5.21.14
Oil Spill
BP likely to ask Supreme Court to hear settlement issue, delaying claims,
experts say
Jennifer Larino
The Times-Picayune
May 20, 2014 at 7:12 PM
BP's effort to reinterpret the multibillion-dollar 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil
spill settlement hit another wall on Monday (May 19) after a federal
appeals court affirmed businesses don't have to prove they were directly
harmed by the disaster in order to get paid.
http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2014/05/bp_likely_to_ask_supreme_court.html
5th Circuit's last word to BP leaves constitutional question-mark
Reuters
May 20, 2014
By Alison Frankel
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has had it with BP and its attempts
to evade the consequences of the deal it struck to end litigation over the
2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
http://blogs.reuters.com/alison-frankel/2014/05/20/5th-circuits-last-word-to-bp-leaves-constitutional-question-mark/
State
Debris removal expected to hit $2M
By Robbie Ward
Daily Journal
TUPELO – Separate local and out-of-state contractors will earn more than $2
million from tornado debris removal and monitoring in Tupelo and Lee
County.http://djournal.com/news/debris-removal-expected-hit-2m/
City Councilwoman asks for plan on sewage lagoons
Hattiesburg American
A Hattiesburg councilwoman has asked the city's water department
director and its consulting engineers to bring back an estimate on
how much it would cost to fix the city's south sewage lagoons.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/2014/05/20/hattiesburg-sewer-lagoon/2295526/
Judge says company doesn't have to make financing documents public
Clarion Ledger
A judge has ruled a silicon-metal production company that plans to
build a plant in Tishomingo County does not have to turn over what
it considers sensitive financial information to a competitor who
says it has the right to the data since the project is receiving
public backing.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2014/05/18/judge-says-company-make-financing-documents-public/9264369/
CMR adopts red snapper monitoring plan
WLOX
BILOXI, MS (WLOX) -The DMR is moving quickly to follow-up on the concerns
of fishermen about this year's red snapper season.
http://www.wlox.com/story/25569892/cmr-adopts-red-snapper-monitoring-plan
Regional
Louisiana might take notes from Florida's Everglades plan
Fox 8
THE EVERGLADES, FL (WVUE) -For centuries, long before hotel resorts
sprouted along the Florida Keys, Florida Bay was a wonderland.
http://www.fox8live.com/story/25539026/louisiana-might-take-notes-from-floridas-everglades-plan
National
Green groups ready to sue EPA over dead fish
The Hill
A coalition of environmental groups that sued the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) to force it to issue standards for industrial cooling water
intake devices is likely to go back to court to challenge the regulation.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/206628-green-groups-likely-to-sue-epa-on-water-intake-rule
Press Releases
Presley Celebrates Victory in Nuclear Waste Fund Dispute
Mississippians to save $3.7 million annually because of federal challenge
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI (May 20, 2014) – Thanks to the work of state utility
commissions, this year Mississippi ratepayers will have an estimated $3.7M
dollars in their pockets which would otherwise go to the federal
government, says Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley. As a result
of a lawsuit brought by the National Association of Regulatory Utility
Commissioners ("NARUC"), of which the Mississippi Public Service Commission
is a member, the U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE") was forced late last
week to halt collection of fees added to the bills of nuclear power
customers for the Nuclear Waste Fund ("NWF"), which was instituted in 1982
to pay for a national storage site for the nation's civilian nuclear waste.
For decades, NWF money had gone solely to the study, development and
construction of a storage site in Yucca Mountain, Nevada. However; in 2010,
under pressure from opponents such as Nevada Senator Harry Reid, the DOE
unilaterally shuttered the project with no plans to discontinue charging
the monthly NWF fee. Mississippians have paid over $80M into the NWF, with
an additional $3.7M estimated this year prior to the court order.
"I am proud to have been in this fight against another federal 'bridge to
nowhere,' paid for through fees tacked onto Mississippi power bills. Any
day that we can keep Mississippians' money in their pockets and not send it
to Washington, D.C. is a great day," Presley said.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued its ruling in
November 2013, ordering the DOE to cease collection of the fee until such
time as either the DOE resumes development of Yucca Mountain or until
Congress modifies the statutory framework and provides for an alternative
waste management plan. The DOE submitted a proposal to comply in Jan. 2014,
but continued to collect pending a request for review of the Court's
decision. That request was denied in March.
"While we celebrate today, there are other battles ahead. We must ensure
that Congress does not act on the suggestion of some and use this same
money to dump nuclear waste on Mississippi. We insist that we get what we
paid for with Yucca Mountain, or we want our money back," Presley said.
