6/12/14
Oil Spill
Gulf state, not Louisiana, blocking approval of $627 million in BP oil
spill restoration work
Mark Schleifstein
The Times-Picayune
June 11, 2014 at 2:33 PM
One of five Gulf Coast states that serve as trustees in assessing natural
resource damages in the aftermath of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill is
blocking the release of $627 million that BP has set aside for a third
phase of early restoration projects, according to a senior Louisiana
official.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2014/06/state_trustee_blocking_release.html#incart_river_default
State
EPA awards $350,000 Brownfields grant to assess potential industrial site
Monroe Journal
by Ray Van Dusen | 6:30 am | June 11, 2014
ABERDEEN – A joint venture by the board of supervisors and Aberdeen Board
of Aldermen for an Environmental Protection Agency-sanctioned Brownfields
assessment grant for the former Gulf Ordnance Plant in Prairie has been
given the green light.
http://monroecountyjournal.com/2014/06/11/epa-awards-350000-brownfields-grant-assess-potential-industrial-site/
Road closure: Portion of Burge and Reyer Road unsafe
Picayune Item
Published 2:11pm Wednesday, June 11, 2014
POPLARVILLE – EOC Public Information Officer Tony Bounds issued a release
warning residents of a road closure lifting of water advisories by the MDEQ
due to the levee breach.
http://picayuneitem.com/2014/06/road-closure-portion-of-burge-road-and-reyer-road-unsafe/
Itawamba seeking approval for debris removal on private land
Itawamba County Times
Itawamba County officials are hoping the Federal Emergency Management
Agency will reimburse for tornado debris removal on private property,
though that decision is still up in the air.
http://itawambatimes.com/2014/06/11/itawamba-seeking-approval-debris-removal-private-land/
MDEQ lifts water contact advisory in Gulfport
Sun Herald
BY PATRICK OCHS
GULFPORT -- The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality has lifted
a water contact advisory for East Courthouse Road Beach, which runs from
Courthouse Road to Tegarden Road.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/06/11/5642714/mdeq-lifts-water-contact-advisory.html?sp=/99/184/201/
Regional
Group pushes coastal restoration at DC meeting, but doesn't mention now
banned oil industry lawsuit
Bruce Alpert
Times-Picayune
June 11, 2014 at 8:48 PM
WASHINGTON -- The legislation signed by Gov. Bobby Jindal last week to
block a lawsuit brought by a local levee agency in pursuit of energy
company compensation for environmental damages from oil and gas production
was the elephant in the room.
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/06/group_works_to_push_efforts_fo.html#incart_river
Inaction feeds crisis over Mississippi River, environmentalists say
BY GREG GORDON
McClatchy Washington BureauJune 11, 2014
WASHINGTON -- Decades of shortsighted decisions by industry and government
have put the Mississippi River's future at risk, and degradation at its
southern Louisiana delta is contributing to "the greatest land loss on the
planet," a five-state environmental coalition warned Wednesday.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/06/11/5644581/inaction-feeds-crisis-over-mississippi.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1
National
First House hearing set on EPA climate rule
The Hill
A House panel on Wednesday confirmed the first hearing next week over the
administration's controversial climate rule limiting carbon pollution from
power plants.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/209035-first-hearing-set-on-epa-climate-rule
Coal company vows to fight EPA climate rule
The Hill
Coal mining giant Murray Energy Corp. had pledged to fight the
Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed rules to limit carbon
emissions from power plants.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/209067-coal-company-vows-to-fight-epa-climate-rule
EPA's water rule takes bipartisan beating
The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposal to redefine the scope
of its authority over the nation's waters drew a barrage of criticism
Wednesday from House lawmakers accusing the agency on trampling on the
rights of states and landowners.
http://thehill.com/regulation/209006-epas-water-rule-takes-bipartisan-beating
Press Releases
NRCS Mississippi NRCS Announces Assistance for Water Conservation
Jackson, Miss—The United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS) is accepting applications for the Mississippi
Water Conservation Management Project (MWCMP). The MWCMP is a voluntary
conservation program that provides financial assistance to owners and
operators of irrigated agricultural land to address water conservation
management resource concerns.
The program is geared to assist with management practices that help solve
serious water quantity and quality issues in counties that fall into the
Mississippi River Valley Aquifer (MRVA). To be considered, the land
associated with a program application must be located within the MRVA and
qualify through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).
The counties in Mississippi that are in the MRVA area are Bolivar,
Carroll, Coahoma, Desoto, Grenada, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Leflore,
Panola, Quitman, Sharkey, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tunica, Warren,
Washington, and Yazoo.
The program offers continuous sign-up however, applications received by
June 30, 2014 will be considered in the first ranking period. Applicants
can find more information about technical and financial assistance
available through conservation programs at the Natural Resource
Conservation Service (NRCS) Office in their local USDA Service Center. To
find your local NRCS office, visit
http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app?state=MS&agency=NRCS. For more
on the 2014 Farm Bill, visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/FarmBill.
