5.29.14
Oil Spill
Study estimates BP spill killed more birds than earlier thought
Audubon chief: Avian deaths a 'massive blow' to Coast ecosystem
Sun Herald
BY CHRISTINA STEUBE
Between 600,000 and 800,000 birds have died along the Gulf Coast as a
result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, according to a study to
be released this summer by the Marine Ecology Progress Series.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/05/28/5608290/study-estimates-bp-spill-killed.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1
Sarasota Researcher Studies Health Of Dolphins Following Deepwater Horizon
Oil Spill
WGCU
A researcher in Sarasota is helping federal officials figure out whether
dolphins were affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
http://news.wgcu.org/post/sarasota-researcher-studies-health-dolphins-following-deepwater-horizon-oil-spill
Appeals court says BP must resume paying claims while waiting for U.S.
Supreme Court review
The Associated Press
May 28, 2014 at 2:17 PM
NEW ORLEANS -- BP PLC must resume paying claims while it asks the U.S.
Supreme Court to review its settlement with businesses over the 2010 Gulf
of Mexico oil spill, a federal appeals court panel said Wednesday.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2014/05/appeals_court_says_bp_must_res.html#incart_river
State
MDEQ chief Trudy Fisher announces she'll resign
BY JEFF AMY
Associated Press
May 28, 2014
JACKSON -- Trudy Fisher, Mississippi's top environmental regulator, will
resign her post at the state Department of Environmental Quality at the end
of the summer.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/05/28/5608297/mdeq-chief-trudy-fisher-announces.html?sp=/99/184/
Trudy Fisher to step down as head of MDEQ
WLOX
SOUTH MISSISSIPPI (WLOX) -After serving as Executive Director for the
Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality for nearly eight years,
Trudy Fisher is stepping down from her position later this summer. Fisher
made the announcement to MDEQ employees through an email on Wednesday.
http://www.wlox.com/story/25633505/trudy-fisher-to-step-down-as-head-of-mdeq
Head of Miss. environmental agency to resign
Clarion Ledger
Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality chief Trudy Fisher
announced in an email to employees Wednesday she will resign her
position later this summer after eight years on the job.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2014/05/28/mdeq-head-to-resign/9679139/
Oxford to help others recycle
Grant allows city to share successful program
Oxford Eagle
BY ALYSSA SCHNUGG
The city of Oxford's award-winning recycling program has been used as a
role model around the state in recent years, and now, thanks to a grant
from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Oxford can help
surrounding communities increase their own recycling programs.
The inaugural Regional Recycling Cooperative Grant was awarded to four
communities around the state, including Oxford, which will receive
$227,160. The funds will be used to develop or enhance recycling systems
in their region to help achieve the state's waste reduction and recycling
goal by 25 percent.
"We are very excited," Oxford Solid Waste Superintendent Amberlyn Liles
said. "This is the largest grant we've ever received in the 12 years I've
been with the city."
Liles said the grant will go toward education and equipment to help its
regional partners — Panola County, University of Mississippi, Calhoun City
and Yalobusha County — expand their recycling programs.
"We want Oxford to be a support system to them and have our program bleed
into their communities," she said.
"Some of them may not be able open their own recycling facility due to
cost, but this could help them collect recyclables from their residents and
bring them to ours," Liles said.
The grant will also help purchase special bins to be used at large
festivals around the region.
"We are excited to launch this new grant program and to work with these
cities and their partners to expand recycling services and recycling access
in the state," Trudy Fisher, MDEQ executive
director, said. "Increasing the access to recycling to more Mississippians
means that more materials can be diverted from landfills and put back into
manufacturing uses where the materials can be used over and over again.
"The continued use of recycled materials in manufacturing has multiple
benefits such as conserving raw material resources, reducing our reliance
on imports from
other countries, conserving energy, reducing pollution, reducing our
reliance on landfills, and gaining the economic benefit of using materials
multiple times rather than simply disposing of the materials."
The project also includes adding recycling collection stations on the Ole
Miss campus, the development of a recycling education and outreach
campaign, recycling drop-off containers for partner communities, curbside
recycling bins for Oxford, and new equipment to transport
recycling containers to the Oxford materials recovery facility.
For more information on the city's recycling program, contact Liles at
amberlyn@oxfordms.net or
call 232-2745.
Gautier, Biloxi among Mississippi communities receiving $400,000
brownfields grants from EPA
Mississippi Press
May 28, 2014 at 10:13 AM
ATLANTA, Ga. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today
that it plans to award five communities in Mississippi with brownfields
grants for new investments to provide communities with funding necessary to
clean and redevelop contaminated properties, boost local economies and
create jobs while protecting human health.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2014/05/gautier_biloxi_among_mississip.html#incart_river
Dolphins are dying in fresh water and scientists are asking why
WLOX
HARRISON COUNTY, MS (WLOX) -Scientists say government red tape is keeping
them from trying to figure out why more dolphins are migrating to where
they don't belong and dying because of it. The Institute for Marine Mammal
Studies said this year there has been an increase in dolphins migrating
into rivers and bayous, places where these salt water animals can't
survive.
http://www.wlox.com/story/25635324/more-dolphins-dying-from-migrating-to-freshwater-scientists-dont-know-why
Snow cones promote recycling
The Panolian
Cadet Girl Scout Hannah Coyle deposits bottles in the plastic bin at the
Batesville recycling center on Van Voris Wednesday. Scouts from Troop 10580
will be at the center Saturday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. offering free snow
cones to anyone who brings in their recyclables. The girls will assist in
sorting and depositing recyclables in the correct bins. Panola County's
solid waste department operates the center.
http://www.panolian.com/68864/1180/breaking-news-2
3 former DMR employees plead guilty, sentenced
Sun Herald
BY ANITA LEE
BILOXI -- Three former employees of the state Department of Marine
Resources pleaded guilty to felonies Wednesday, admitting they were falsely
reimbursed for travel expenses, but none will serve prison time.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/05/28/5607731/3-former-dmr-employees-plead-guilty.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1
3 former DMR employees plead guilty to state charges
WLOX
BILOXI, MS (WLOX) -Three former Mississippi Department of Marine Resources
employees pleaded guilty in state court to felony charges on Wednesday
stemming from their roles in receiving payment for false travel expenses.
http://www.wlox.com/story/25636264/3-former-dmr-employees-plead-guilty-to-state-charges
Regional
USDA grant to help farmers address water quality issues in 174 watersheds
May 28, 2014Forrest Laws | Delta Farm Press
Farmers' efforts to address the nutrient runoff problem got a boost from an
announcement that USDA will provide $33 million to help them make
conservation improvements to enhance water quality in 174 watersheds across
the nation.
http://deltafarmpress.com/government/usda-grant-help-farmers-address-water-quality-issues-174-watersheds
EPA leader talks climate change, water rules
By JENNIFER KAY, Associated Press
MIAMI (AP) — A shift in the political conversation on climate change will
come from engaging local communities seeking solutions to the problems
they're already experiencing, the Environmental Protection Agency's
regional administrator for the Southeast said Wednesday.
http://www.seattlepi.com/news/science/article/EPA-leader-talks-climate-change-water-rules-5510302.php
National
President Said to Be Planning to Use Executive Authority on Carbon Rule
NY Times
By CORAL DAVENPORTMAY 28, 2014
WASHINGTON — President Obama will use his executive
authority to cut carbon emissions from the nation's
coal-fired power plants by up to 20 percent, according to
people familiar with his plans, and will force industry to
pay for the pollution it creates through cap-and-trade
programs across the country.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/29/us/politics/obama-to-offer-rules-to-sharply-curb-power-plants-carbon-emissions.html?ref=earth&_r=0
Looming EPA power plant rules fuel industry concerns
Fox News
Lawmakers and Washington interest groups are engaged in a battle over
whether looming EPA rules will help or hurt as President Obama prepares to
announce a highly anticipated performance standard for power plants June 2.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/05/29/obama-preparing-to-announce-performance-standard-for-power-plants/?intcmp=latestnews
Chamber: Costs of EPA climate rule could top $50 billion a year
The Hill
The country's largest business lobby warned Wednesday that the Obama
administration's proposal to impose new limits on greenhouse gas emissions
from power plants could eclipse $50 billion in annual costs through 2030.
http://thehill.com/regulation/207384-chamber-epas-climate-rules-cost-could-top-50b-a-year
Obama confident on EPA
The Hill
The Obama administration is confident that sweeping new rules it is set to
announce on coal-fired power plants will survive court challenges from
opponents.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/207497-obama-confident-on-epa
EPA grows its climate change trends list
The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency added four new trends to its growing
list of indicators this year that signal climate change is happening now.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/207489-epa-adds-lyme-disease-wildfires-to-climate-change-indicators
Report: Power plants reducing emissions
The Hill
The country's top 100 electricity producers have reduced emissions of major
pollutants in recent years, showing that they could likely handle the new
limits on carbon dioxide coming soon from the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), according to a new report.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/207421-report-power-plants-already-reducing-ghg-emissions
White House touts energy policies as rules loom
BY JIM KUHNHENN
Associated PressMay 29, 2014
WASHINGTON — Setting the stage for upcoming restrictions on coal-fired
power plants, the Obama administration is making a concerted effort to cast
its energy policy as an economic success that is creating jobs, securing
the nation against international upheavals and shifting energy use to
cleaner sources.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/05/29/5608843/white-house-touts-energy-policies.html?sp=/99/184/208/
Seafood industry under threat from climate change and ocean acidification,
report states
Benjamin Alexander-Bloch
The Times-Picayune
May 28, 2014 at 3:54 PM
The global seafood industry is under threat from climate change and ocean
acidification, and reducing CO2 emissions is required to safeguard the
industy's future, according to a report jointly published Wednesday by the
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, the University of Cambridge's Institute
for Sustainability Leadership and Cambridge's Judge Business School.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2014/05/seafood_industry_under_threat.html#incart_river
Press Releases
EPA Awards Nearly $2 Million in Brownfields Grants to Cleanup and
Revitalize Communities in Mississippi
Contact Information: James Pinkney, (404) 562-9183 (Direct), (404) 562-8400
(Main) pinkney.james@epa.gov
(Atlanta - May 28, 2014) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
announced today that it plans to award two communities in Mississippi with
brownfields grants for new investments to provide communities with funding
necessary to clean and redevelop contaminated properties, boost local
economies and create jobs while protecting human health.
"Not only are these funds protecting the environment and public health by
helping communities clean up blighted toxic waste sites, there are new job
growth opportunities for local economies to leverage through these
investments," said Gina McCarthy, EPA Administrator. "With cities looking
at how to combat the impacts of climate change, it's more important than
ever for communities to innovate new ways to retrofit formerly polluted,
unused sites for renewable energy use."
The Mississippi brownfield grant recipients are:
· City of Biloxi, Biloxi, MS ($200,000 assessment grant for petroleum
and 200,000 assessment grant for hazardous substances)
· City of Corinth, Corinth, MS ($200,000 assessment grant for petroleum
and 200,000 assessment grant for hazardous substances)
· City of Gautier, Gautier, MS ($200,000 assessment grant for petroleum
and 200,000 assessment grant for hazardous substances)
· City of Laurel, Laurel, MS ($200,000 assessment grant for petroleum
and 200,000 assessment grant for hazardous substances)
· Monroe County ($350,000 assessment grant for hazardous substances)
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other
stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and
sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield site is real property, the
expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the
presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or
contaminant. In 2002, the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields
Revitalization Act was passed to help states and communities around the
country clean up and revitalize brownfields sites. Under this law, EPA
provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through four
competitive grant programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants,
cleanup grants, and job training grants. Additionally, funding support is
provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate
mechanism.
A total of approximately $23.5 million is going to communities that have
been impacted by plant closures. Other selected recipients include tribes
and communities in 44 states across the country; and at least 50 of the
grants are going to HUD-DOT-EPA grant recipient communities.
Since the inception of the EPA's Brownfields program in 1995, cumulative
brownfield program investments have leveraged more than $21 billion from a
variety of public and private sources for cleanup and redevelopment
activities. This equates to an average of $17.79 leveraged per EPA
brownfield dollar expended. These investments have resulted in
approximately 93,000 jobs nationwide. These projects demonstrate the
positive impact a small investment of federal brownfields funding can have
on community revitalization through leveraging jobs, producing clean
energy, and providing recreation opportunities for surrounding
neighborhoods. EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and
other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up,
and sustainably reuse brownfields sites.
More information on brownfields grants by state:
http://cfpub.epa.gov/bf_factsheets/
More information on EPA's brownfields:
Program http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Success Stories http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/success/index.htm
Benefits
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/overview/Brownfields-Benefits-postcard.pdf
EPA Report Shows Impact of Changing Climate on Americans' Health and
Environment
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released
the third edition of a report, Climate Change Indicators in the United
States. The report pulls together observed data on key measures of our
environment, including U.S. and global temperature and precipitation, ocean
heat and ocean acidity, sea level, length of growing season, and many
others. With 30 indicators that include over 80 maps and graphs showing
long-term trends, the report demonstrates that climate change is already
affecting our environment and our society.
"These indicators make it clear that climate change is a serious problem
and is happening now here in the U.S. and around the world," said Janet
McCabe, acting assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Air and
Radiation. "Everything we do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare
for the changes that are already underway will help us safeguard our
children's future."
The third edition of the Indicators report, which was last published in
2012, adds additional years of data and four new indicators: Lyme disease,
heating and cooling degree days, wildfires, and water level and temperature
in the Great Lakes. In addition, the report adds four new features that
connect observed data records to local communities and areas of interest,
including cherry blossom bloom dates in Washington D.C., timing of ice
breakup in two Alaskan rivers, temperature and drought in the Southwest,
and land loss along the mid-Atlantic coast.
Consistent with the recently released National Climate Assessment, this
report presents clear evidence that the impacts of climate change are
already occurring across the United States. The report shows evidence that:
· Average temperatures have risen across the contiguous 48 states since
1901, with an increased rate of warming over the past 30 years. Seven
of the top 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 1998.
· Tropical storm activity in the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean, and the
Gulf of Mexico has increased during the past 20 years.
· Along the U.S. coastline, sea level has risen the most along the
Mid-Atlantic coast and parts of the Gulf Coast, where some stations
registered increases of more than 8 inches between 1960 and 2013.
· Glaciers have been melting at an accelerated rate over the past
decade. The resulting loss of ice has contributed to the observed
rise in sea level.
· Every part of the Southwest experienced higher average temperatures
between 2000 and 2013 than the long-term average dating back to 1895.
Some areas were nearly 2 degrees F warmer than average.
· Since 1983, the United States has had an average of 72,000 recorded
wildfires per year. Of the 10 years with the largest acreage burned,
nine have occurred since 2000, with many of the largest increases
occurring in western states.
· Water levels in most of the Great Lakes have declined in the last few
decades.
The report also looks at some of the ways that climate change may
affect human health and society using key indicators related to Lyme
disease incidence, heat-related deaths, and ragweed pollen season.
For example, unusually hot summer temperatures have become more
common which can lead to increased risk of heat-related deaths and
illness. Warmer temperatures and later fall frosts also allow ragweed
plants to produce pollen later into the year, potentially prolonging
allergy season for millions of people.
EPA compiles decades of observed data in cooperation with a range of
federal government agencies, nongovernmental organizations,
universities, and other institutions. The Indicators report focuses
on long-term trends for key measures of our environment for which
high-quality data exist. Each indicator and the report itself were
peer-reviewed by independent experts, and extensive technical
documentation accompanies the report.
Information about the Climate Change Indicators report:
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/indicators.html
Information about climate change: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange
EPA Funds University Research on Cleaner Fuel Burning to Improve Air
Quality
The World Health Organization estimates that cookstove smoke accounts for
over 4 million premature deaths annually
WASHINGTON –Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
announced new funding for six universities to research cleaner technologies
and fuels for cooking, lighting, and heating homes that will help improve
air quality and protect the health of Alaska Natives and people across the
developing world.
"Health and environmental impacts of air pollution and climate expand
beyond the borders of any one country," said EPA Administrator Gina
McCarthy. "This research funding seeks to provide new tools to reduce
health risks for the nearly three billion people around the world who are
exposed to household air pollution from crude stoves."
Researchers at universities in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois
and Minnesota will receive $9 million in grant funding. Researchers are
evaluating the climate benefits of cleaner cooking methods. Traditional
cookstoves are a major source of black carbon, an air pollutant that not
only has serious human health impacts, but also affects climate, including
increased temperatures, accelerated ice and snow melt and changes in the
pattern and intensity of precipitation.
This Science to Achieve Results (STAR) funded research will focus on
measuring and communicating the benefits of adopting cleaner cooking,
heating, and lighting practices.
Grants were awarded to the following universities:
· $1,495,454 to University of California, Berkeley, Calif. - will
explore the relationship between household and village-scale
pollution to understand the effectiveness of cookstove interventions.
· $1,500,000 to University of Colorado Boulder, Colo. will use small,
inexpensive sensors to better monitor human exposure to residential
burning pollution. They will also collect data through health
assessments and outdoor air quality measurements in Ghana.
· $1,500,000 to Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo. – will
use cookstove interventions in China, India, Kenya, and Honduras to
explore the emissions, chemistry, and movement of indoor cookstove
smoke, as well as conduct health assessments and model exposures to
improve understanding of climatic impacts of stove interventions.
· $1,499,998 to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Ill. – will
investigate how local resources affect community acceptance of
heating stove interventions, and how measurements will help
understand air quality and climatic benefits of cookstove
interventions in Alaska, Nepal, Mongolia, and China.
· $1,489,388 to University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn. - will
measure changes in air quality and health outcomes from cleaner
cooking and heating technologies and will conduct modeling to assess
regional weather, air quality impacts, human exposure and health
impacts of a rural cookstove intervention in China.
· $1,499,985 to Yale University, New Haven, Conn. – will use
socioeconomic analyses, emissions and pollution measurements, and
global climate modeling to investigate the impacts of cookstove
interventions in India.
The announcement was made by Administrator Gina McCarthy at the Global
Alliance for Clean Cookstoves reception, an initiative led by the United
Nations Foundation. As a founding member of the Alliance, EPA plays an
important role in the organization's activities.
EPA is a leader in cleaner cookstove research, helping to support the
development of international cookstove standards, conducting research on
emissions and performance of cleaner cookstoves and improving our knowledge
of the health effects from exposure to cookstove emissions.
The Alliance is a public-private partnership that seeks to save lives,
improve livelihoods, empower women, and protect the environment by creating
a thriving global market for clean and efficient household cooking
solutions. Its goal: 100 million homes adopting clean cooking solutions by
2020.
More Information on EPA's grants:
http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/display.rfa/rfa_id/563
More information on the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves:
http://www.cleancookstoves.org/
