814-railway-crude-oil-shipments-up-83-percent
EPA trashes 140 tons of government publications
AJC
By Jamie Dupree
The Environmental Protection Agency last year threw out more than 140 tons
of printed materials that had been kept at one federal storage facility,
but only after internal investigators at the EPA started asking why
millions of agency publications were sitting around unused, raising new
questions about the waste of taxpayer dollars at federal government
warehouses.
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/jamie-dupree/2014/mar/16/epa-trashes-140-tons-government-publications/
Wyoming welder faces $75,000 a day in EPA fines for building pond on his
property
Fox News
All Andy Johnson wanted to do was build a stock pond on his sprawling
eight-acre Wyoming farm. He and his wife Katie spent hours constructing it,
filling it with crystal-clear water, and bringing in brook and brown trout,
ducks and geese. It was a place where his horses could drink and graze, and
a private playground for his three children.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/03/14/wyoming-welder-faces-fine-for-building-pond-on-his-own-property/
Opinion
SUN HERALD | Editorial: DMR needs more, not less, oversight
March 15, 2014
State Rep. David Baria has, we believe, identified a significant flaw in
the Marine Resources Accountability and Reorganization Act now under
consideration by the Legislature.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/03/15/5416845/sun-herald-editorial-dmr-needs.html
