3.7.14
Oil Spill
DEQ sued over heavily redacted public records
Emily LeCoz
Clarion Ledger
Heavily redacted public documents from the Mississippi Department of
Environmental Quality regarding millions of dollars in legal expenses has
sparked a lawsuit by journalist and consultant Michael Rejebian.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20140307/NEWS01/303070033/DEQ-sued-over-heavily-redacted-public-records
Statement from DEQ director
Clarion Ledger
http://www.clarionledger.com/assets/pdf/D021945036.PDF
New report: incomplete documentation makes determining Coast Guard progress
after BP oil spill difficult
Bruce Alpert
Times-Picayune
March 06, 2014 at 10:18 PM
WASHINGTON -- After the 2010 BP oil spill, the Coast Guard received 534
recommendations to improve response to similar disasters. But a new report
by the inspector general (IG) for the Coast Guard's parent agency says
faulty documentation makes it impossible to determine how many of those
recommendations have been carried out.
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/03/new_report_incomplete_document.html
Travel restriction eased for ex-BP exec
AP
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A travel restriction is being eased for a former BP
executive facing trial for allegedly lying to Congress in 2010 about the
amount of oil that was spewing from the company's blown-out well in the
Gulf of Mexico.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/texas/article/Travel-restriction-eased-for-ex-BP-exec-5296265.php
BP more than tripled CEO Dudley's total pay last year
Reuters
Thu, Mar 6 2014
By David Sheppard and Peg Mackey
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil and gas major BP Plc more than tripled Chief
Executive Bob Dudley's pay last year, the firm's annual report showed on
Thursday, with cash and performance-related bonuses taking his total
remuneration to $8.7 million.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/06/us-bp-salary-idUSBREA2519S20140306
'SPILL,' play inspired by Deepwater Horizon, premieres at LSU's Reilly
Theatre
Chelsea Brasted
The Times-Picayune
March 06, 2014 at 1:25 PM
When the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon occurred, pumping huge amounts
of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the inky blackness stained a number of
aspects of life in south Louisiana. A new play at LSU's Reilly Theatre aims
to examine some of those aspects through docudrama storytelling and a
collaborative artistic effort.
http://www.nola.com/entertainment/baton-rouge/index.ssf/2014/03/spill_play_inspired_by_deepwat.html
'The Great Invisible,' Mobile native's documentary on Deepwater Horizon
disaster, to premiere at SXSW
Press-Register
Lawrence Specker
March 06, 2014 at 11:53 AM
Mobile native Margaret Brown, the filmmaker best known for her Mardi Gras
documentary "The Order of Myths," is finally ready to unveil her
documentary on the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.
http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2014/03/the_great_invisible_mobile_nat.html
State
County gets grant to continue tire program
Sun Herald
The Harrison County Utility authority has been awarded a $51,000 grant from
the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality to continue its waste
tire collection program.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/03/06/5396189/around-south-mississippi.html
Alcorn Co. receives illegal dump grant
WTVA
JACKSON, Miss. (WTVA) -- Alcorn County was given a grant for enforcement
efforts to monitor illegal dumping in the area.
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality gave the county $14,520
for the project.
http://www.wtva.com/news/local/story/Alcorn-Co-receives-illegal-dump-grant/CuZBDVqcNkOm_xWN6gWONw.cspx?rss=2377&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
Leaders promote using carbon dioxide in oil output
AP
JEFF AMY
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Gov, Phil Bryant and others are extolling Mississippi
as a national leader in using carbon dioxide to extract more oil from old
oil fields.
http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_268748/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=3iBjBS6D
Miss. awaits way to tap oil, gas reserves
Clarion Ledger
Mississippi has vast reserves of oil and natural gas in the ground, waiting
for the right technology and best possible business plans to tap into it,
speakers said at a Thursday conference.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20140307/BIZ/303070022/Miss-awaits-way-tap-oil-gas-reserves
Sen. Thad Cochran: Corps adds $14M for Mississippi projects
AP
Mississippi is one of only four states receiving additional funds from the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for dredging and flood control along its major
tributaries. That's according to U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran.
http://www.clarionledger.com/viewart/20140307/NEWS/303070043/Sen-Thad-Cochran-Corps-adds-14M-Mississippi-projects
Presley appointed chairman of national regulators association committtee
Sun Herald
National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners President Colette
D. Honorable of Arkansas on Thursday named Commissioner Brandon Presley of
Mississippi as chairman of the association's Committee on Consumer Affairs,
according to a release from the NARUC office in Washington
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/03/06/5394287/presley-appointed-chairman-of.html
National parks bring $297.7M to state
Clarion Ledger
A new National Park Service report shows the 6,449,713 visitors to national
parks in Mississippi in 2012 spent $297.7 million and supported 2,436 jobs
in the state.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20140307/BIZ/303060073/National-parks-bring-297-7M-state
Gulf Islands National Seashore has $44 million economic impact in state
Gulf Islands National Seashore has $44 million economic impact in state
Sun herald
BY MARY PEREZ
More than 1 million people visited Mississippi sites of Gulf Islands
National Seashore in 2012 and spent $43.74 million in communities near the
park, according to a new report by the National Park Service.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/03/06/5395986/gulf-islands-national-seashore.html
Regional
Judge: Duke Must Clean up Groundwater at Ash Dumps
CHARLOTTE, N.C. March 7, 2014
By MITCH WEISS Associated Press
Duke Energy must take immediate action to eliminate sources of groundwater
contamination at its coal ash dumps, a judge said Thursday in a ruling that
came from a complaint filed before a massive spill from one of the
utility's plants coated 70 miles of a North Carolina river in toxic gray
sludge.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/judge-duke-clean-groundwater-ash-dumps-22808855
National
Rare Detente: New EPA Chief and Industry
Executives Say Gina McCarthy Listens, and Even Makes Concessions
Wall Street Journal
U.S. energy companies don't see eye to eye with the Obama administration's
Environmental Protection Agency. But for the first time in years, they have
begun to fashion something resembling a working relationship.
On issues such as measuring the impact of hydraulic fracturing and clamping
down on emissions from power plants, the EPA's new chief, Gina McCarthy,
has navigated the inherently fraught relationship between regulators and
industry without becoming the political lightning rod her predecessor was.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304732804579421443232259918?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_4&mg=reno64-wsj
EPA chief says new U.S. energy rules won't hobble business
Reuters
By Ernest Scheyder
HOUSTON, March 6 (Reuters) - Carbon regulations can be crafted to help
offset climate change without "shutting down business in its tracks," U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy said at a major
energy conference on Thursday.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/03/06/ceraweek-mccarthy-idINL1N0M324D20140306
President Proposes Cut To EPA Funding for Fiscal Year 2015
Bloomberg
By Patrick Ambrosio - Mar 6, 2014
Bloomberg BNA – President Obama's fiscal 2015 budget request includes $7.89
billion in funding for the Environmental Protection Agency, a cut of
approximately $310 million, or 3.8 percent, compared to the agency's
current funding level of $8.2 billion.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-06/president-proposes-cut-to-epa-funding-for-fiscal-year-2015.html
House backs bill to block EPA power plant rule
Published March 06, 2014
Associated Press
The Republican-controlled House moved Thursday to block President Obama's
plan to limit carbon pollution from new power plants, an election-year
strike at the White House aimed at portraying Obama as a job killer.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/03/06/house-backs-bill-to-block-epa-power-plant-rule/?intcmp=latestnews
House votes to limit environmental reviews
The Hill
By Pete Kasperowicz
The House on Thursday approved the latest Republican plan to jumpstart job
creation — a bill that would set hard deadlines on environmental reviews
that can delay construction projects for years.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/200129-house-votes-to-limit-environmental-reviews
Press Releases
EPA and CEC Partners announce winners of the NAPECA grant program
$1.2 million in community grants awarded to environmental projects across
North America
Montreal – U.S. EPA, Environment Canada, and the Mexico Ministry for
Environment and Natural Resources, awarded $1.2 million in grants under the
Council of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) North
American Partnership for Environmental Community Action (NAPECA) program.
These grants will support communities in addressing a wide range of
environmental challenges across North America.
The NAPECA initiative was created in 2010 by the environment ministers of
the three North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) countries that compose
the CEC. The NAPECA was established to encourage innovative and model
environmental initiatives at the community level across North America in
support of trilateral environmental priorities.
"Empowering communities across North America to address environmental
issues is at the core of EPA's Environmental Justice efforts," said Jane
Nishida, Acting Assistant Administrator for EPA's Office of International
and Tribal Affairs, "The NAPECA program is a unique example of how EPA
works with our North American partners to support a broad base of local
organizations, indigenous communities, academic institutions, and
environmental groups in delivering environmental programs across North
America."
Six of the 18 grant recipients are from the United States. These grants
include efforts to: support wastewater treatment in indigenous communities;
promote improved nutrition local communities by developing locally-grown
sustainable produce; and protect water quality at beaches in the
Tijuana/California border region in the U.S.
For more information on the CEC and a list of recipients under the NAPECA
program, visit the NAPECA program homepage.
