7.31.14
State
Picayune prepares for sewer work
The Associated Press
PICAYUNE, MISS. — The Pearl River County's Utility Authority has awarded a
$4 million contract for work on Picayune's aging wastewater collection
system.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/31/5721930/picayune-prepares-for-sewer-work.html?sp=/99/184/218/
McComb OKs sewer extension
The Associated Press
MCCOMB, MISS. — The city of McComb will build a 10,000-foot sewer line to
the planned Gateway Industrial Park where an oilfield worker camp and other
businesses are expected to be located.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/31/5721940/mccomb-oks-sewer-extension.html?sp=/99/184/218/
NE Mississippi's first natural gas station opens in Mantachie
Itawamba County Times
by Adam Armour
Northeast Mississippi's first natural gas pump is officially open for
business, and Gov. Phil Bryant is calling it a pioneering step for the
area.
http://itawambatimes.com/2014/07/29/ne-mississippis-first-natural-gas-station-opens-mantachie/
Oil Spill
Federal officials say BP can't dismiss suits by blaming drilling moratorium
Houston Chronicle
By Collin Eaton
The Justice Department has joined a fight to prevent BP from dodging
lawsuits by deep-water drillers and oil field services companies that
allege the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill left million-dollar holes in their
balance sheets.
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/Feds-BP-can-t-dismiss-lawsuits-by-blaming-5658346.php
BP's second quarter profit jumps, but still wary of future expense of oil
spill
Al.com
Michael Finch II
July 29, 2014 at 1:21 PM
BP PLC saw its profits rise Tuesday on the account of its investments in
Russian energy company Rosneft. BP reported $3.18 billion in replacement
cost profit for the second quarter compared with $2.4 billion the same
period last year.
http://www.al.com/business/index.ssf/2014/07/bps_second_quarter_profit_jump.html
Regional
EPA plan gives no credit for Southern states' strides, utility regulators
say in Atlanta
Kristi E. Swartz
EnergyWire: Wednesday, July 30, 2014
ATLANTA -- Mississippi Power invested $600 million to outfit coal-fired
Plant Daniel with pollution controls.
The state's Public Service Commission approved one of the most aggressive
energy-efficiency programs in the Southeast (EnergyWire, June 26).
http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060003769
Lawsuit settlement to fuel SLU effort to plant 3,300 trees in wetlands
across the region
Bob Warren
The Times-Picayune
July 30, 2014 at 10:46 AM
Financed by money from the recent settlement of a lawsuit, students and
scientists from Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond will trek into
the region's wetlands this fall to plant 3,300 bald cypress and water
tupelo seedlings, the university said.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2014/07/lawsuit_settlement_to_fuel_slu.html#incart_river
National
EPA HEARS PRAISE, CRITICISM OF NEW AIR RULES
AP
DENVER (AP) — To retired coal miner Stanley Sturgill, the Environmental
Protection Agency's proposed rules limiting pollution from power plants
doesn't do enough to protect the public's health.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/epa-hears-praise-criticism-new-air-rules
Watchdog: EPA meeting internal climate change goals
The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is exceeding most of its internal
climate change goals, according to the agency's watchdog.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/213770-watchdog-epa-meeting-internal-climate-change-goals
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
News Clippings 7.30.14
7.30.14
Oil Spill
Miss. ready to implement restoration efforts
Hattiesburg American
WASHINGTON – Mississippi and other Gulf Coast states are "energized
and stand ready,'' to begin restoration projects as soon as money
becomes available to help the region recover from the 2010 Deepwater
Horizon oil spill, a top Mississippi environmental official said
Tuesday.
"We stand here before you today poised to pull the trigger,'' Trudy
Fisher, executive director of the Mississippi Department of
Environmental Quality, testified at a Senate Commerce, Science and
Transportation subcommittee hearing on the status of restoration
efforts under the 2012 RESTORE Act.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/politics/2014/07/29/state-officials-anxious-restore-act-funds/13344467/
Democrats and Republicans agree: federal government needs to move faster on
RESTORE Act
Bruce Alpert
Times-Picayune
July 29, 2014 at 6:10 PM
WASHINGTON -- In a change from the usual partisanship, Democrats and
Republicans delivered the same message Tuesday: The Obama administration
needs to speed up implementation of the 2012 law that distributes Clean
Water Act fines from the BP oil spill to the five Gulf States.
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/07/democrats_and_republicans_agre.html#incart_river
Environmental groups praise bipartisan Senate message to speed enactment of
RESTORE Act
Bruce Alpert
Times-Picayune
July 29, 2014 at 10:45 PM
WASHINGTON -- Six groups working on environmental and economic recovery
issues Tuesday night quickly endorsed the bipartisan message delivered just
hours earlier at a Senate oversight hearing: Democratic and Republican
lawmakers said they want the federal government to move faster to select
projects and release funding for coastal restoration work promised under a
2012 law.
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/07/environmental_groups_praise_bi.html#incart_river
BP employees shower Houston officials with emails over lawsuit
Houston Chronicle
By Kiah Collier and Mike Morris
Weeks after Harris County joined the city of Houston in a lawsuit against
several companies involved in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, one of
those companies - BP - is waging what local government officials describe
as a strange and unprecedented mass email campaign aimed at getting them to
drop the suit.
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/BP-employees-shower-local-officials-with-emails-5655318.php
State
Miss. fines Severstal $135K on emission sensors
AP
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Commission of Environmental Quality
has fined Columbus steel mill Severstal $135,000 because the company's
pollution control monitors didn't function properly after the plant
expanded in June 2011.
http://www.wtva.com/news/local/story/Miss-fines-Severstal-135K-on-emission-sensors/tQF4KwENo0C5MY82VSRC9g.cspx
Public works director salary stirs up Council debate
Clarion Ledger
Jackson's recently confirmed public works department head could make
more money than the mayor, a price tag city officials say is worth
the investment to handle infrastructure woes projected to cost an
eventual $1 billion or more.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2014/07/29/public-works-salary/13323837/
Mantachie Opens Natural Gas Station
WCBI
MANTACHIE, Miss. (WCBI) — North Mississippi residents now have access to a
natural gas pump, thanks to the Northeast Mississippi Natural Gas District
in Mantachie.
http://www.wcbi.com/wordpress/video-mantachie-opens-natural-gas-station
Dam Safety Law Means Help For The Delta
Delta Council E-News
The Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission is initiating plans
for dam rehabilitation on hillside tributaries along the bluff hill line of
the Mississippi Delta and in other parts of the State. In a law enacted
during the 2014 Mississippi Legislative Session, funds were restored for a
dam safety program to be implemented by the Mississippi Soil and Water
Conservation Commission, under the leadership of its Executive Director,
Don Underwood.
"Delta Council has long been concerned for the lack of State funding for
maintenance activities on these hillside watershed dams, which have
outlived their 50-year life expectancy," stated Chat Phillips, the Delta
Council leader from Yazoo County who who served on the Mississippi Soil and
Water Conservation Commission for many years.
The funds dedicated to dam safety are designed to protect watersheds such
as those with their mouth in the Mississippi Delta. These waters dump huge
volumes of sediment-laden discharges into the downstream landscapes which
are typical of the Mississippi Delta, causing significant stream
maintenance cost for counties, local drainage districts, and residents.
"This source of dedicated funding for the Mississippi Soil and Water
Conservation Commission, if sustained, will slowly reverse the trend of so
many dam failure possibilities which currently exists throughout the State,
and especially along the bluff hill line of the Mississippi Delta,"
concluded Phillips, the resident of the Eden community in Yazoo County.
Kemper price holds at $5.6 billion
Sun Herald
The total cost of the Kemper County power plant remains at about $5.6
billion, Southern Company said Tuesday in its 8-K report.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/29/5719967/kemper-price-holds-at-56-billion.html?sp=/99/184/
Southwire Receives Industry of the Year Award
WCBI
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) — The Golden Triangle Development LINK has
selected Southwire as its 2014 Industry Of The Year.
http://www.wcbi.com/wordpress/southwire-receives-the-industry-of-the-year-award
Training the key to first responder success
WLOX
They go into situations most of us run away from. First responders are
always on the front lines, risking their own lives to save others.
Monday's explosion at Omega Protein in Moss Point was one of those
instances for Jackson County's emergency teams.
http://www.wlox.com/story/26142406/training-the-key-to-first-responder-success
National
Clean-air rules assailed as too much, too little
AP
DENVER — Hundreds of people across the country lined up today to
tell the Environmental Protection Agency that its new rules for
power-plant pollution either go too far or not far enough.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/nation/2014/07/29/clean-air-rules/13323221/
Competing visions of cataclysm at an EPA hearing
Washington Post
On one side were the enviros in "Climate Action Now" T-shirts who came to
pass out muffins and stand up for asthmatics. The Obama administration's
plan to force power plants to cut pollution 30 percent by 2030 is absurdly
gentle, they argued at a public hearing Tuesday, and too toothless to save
what one advocate called "civilization as we've known it."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/a-plan-to-force-power-plants-to-cut-pollution-draws-strong-opinions-at-an-epa-hearing/2014/07/29/0c59cafe-1742-11e4-9349-84d4a85be981_story.html
Energy Regulators Say EPA's Climate Rule Poses Grid Challenges
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Expresses Cost, Reliability Concerns
Wall Street Journal
WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama's proposed rule to curb carbon emissions
from the nation's power plants could raise costs and affect reliability in
the U.S. electricity system, federal regulators told Congress.
But the commissioners of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the
government agency charged with overseeing the electric grid and other parts
of the nation's energy infrastructure, also said at a House hearing that
the government has a responsibility to act on climate change.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/energy-regulators-say-epas-climate-rule-poses-grid-challenges-1406659902
Administration unveils actions to curb methane emissions
The Hill
Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced new actions Tuesday aimed at
curbing methane emissions form the nation's natural gas systems.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/213715-administration-unveils-actions-to-curb-methane-emissions
Senate Dems' bill would bring back Superfund tax
The Hill
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and two of his colleagues introduced a bill
Tuesday to reinstate the Superfund tax, which charges certain industries
fees to clean up contaminated industrial sites.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/213707-senate-dems-bill-would-bring-back-superfund-tax
House votes to place new requirements on government in declaring species
endangered
Al.com
Brendan Kirby
July 30, 2014 at 5:06 AM
The U.S. House of Representatives voted Tuesday to place new limits on the
Endangered Species Act that supporters said would improve transparency when
the government decides which critters deserve federal protection.
http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2014/07/house_votes_to_place_new_requi.html#incart_river
Press Releases
Wicker Comments on 'RESTORE' Progress
Miss. Senator Says 'Legal Wrangling Has Created an Environment of
Uncertainty, Delays'
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today said that ongoing
litigation is negatively impacting the implementation of long-term
restoration efforts required by the "Resources and Ecosystems
Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities and Revived Economies of the Gulf
Coast States Act" (RESTORE Act). The legal fight pertaining to civil
penalties for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which occurred in 2010, is
not expected to resume until next spring.
"The continued legal wrangling over the Deepwater Horizon disaster has
created an environment of uncertainty and delays," Wicker said. "Funding
has not been released or even obligated for the final projects that have
been selected under the 'RESTORE Act.' The 10-year prioritized project list
has also been put on hold."
Wicker's comments were issued following a Senate Subcommittee on Oceans,
Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard hearing to examine ongoing efforts
to restore the Gulf of Mexico, including implementation of the 2012
"RESTORE Act."
"Despite being an active participant, Mississippi has yet to receive
'RESTORE Act' funds," Wicker continued. "In fact, the state has not even
been asked to submit proposed projects for funding under the law. This is
unacceptable."
In 2011, Senator Wicker cosponsored the "RESTORE Act," which dedicated 80
percent of all "Clean Water Act" penalties paid by those responsible for
the 2010 disaster to Gulf Coast restoration. The remaining 20 percent of
the fines are directed to the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund.
Funding available to the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council and the
Gulf Coast states through the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund currently
stands at $800 million. More than $480 million of these funds are expected
to be used by the Council pursuant to the "RESTORE Act." The remaining
funds are then made available to the states.
"I urge those involved with implementing the law, including the Restoration
Council and the Treasury Department, to move forward with plans to
establish a funding priority list, finalize the needed regulations, and
complete a comprehensive plan to carry it out," Wicker concluded.
Ms. Trudy Fisher, director of the Mississippi Department of Environmental
Quality, testified at today's hearing. Ms. Fisher has served as the
agency's director since 2007 and is tasked with leading Mississippi's
recovery from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
http://www.wicker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=ef2afea4-a363-4912-92c3-efc95f956aea
Oil Spill
Miss. ready to implement restoration efforts
Hattiesburg American
WASHINGTON – Mississippi and other Gulf Coast states are "energized
and stand ready,'' to begin restoration projects as soon as money
becomes available to help the region recover from the 2010 Deepwater
Horizon oil spill, a top Mississippi environmental official said
Tuesday.
"We stand here before you today poised to pull the trigger,'' Trudy
Fisher, executive director of the Mississippi Department of
Environmental Quality, testified at a Senate Commerce, Science and
Transportation subcommittee hearing on the status of restoration
efforts under the 2012 RESTORE Act.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/politics/2014/07/29/state-officials-anxious-restore-act-funds/13344467/
Democrats and Republicans agree: federal government needs to move faster on
RESTORE Act
Bruce Alpert
Times-Picayune
July 29, 2014 at 6:10 PM
WASHINGTON -- In a change from the usual partisanship, Democrats and
Republicans delivered the same message Tuesday: The Obama administration
needs to speed up implementation of the 2012 law that distributes Clean
Water Act fines from the BP oil spill to the five Gulf States.
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/07/democrats_and_republicans_agre.html#incart_river
Environmental groups praise bipartisan Senate message to speed enactment of
RESTORE Act
Bruce Alpert
Times-Picayune
July 29, 2014 at 10:45 PM
WASHINGTON -- Six groups working on environmental and economic recovery
issues Tuesday night quickly endorsed the bipartisan message delivered just
hours earlier at a Senate oversight hearing: Democratic and Republican
lawmakers said they want the federal government to move faster to select
projects and release funding for coastal restoration work promised under a
2012 law.
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/07/environmental_groups_praise_bi.html#incart_river
BP employees shower Houston officials with emails over lawsuit
Houston Chronicle
By Kiah Collier and Mike Morris
Weeks after Harris County joined the city of Houston in a lawsuit against
several companies involved in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, one of
those companies - BP - is waging what local government officials describe
as a strange and unprecedented mass email campaign aimed at getting them to
drop the suit.
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/BP-employees-shower-local-officials-with-emails-5655318.php
State
Miss. fines Severstal $135K on emission sensors
AP
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Commission of Environmental Quality
has fined Columbus steel mill Severstal $135,000 because the company's
pollution control monitors didn't function properly after the plant
expanded in June 2011.
http://www.wtva.com/news/local/story/Miss-fines-Severstal-135K-on-emission-sensors/tQF4KwENo0C5MY82VSRC9g.cspx
Public works director salary stirs up Council debate
Clarion Ledger
Jackson's recently confirmed public works department head could make
more money than the mayor, a price tag city officials say is worth
the investment to handle infrastructure woes projected to cost an
eventual $1 billion or more.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2014/07/29/public-works-salary/13323837/
Mantachie Opens Natural Gas Station
WCBI
MANTACHIE, Miss. (WCBI) — North Mississippi residents now have access to a
natural gas pump, thanks to the Northeast Mississippi Natural Gas District
in Mantachie.
http://www.wcbi.com/wordpress/video-mantachie-opens-natural-gas-station
Dam Safety Law Means Help For The Delta
Delta Council E-News
The Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission is initiating plans
for dam rehabilitation on hillside tributaries along the bluff hill line of
the Mississippi Delta and in other parts of the State. In a law enacted
during the 2014 Mississippi Legislative Session, funds were restored for a
dam safety program to be implemented by the Mississippi Soil and Water
Conservation Commission, under the leadership of its Executive Director,
Don Underwood.
"Delta Council has long been concerned for the lack of State funding for
maintenance activities on these hillside watershed dams, which have
outlived their 50-year life expectancy," stated Chat Phillips, the Delta
Council leader from Yazoo County who who served on the Mississippi Soil and
Water Conservation Commission for many years.
The funds dedicated to dam safety are designed to protect watersheds such
as those with their mouth in the Mississippi Delta. These waters dump huge
volumes of sediment-laden discharges into the downstream landscapes which
are typical of the Mississippi Delta, causing significant stream
maintenance cost for counties, local drainage districts, and residents.
"This source of dedicated funding for the Mississippi Soil and Water
Conservation Commission, if sustained, will slowly reverse the trend of so
many dam failure possibilities which currently exists throughout the State,
and especially along the bluff hill line of the Mississippi Delta,"
concluded Phillips, the resident of the Eden community in Yazoo County.
Kemper price holds at $5.6 billion
Sun Herald
The total cost of the Kemper County power plant remains at about $5.6
billion, Southern Company said Tuesday in its 8-K report.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/29/5719967/kemper-price-holds-at-56-billion.html?sp=/99/184/
Southwire Receives Industry of the Year Award
WCBI
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) — The Golden Triangle Development LINK has
selected Southwire as its 2014 Industry Of The Year.
http://www.wcbi.com/wordpress/southwire-receives-the-industry-of-the-year-award
Training the key to first responder success
WLOX
They go into situations most of us run away from. First responders are
always on the front lines, risking their own lives to save others.
Monday's explosion at Omega Protein in Moss Point was one of those
instances for Jackson County's emergency teams.
http://www.wlox.com/story/26142406/training-the-key-to-first-responder-success
National
Clean-air rules assailed as too much, too little
AP
DENVER — Hundreds of people across the country lined up today to
tell the Environmental Protection Agency that its new rules for
power-plant pollution either go too far or not far enough.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/nation/2014/07/29/clean-air-rules/13323221/
Competing visions of cataclysm at an EPA hearing
Washington Post
On one side were the enviros in "Climate Action Now" T-shirts who came to
pass out muffins and stand up for asthmatics. The Obama administration's
plan to force power plants to cut pollution 30 percent by 2030 is absurdly
gentle, they argued at a public hearing Tuesday, and too toothless to save
what one advocate called "civilization as we've known it."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/a-plan-to-force-power-plants-to-cut-pollution-draws-strong-opinions-at-an-epa-hearing/2014/07/29/0c59cafe-1742-11e4-9349-84d4a85be981_story.html
Energy Regulators Say EPA's Climate Rule Poses Grid Challenges
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Expresses Cost, Reliability Concerns
Wall Street Journal
WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama's proposed rule to curb carbon emissions
from the nation's power plants could raise costs and affect reliability in
the U.S. electricity system, federal regulators told Congress.
But the commissioners of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the
government agency charged with overseeing the electric grid and other parts
of the nation's energy infrastructure, also said at a House hearing that
the government has a responsibility to act on climate change.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/energy-regulators-say-epas-climate-rule-poses-grid-challenges-1406659902
Administration unveils actions to curb methane emissions
The Hill
Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced new actions Tuesday aimed at
curbing methane emissions form the nation's natural gas systems.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/213715-administration-unveils-actions-to-curb-methane-emissions
Senate Dems' bill would bring back Superfund tax
The Hill
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and two of his colleagues introduced a bill
Tuesday to reinstate the Superfund tax, which charges certain industries
fees to clean up contaminated industrial sites.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/213707-senate-dems-bill-would-bring-back-superfund-tax
House votes to place new requirements on government in declaring species
endangered
Al.com
Brendan Kirby
July 30, 2014 at 5:06 AM
The U.S. House of Representatives voted Tuesday to place new limits on the
Endangered Species Act that supporters said would improve transparency when
the government decides which critters deserve federal protection.
http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2014/07/house_votes_to_place_new_requi.html#incart_river
Press Releases
Wicker Comments on 'RESTORE' Progress
Miss. Senator Says 'Legal Wrangling Has Created an Environment of
Uncertainty, Delays'
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today said that ongoing
litigation is negatively impacting the implementation of long-term
restoration efforts required by the "Resources and Ecosystems
Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities and Revived Economies of the Gulf
Coast States Act" (RESTORE Act). The legal fight pertaining to civil
penalties for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which occurred in 2010, is
not expected to resume until next spring.
"The continued legal wrangling over the Deepwater Horizon disaster has
created an environment of uncertainty and delays," Wicker said. "Funding
has not been released or even obligated for the final projects that have
been selected under the 'RESTORE Act.' The 10-year prioritized project list
has also been put on hold."
Wicker's comments were issued following a Senate Subcommittee on Oceans,
Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard hearing to examine ongoing efforts
to restore the Gulf of Mexico, including implementation of the 2012
"RESTORE Act."
"Despite being an active participant, Mississippi has yet to receive
'RESTORE Act' funds," Wicker continued. "In fact, the state has not even
been asked to submit proposed projects for funding under the law. This is
unacceptable."
In 2011, Senator Wicker cosponsored the "RESTORE Act," which dedicated 80
percent of all "Clean Water Act" penalties paid by those responsible for
the 2010 disaster to Gulf Coast restoration. The remaining 20 percent of
the fines are directed to the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund.
Funding available to the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council and the
Gulf Coast states through the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund currently
stands at $800 million. More than $480 million of these funds are expected
to be used by the Council pursuant to the "RESTORE Act." The remaining
funds are then made available to the states.
"I urge those involved with implementing the law, including the Restoration
Council and the Treasury Department, to move forward with plans to
establish a funding priority list, finalize the needed regulations, and
complete a comprehensive plan to carry it out," Wicker concluded.
Ms. Trudy Fisher, director of the Mississippi Department of Environmental
Quality, testified at today's hearing. Ms. Fisher has served as the
agency's director since 2007 and is tasked with leading Mississippi's
recovery from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
http://www.wicker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=ef2afea4-a363-4912-92c3-efc95f956aea
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
News Clippings 7.29.14
7.29.14
State
Air quality improving
DeSoto could be removed from non-attainment list
DeSoto Times
By ROBERT LEE LONG
Published: Tuesday, July 29, 2014 1:05 AM CDT
So far, so good — with just two months to go, all of the Mid-South counties
in non-attainment with federal air quality standards have been far below
ozone pollution levels and that bodes well both environmentally and
economically for the state's fastest-growing county.
http://www.desototimes.com/articles/2014/07/29/news/doc53d6c8cb7279e208460612.txt
25-year-old man dead, 3 injured after Omega Protein explosion in Moss Point
Mississippi Press
April M. Havens
July 28, 2014 at 5:41 PM
MOSS POINT, Mississippi -- One man is dead and three other workers are
injured after a morning explosion at Omega Protein in Moss Point, fire
Chief Tommy Posey confirmed.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2014/07/officials_on_scene_at_omega_pr.html#incart_river
East Jackson County man killed in Moss Point Omega plant explosion; 3
others injured
Sun Herald
MOSS POINT -- Jerry Lee Taylor II, 25, was killed Monday morning in an
explosion that injured three others at the Omega Protein Plant in Moss
Point.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/28/5717913/emergency-officials-on-scene-at.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1
Helena man killed in Omega Protein explosion; 3 injured
WLOX
MOSS POINT, MS (WLOX) -Jerry Lee Taylor, 25, was killed Monday morning
after an explosion at the Omega Protein plant in Moss Point. Taylor lived
in the Helena community of Jackson County.
http://www.wlox.com/story/26129569/helena-man-killed-in-omega-protein-explosion-3-injured
Oil Spill
Restoration Council approves RESTORE process for oil spill funds
By VALERIE GARMAN | The News Herald
Published: Monday, July 28, 2014 at 17:16 PM.
PANAMA CITY BEACH — A group tasked with paving the way for allocating
billions of dollars in Deepwater Horizon oil spill fines has moved one step
closer to putting those dollars to work.
http://www.newsherald.com/news/business/restoration-council-approves-restore-process-for-oil-spill-funds-1.351511
Editorial: Reject oil spill myths
Pensacola News Journal
And so it goes, the aftermath science of the Deepwater Horizon oil
spill continues to reveal how the disaster is still here on our
shores. In a story Sunday, PNJ environmental reporter Kim Blair
revealed how toxic traces of dispersant chemicals that were
controversially used in 2010 are present in tar balls on our beaches
today.
http://www.pnj.com/story/opinion/2014/07/29/editorial-reject-oil-spill-myths/13288059/
Regional
Bogalusa paper mill discharge settlement money paid, newspaper reports
Bob Warren
The Times-Picayune
Around 2,000 people in Washington and St. Tammany parishes have begun
receiving money for claims stemming from the Temple Inland paper mill's
2011 discharge into the Pearl River, a newspaper reported.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2014/07/bogalusa_paper_mill_discharge.html#incart_river
National
White House Pushes Economic Case for Climate Action
Wall Street Journal
By AMY HARDER
The White House is trying to put a price on delaying action on climate
change.
Aiming to create a sense of urgency around its actions to curb greenhouse
gas emissions, the White House is issuing a report Tuesday that argues that
the longer the delay, the more future generations will bear costs.
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/07/29/white-house-pushes-economic-case-for-climate-action/
New White House climate report: Waiting on action boosts costs dramatically
BY CHRIS ADAMS
McClatchy Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — The cost of waiting to act on climate change would be enormous
and would grow rapidly with each passing year, the White House says in a
new report coming out Tuesday.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/29/5718371/new-white-house-climate-report.html?sp=/99/184/767/312/
EPA to get earful from climate rule friends, foes
Politico
By: Andrew Restuccia
July 28, 2014 11:18 PM EDT
Get comfortable.
An estimated 1,600 people are slated to sound off to the Environmental
Protection Agency on its proposed climate change rule for existing power
plants this week at a series of marathon public hearings.
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/epa-climate-change-rule-global-warming-109468.html?hp=l4
EPA chief: Climate rule 'changing tone' of talks
The Hill
Environmental Protection Agency chief Gina McCarthy said the
administration's signature climate change regulation is "changing the tone"
of conversations with global leaders.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/213478-epa-chief-climate-rule-changing-tone-of-international-talks
EPA chief won't attend public hearings on climate rule
The Hill
Environmental chief Gina McCarthy won't be attending any of the four public
hearings on the agency's landmark climate rule this week.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/213486-epa-chief-wont-attend-public-hearings-on-climate-rule
GAO wants EPA to do more on fracking wastewater
The Hill
Congress' watchdog agency faulted the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
for its oversight of hydraulic fracturing wastewater injected into the
ground, saying the agency doesn't adequately work to mitigate emerging
risks to drinking water.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/213635-gao-wants-epa-to-do-more-on-fracking-wastewater
Waste Management selling subsidiary for $1.94B
The Associated Press
HOUSTON — Waste Management is selling a subsidiary to Energy Capital
Partners for $1.94 billion as part of its effort to focus on its core
business.
It is selling Wheelabrator Technologies Inc., which owns or runs 17
waste-to-energy facilities and four independent power-producing plants in
the U.S.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/29/5719021/waste-management-selling-subsidiary.html?sp=/99/102/
State
Air quality improving
DeSoto could be removed from non-attainment list
DeSoto Times
By ROBERT LEE LONG
Published: Tuesday, July 29, 2014 1:05 AM CDT
So far, so good — with just two months to go, all of the Mid-South counties
in non-attainment with federal air quality standards have been far below
ozone pollution levels and that bodes well both environmentally and
economically for the state's fastest-growing county.
http://www.desototimes.com/articles/2014/07/29/news/doc53d6c8cb7279e208460612.txt
25-year-old man dead, 3 injured after Omega Protein explosion in Moss Point
Mississippi Press
April M. Havens
July 28, 2014 at 5:41 PM
MOSS POINT, Mississippi -- One man is dead and three other workers are
injured after a morning explosion at Omega Protein in Moss Point, fire
Chief Tommy Posey confirmed.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2014/07/officials_on_scene_at_omega_pr.html#incart_river
East Jackson County man killed in Moss Point Omega plant explosion; 3
others injured
Sun Herald
MOSS POINT -- Jerry Lee Taylor II, 25, was killed Monday morning in an
explosion that injured three others at the Omega Protein Plant in Moss
Point.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/28/5717913/emergency-officials-on-scene-at.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1
Helena man killed in Omega Protein explosion; 3 injured
WLOX
MOSS POINT, MS (WLOX) -Jerry Lee Taylor, 25, was killed Monday morning
after an explosion at the Omega Protein plant in Moss Point. Taylor lived
in the Helena community of Jackson County.
http://www.wlox.com/story/26129569/helena-man-killed-in-omega-protein-explosion-3-injured
Oil Spill
Restoration Council approves RESTORE process for oil spill funds
By VALERIE GARMAN | The News Herald
Published: Monday, July 28, 2014 at 17:16 PM.
PANAMA CITY BEACH — A group tasked with paving the way for allocating
billions of dollars in Deepwater Horizon oil spill fines has moved one step
closer to putting those dollars to work.
http://www.newsherald.com/news/business/restoration-council-approves-restore-process-for-oil-spill-funds-1.351511
Editorial: Reject oil spill myths
Pensacola News Journal
And so it goes, the aftermath science of the Deepwater Horizon oil
spill continues to reveal how the disaster is still here on our
shores. In a story Sunday, PNJ environmental reporter Kim Blair
revealed how toxic traces of dispersant chemicals that were
controversially used in 2010 are present in tar balls on our beaches
today.
http://www.pnj.com/story/opinion/2014/07/29/editorial-reject-oil-spill-myths/13288059/
Regional
Bogalusa paper mill discharge settlement money paid, newspaper reports
Bob Warren
The Times-Picayune
Around 2,000 people in Washington and St. Tammany parishes have begun
receiving money for claims stemming from the Temple Inland paper mill's
2011 discharge into the Pearl River, a newspaper reported.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2014/07/bogalusa_paper_mill_discharge.html#incart_river
National
White House Pushes Economic Case for Climate Action
Wall Street Journal
By AMY HARDER
The White House is trying to put a price on delaying action on climate
change.
Aiming to create a sense of urgency around its actions to curb greenhouse
gas emissions, the White House is issuing a report Tuesday that argues that
the longer the delay, the more future generations will bear costs.
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/07/29/white-house-pushes-economic-case-for-climate-action/
New White House climate report: Waiting on action boosts costs dramatically
BY CHRIS ADAMS
McClatchy Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — The cost of waiting to act on climate change would be enormous
and would grow rapidly with each passing year, the White House says in a
new report coming out Tuesday.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/29/5718371/new-white-house-climate-report.html?sp=/99/184/767/312/
EPA to get earful from climate rule friends, foes
Politico
By: Andrew Restuccia
July 28, 2014 11:18 PM EDT
Get comfortable.
An estimated 1,600 people are slated to sound off to the Environmental
Protection Agency on its proposed climate change rule for existing power
plants this week at a series of marathon public hearings.
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/epa-climate-change-rule-global-warming-109468.html?hp=l4
EPA chief: Climate rule 'changing tone' of talks
The Hill
Environmental Protection Agency chief Gina McCarthy said the
administration's signature climate change regulation is "changing the tone"
of conversations with global leaders.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/213478-epa-chief-climate-rule-changing-tone-of-international-talks
EPA chief won't attend public hearings on climate rule
The Hill
Environmental chief Gina McCarthy won't be attending any of the four public
hearings on the agency's landmark climate rule this week.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/213486-epa-chief-wont-attend-public-hearings-on-climate-rule
GAO wants EPA to do more on fracking wastewater
The Hill
Congress' watchdog agency faulted the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
for its oversight of hydraulic fracturing wastewater injected into the
ground, saying the agency doesn't adequately work to mitigate emerging
risks to drinking water.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/213635-gao-wants-epa-to-do-more-on-fracking-wastewater
Waste Management selling subsidiary for $1.94B
The Associated Press
HOUSTON — Waste Management is selling a subsidiary to Energy Capital
Partners for $1.94 billion as part of its effort to focus on its core
business.
It is selling Wheelabrator Technologies Inc., which owns or runs 17
waste-to-energy facilities and four independent power-producing plants in
the U.S.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/29/5719021/waste-management-selling-subsidiary.html?sp=/99/102/
Monday, July 28, 2014
News Clippings 7/28/14
7.28.14
State
City defends plan to drain lake
By Terri Ferguson Smith
The Meridian Star
MERIDIAN — City officials say they need to drain Long Creek Reservoir
and cut a 40-foot section out of the lake's dam to protect lives and
property downstream, but it is unclear from engineering reports and state
officials if the dam needs to be totally drained and breached to shore up
the dam.
http://www.meridianstar.com/local/x197373341/City-defends-plan-to-drain-lake
State officials said city needs to contact feds about bald eagles
By Brandon Ward
The Meridian Star
MERIDIAN — If there are bald eagles nesting at Long Creek Reservoir,
then city officials need to contact the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, said
Nick Winstead, an ornithologist with the Mississippi Department of
Wildlife, Fisheries, & Parks Museum of Natural Science.
http://www.meridianstar.com/local/x864254248/State-officials-said-city-needs-to-contact-feds-about-bald-eagles
Dead fish stink and so does dam problem
Editorial
The Meridian Star
MERIDIAN — The city of Meridian has known for six years that the dam at
Long Creek Reservoir was structurally unsound and would need to be repaired
or the lake would have to be drained — and did absolutely nothing about it.
http://www.meridianstar.com/editorials/x197373265/Dead-fish-stink-and-so-does-dam-problem
Mississippi falls in beach ratings, MDEQ could lose funding
Sun Herald
BY LAUREN WALCK
New federal standards may be bad news for beaches that line the murky
waters of the Mississippi Sound.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/27/5717399/mississippi-falls-in-beach-ratings.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1
Oil Spill
Gulf Restoration Council to select projects in August paid with 30 percent
of BP RESTORE Act money
Mark Schleifstein
The Times-Picayune
The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council on Friday (July 25) announced
it will begin accepting proposals in August for projects to restore the
effects of the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2014/07/gulf_restoration_council_annou.html#incart_river
BP oil spill dispersants still in environment
Pensacola News Journal
A common ingredient in human laxatives and in the controversial
dispersants that was used to break down oil from the BP Deepwater
Horizon oil spill is still being found in tar balls four years later
along Gulf Coast beaches including Perdido Key.
http://www.pnj.com/story/news/2014/07/26/bp-oil-spill-dispersants-still-environment/13213759/
BP asks Texas judge to dismiss British lawsuits
Houston Chronicle
By Collin Eaton
Attorneys for BP asked a Houston judge on Friday to dismiss a case in which
British investors are seeking damages in Texas for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico
oil spill.
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/BP-asks-Texas-judge-to-dismiss-British-lawsuits-5648204.php
BP executive charged with obstruction in oil spill probe to get trial date
The Associated Press
July 26, 2014 at 9:51 AM
A judge is getting ready to set a new trial date for a former BP executive
charged with obstructing a congressional investigation into the 2010 Gulf
of Mexico oil spill.
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2014/07/bp_executive_who_faces_crimina.html
National
Week ahead: EPA heads into battle on climate rule
The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is heading into a battle with the
coal industry next week over its landmark climate regulations.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/213463-week-ahead-epa-heads-into-battle-on-climate-rule
Internal report faults EPA on gas line leaks
The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency is not doing enough to prevent millions
of tons of methane from leaking into the atmosphere from natural gas
pipelines, according to an internal watchdog report.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/213333-internal-report-faults-epa-on-gas-pipeline-leaks
EPA: Most Waste Sites Used for Renewable Energy Subject to State Laws, Not
CERCLA
Bloomberg
The "vast majority" of contaminated sites requiring cleanup are likely to
be addressed by state cleanup programs and won't involve federal cleanup or
enforcement laws, the Environmental Protection Agency said in a reference
guide addressing liability for renewable energy projects at contaminated
sites.http://www.bna.com/epa-waste-sites-n17179892888/
Not in my backyard: US sending dirty coal abroad
BY DINA CAPPIELLO
Associated Press
NEWPORT NEWS, VA. — Coal from Appalachia rumbles into this port city, 150
railroad cars at a time, bound for the belly of the massive cargo ship
Prime Lily. The ship soon sets sail for South America, its 80,000 tons of
coal destined for power plants and factories, an export of American energy
— and pollution.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/27/5712512/not-in-my-backyard-us-sending.html?sp=/99/184/767/312/
State
City defends plan to drain lake
By Terri Ferguson Smith
The Meridian Star
MERIDIAN — City officials say they need to drain Long Creek Reservoir
and cut a 40-foot section out of the lake's dam to protect lives and
property downstream, but it is unclear from engineering reports and state
officials if the dam needs to be totally drained and breached to shore up
the dam.
http://www.meridianstar.com/local/x197373341/City-defends-plan-to-drain-lake
State officials said city needs to contact feds about bald eagles
By Brandon Ward
The Meridian Star
MERIDIAN — If there are bald eagles nesting at Long Creek Reservoir,
then city officials need to contact the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, said
Nick Winstead, an ornithologist with the Mississippi Department of
Wildlife, Fisheries, & Parks Museum of Natural Science.
http://www.meridianstar.com/local/x864254248/State-officials-said-city-needs-to-contact-feds-about-bald-eagles
Dead fish stink and so does dam problem
Editorial
The Meridian Star
MERIDIAN — The city of Meridian has known for six years that the dam at
Long Creek Reservoir was structurally unsound and would need to be repaired
or the lake would have to be drained — and did absolutely nothing about it.
http://www.meridianstar.com/editorials/x197373265/Dead-fish-stink-and-so-does-dam-problem
Mississippi falls in beach ratings, MDEQ could lose funding
Sun Herald
BY LAUREN WALCK
New federal standards may be bad news for beaches that line the murky
waters of the Mississippi Sound.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/27/5717399/mississippi-falls-in-beach-ratings.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1
Oil Spill
Gulf Restoration Council to select projects in August paid with 30 percent
of BP RESTORE Act money
Mark Schleifstein
The Times-Picayune
The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council on Friday (July 25) announced
it will begin accepting proposals in August for projects to restore the
effects of the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2014/07/gulf_restoration_council_annou.html#incart_river
BP oil spill dispersants still in environment
Pensacola News Journal
A common ingredient in human laxatives and in the controversial
dispersants that was used to break down oil from the BP Deepwater
Horizon oil spill is still being found in tar balls four years later
along Gulf Coast beaches including Perdido Key.
http://www.pnj.com/story/news/2014/07/26/bp-oil-spill-dispersants-still-environment/13213759/
BP asks Texas judge to dismiss British lawsuits
Houston Chronicle
By Collin Eaton
Attorneys for BP asked a Houston judge on Friday to dismiss a case in which
British investors are seeking damages in Texas for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico
oil spill.
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/BP-asks-Texas-judge-to-dismiss-British-lawsuits-5648204.php
BP executive charged with obstruction in oil spill probe to get trial date
The Associated Press
July 26, 2014 at 9:51 AM
A judge is getting ready to set a new trial date for a former BP executive
charged with obstructing a congressional investigation into the 2010 Gulf
of Mexico oil spill.
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2014/07/bp_executive_who_faces_crimina.html
National
Week ahead: EPA heads into battle on climate rule
The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is heading into a battle with the
coal industry next week over its landmark climate regulations.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/213463-week-ahead-epa-heads-into-battle-on-climate-rule
Internal report faults EPA on gas line leaks
The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency is not doing enough to prevent millions
of tons of methane from leaking into the atmosphere from natural gas
pipelines, according to an internal watchdog report.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/213333-internal-report-faults-epa-on-gas-pipeline-leaks
EPA: Most Waste Sites Used for Renewable Energy Subject to State Laws, Not
CERCLA
Bloomberg
The "vast majority" of contaminated sites requiring cleanup are likely to
be addressed by state cleanup programs and won't involve federal cleanup or
enforcement laws, the Environmental Protection Agency said in a reference
guide addressing liability for renewable energy projects at contaminated
sites.http://www.bna.com/epa-waste-sites-n17179892888/
Not in my backyard: US sending dirty coal abroad
BY DINA CAPPIELLO
Associated Press
NEWPORT NEWS, VA. — Coal from Appalachia rumbles into this port city, 150
railroad cars at a time, bound for the belly of the massive cargo ship
Prime Lily. The ship soon sets sail for South America, its 80,000 tons of
coal destined for power plants and factories, an export of American energy
— and pollution.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/27/5712512/not-in-my-backyard-us-sending.html?sp=/99/184/767/312/
Friday, July 25, 2014
News Clippings 7.25.14
State
Your Power Bill Could Be Affected by Federal Government Ruling
News MS
WASHINGTON, D.C.–Every power plant in Mississippi that uses coal to
generate power could be forced to shut down under new rules by the
Environmental Protection Agency, said Sen. Roger Wicker in Washington in a
Senate hearing Wednesday. If that did happen, that would, of course,
translate into changes in your power bill that Wicker believes could make
your electricity unaffordable.
http://www.newsms.fm/power-bill-affected-federal-government-ruling/
Lauderdale County Offers to Assist with Long Creek Reservoir
WTOK
Lauderdale County leaders(Embedded image moved to file: pic19906.jpg) say
they are working with Meridian city leaders to find a way to avoid draining
a local reservoir.
http://www.wtok.com/home/headlines/Lauderdale-County-Offers-to-Assist-with-Long-Creek-Reservoir--268547802.html
Utilities work set to disrupt East Biloxi
Sun Herald
BILOXI -- Residents and business owners were told Thursday to expect East
Biloxi north of the railroad tracks to be torn up for the next three years
as utilities that went under water during Hurricane Katrina are repaired or
replaced.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/24/5713434/utilities-work-set-to-disrupt.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1
Mississippi lawmakers renew call for performance-based budgeting
The Associated Press
JACKSON, Mississippi -- Top legislative Republicans are promising that
Mississippi will get performance-based budgeting right this time.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2014/07/mississippi_lawmakers_renew_ca.html#incart_river
Oil Spill
1,783 pounds of BP oil removed from seashore
Pensacola News Journal
Weather continues to hamper the cleanup of a large tar mat submerged
in the surf zone on the National Seashore's Fort Pickens beach.
http://www.pnj.com/story/news/local/environment/2014/07/24/tar-mat-cleanup-continues/13104479/
National
EPA climate rule economically feasible, study says
The Hill
Turning to renewable energy sources and energy efficiency programs is
becoming more and more economically feasible for utilities across the U.S.,
according to a new report.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/213254-epa-climate-rule-economically-feasible-study-says
Greens launch ad campaign to back EPA climate rule
The Hill
The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) launched an advertising campaign to
promote the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) rules to limit carbon
pollution from power plants and attack the proposal's opponents.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/213280-greens-launch-ad-campaign-to-back-epa-climate-rule
U.S. West States Met to Discuss EPA Emission Proposals
Bloomberg
By Lynn Doan - Jul 25, 2014
Top air regulators from 13 states across the western U.S. met in private
last week to talk about how they could work together on carbon-emissions
cuts proposed by the Obama administration.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-25/u-s-west-states-met-to-discuss-epa-emission-proposals.html
Foxx defends oil train regs from environmental, industry critics
The Hill
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx is defending a proposed crackdown on
trains that carry crude oil shipments from environmental and industry
critics who are unhappy with the new rules.
http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/213270-foxx-defends-oil-train-regs-from-environmental-industry-critics
Satellites Show Major Southwest Groundwater Loss
Study Says Losses May Be Enough to Challenge Long-Term Water Supply in
Region
AP
SAN FRANCISCO—Groundwater losses from the Colorado River basin appear
massive enough to challenge long-term water supplies for the seven states
and parts of Mexico that it serves, according to a new study released
Thursday that used NASA satellites.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/satellites-show-major-southwest-groundwater-loss-1406240884
Radioactive Waste in St. Louis at Risk From Smoldering Trash
Garbage at Landfill Said to Encroach on Radioactive Waste on Site
Wall Street Journal
ST. LOUIS—Pressure is mounting to deal with the legacy of radioactive
contamination and possible damage to human health caused by work done in
this region for the U.S. nuclear-weapons program.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/radioactive-waste-in-st-louis-at-risk-from-smoldering-trash-1406219385
Press Releases
COCHRAN ADVOCATES WITHDRAWAL OF NEW EPA CARBON EMISSION RULES
Cosponsors Senate Resolution Condemning Rules as Offering "Essentially
Zero" Climate Change Benefits
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today announced that
he is cosponsoring a Senate resolution that cites a litany of faults with
the Environmental Protection Agency's ongoing effort to finalize federal
regulations on carbon emissions that offer "essentially zero" chance of
altering global climate trends.
Cochran is an original cosponsor of S.Res.512, which was introduced
Wednesday by Senator David Vitter (R-La.). The resolution calls for the
EPA to withdraw its proposed rules and guidelines related to carbon dioxide
emissions from existing power plants.
"The Environmental Protection Agency is on a relentless quest to impose
strict carbon emissions rules no matter what the costs to families or the
nation's economic wellbeing. This resolution sends another strong message
to the administration that there is little appetite in Congress or with our
constituents for disruptive and overreaching regulations," Cochran said.
The resolution, which has 31 cosponsors, seeks the withdrawal of the EPA's
proposed rules titled "Carbon Pollution Emissions Guidelines for Existing
Stationary Sources: Electric Generating Units" and "Carbon Pollution
Standards for Modified and Reconstructed Stationary Sources: Electric
Generating Units."
In nearly 20 findings, the resolution faults the EPA and Obama
administration for a broad interpretation of the Clean Air Act, for
disregarding the legislative process and for failing to complete a
cost-benefit analysis of the proposed rules.
The resolution states that "benefits from the proposed rules (as measured
by reductions in global average temperature, reductions in the rate of sea
level rise, increases in sea ice, or any other measurement related to
climate change) will be essentially zero."
The measure is also heavily critical of the costs that would be passed on
to consumers as the energy industry attempts to conform to the wide-ranging
regulations.
It asserts that "the proposed rules would result in a Federal takeover of
the electricity system of the United States leading to significant
increases in electricity rates and additional energy costs for consumers
and elimination of access to abundant, affordable power, putting the
manufacturing of the United States at a competitive disadvantage,
threatening the diversity and reliability of the electricity supply, and
undermining energy security."
Cochran's support for the resolution follows his signing a letter to
President Obama last month that called on his administration to withdraw
the proposed EPA rules to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from existing
power plants. (http://1.usa.gov/1ug0V0N)
A copy of S.Res.512 is available below.
###
EPA Seeks Comments on Potential Revisions to its Risk Management Program
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
published a Request for Information (RFI) to seek comment on potential
revisions to its Risk Management Program (RMP) regulations and related
programs to modernize its regulations as required under Executive Order
(EO) 13650: Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security.
"Chemical safety and security are a shared commitment among government,
industry, public interest groups and communities," said Mathy Stanislaus,
assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency
Response. "We are reaching out to all these partners to ask for their
suggestions and comments to help us improve the Risk Management Program,
and in turn improve safety and security of chemical facilities."
During the 90-day comment period, EPA asks for information and data on
specific regulatory elements and process safety management approaches to
enhance public health and safety, and aid local fire, police, and emergency
response personnel to prepare for and respond to chemical emergencies. The
information received will be used when reviewing chemical hazards covered
by the RMP and to determine how this program should be expanded to improve
chemical facility safety. The RFI does not commit the agency to rulemaking.
EO 13650 requires the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
and EPA to review the chemical hazards covered by their existing risk
management programs and develop options to improve those programs. OSHA
issued an RFI on potential changes to its Process Safety Management (PSM)
standard on December 9, 2013. EPA's RFI closely coordinates with the
potential changes to OSHA's PSM program for accident prevention measures.
The RFI addresses potentially updating the list of RMP regulated
substances, and adjusting threshold quantities and toxic endpoints based on
Acute Exposure Guideline Level (AEGL) toxicity values. The RFI seeks
comment on strengthening or clarifying several existing process safety
elements under the RMP including compliance audits, maintenance of safety
critical equipment, managing organizational changes, emergency response
capabilities, and incident investigation. It also seeks comment on adding
additional risk management program elements, such as consideration of using
inherently safer technology, process safety metrics, automated monitoring
of releases, emergency drills, stop work authority, and addressing facility
location (siting) risks. Some of the items under consideration were
discussed at the public listening sessions held on the EO or in comments
received on the January 2014 EO Section 6(a) options for policy,
regulations and standards modernization to improve chemical facility risk
management.
To view EPA's RFI and provide public comment, visit
http://www.epa.gov/emergencies/eo_improving_chem_fac.htm
The public will have 90 days to submit written comments online,
www.regulations.gov (the portal for federal rulemaking), or by mail.
EPA Issues Policy Supporting Tribal and Indigenous Communities
WASHINGTON – Today, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator
Gina McCarthy signed the EPA Policy on Environmental Justice for Working
with Federally Recognized Tribes and Indigenous Peoples, reinforcing the
agency's commitment to work with tribes on a government-to-government basis
when issues of environmental justice arise.
"All tribal and indigenous communities deserve environmental and public
health protection. Through this agreement, we are reinforcing our
commitment to tribal communities, especially in addressing issues of
Environmental Justice," said Administrator McCarthy. "We know that tribes
are uniquely impacted by a changing climate, which highlights the
importance of this agreement and other agency actions, including funding
research through the STAR Tribal health grants."
Over the past 20 years, the agency has made substantial progress in
developing both its tribal and environmental justice programs. Building on
EPA's Plan EJ 2014, the policy integrates 17 environmental justice and
civil rights principles. The plan also identifies existing informational
and resource tools to support EPA in its endeavor to make indigenous
regions environmentally safe.
This policy, started in 2011, was developed through tribal government
consultations, meetings with state and tribal organizations and three
public comment periods engaging indigenous communities and other
stakeholders.
More information on:
EPA Policy on Environmental Justice for Working with Federally Recognized
Tribes and Indigenous Peoples
http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/resources/policy/indigenous/ej-indigenous-policy.pdf
EPA's Plan EJ 2014
http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/resources/policy/plan-ej-2014/plan-ej-2011-09.pdf
Thursday, July 24, 2014
News Clippings 7.24.14
7.24.14
State
Lawsuit seeks to halt Burnsville plant
By Bobby Harrison
Daily Journal Jackson Bureau
JACKSON – A federal lawsuit is asking that construction on Mississippi
Silicon's Burnsville plant be halted because a Brazilian company helping
finance the project has allegedly engaged in unfair trade practices.
http://djournal.com/news/lawsuit-seeks-halt-burnsville-plant/
County official offers to help city save lake
The Meridian Star
By Terri Ferguson Smith
A county official is taking the lead in trying to save Long Creek
Reservoir from closure.
http://www.meridianstar.com/local/x1027605875/County-official-offers-to-help-city-save-lake
City of Meridian Draining Long Creek Reservoir
WTOK
Meridian, Miss. A popular Lauderdale County attraction is in the process of
being drained.
Randy Rives uses a drone to take pictures and video of the Long Creek
Reservoir. He's a local photographer and often uses the water as a backdrop
for a lot of his work. He's one of many not exactly thrilled about the
water being drained.
http://www.wtok.com/home/headlines/City-of-Meridian-Draining-Long-Creek-Reservoir--268365802.html
Engineers ask SCUA for more money
Stone County Enterprise
By Jody O'Hara
A representative of Neel-Schaffer came before the Stone County Utility
Authority at its Monday meeting and asked for fees in addition to what his
company and a local engineering firm have already been paid.
http://www.stonecountyenterprise.com/article_2219.shtml
Jamison: EPA award means more than recognition
Commercial Dispatch
July 23, 2014
Nathan Gregory
A local group's dedication to the cleanup and repurposing of the Kerr-McGee
site has received national recognition for its efforts.
http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=35018
Pascagoula River is a South Mississippi treasure
WLOX
Generations of South Mississippi families have long enjoyed it for fishing,
hunting and boating. Today, a growing number of tourists, are also
discovering the natural beauty of the Pascagoula River. It is the largest,
free-flowing river system in the lower 48 states. That simply means the
Pascagoula River is free of dams, locks and levees.
http://www.wlox.com/story/26085984/pascagoula-river-is-a-south-mississippi-treasure
Chinese aim for big Asian carp catch in Miss.
AP
BAIRD – If you can't beat them, eat them.
That's Mississippi's approach to invasive Asian carp, a pesky fish
the state is trying to turn into a job creator by catching and
exporting to China.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/money/business/2014/07/23/chinese-aim-big-asian-carp-catch-miss/13079925/
Booze, boats and DMR: New details revealed about DMR case as Scott Walker
sentenced to prison
New details revealed at Scott Walker's sentencing
BY ANITA LEE AND JUSTIN MITCHELL
Sun Herald
HATTIESBURG -- U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett sentenced Scott Walker, a
private consultant and former congressional staffer, to 18 months in
prison, saying beforehand Walker and his father abused the Mississippi
Department of Marine Resources.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/23/5711585/booze-boats-and-dmr-new-details.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1
Joseph Ziegler to plead guilty in DMR corruption case
WLOX
WLOX News has learned of another development in the Department of Marine
Resources corruption case. At about the same time Scott Walker learned his
sentence on Wednesday, former DMR administrator Joseph Ziegler, Jr. filed a
motion to change his plea to guilty.
http://www.wlox.com/story/26097686/joseph-ziegler-to-plead-guilty-in-dmr-corruption-case
Oil Spill
Surveys explore U-boat, oil spill impact
The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — The photos taken nearly a mile under the Gulf of Mexico are
so clear that small holes are visible in a lifeboat that may have gone down
or been scuttled when a passenger ship was sunk by a Nazi submarine in
1942.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/24/5711894/surveys-explore-u-boat-oil-spill.html?sp=/99/184/218/
National
EPA chief defends power plant rule against GOP charges of overreach
BY CHRIS ADAMS
McClatchy Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — The head of the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday
strongly defended the approach and legitimacy of an Obama administration
power plant rule that Republicans attacked as regulatory overreach and
Democrats said was vital.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/23/5710747/epa-chief-defends-power-plant.html?sp=/99/184/767/312/
States Against E.P.A. Rule on Carbon Pollution Would Gain, Study Finds
NY Times
WASHINGTON — Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and Senator James M.
Inhofe of Oklahoma are among the most vocal Republican
skeptics of the science that burning fossil fuels
contributes toglobal warming, but a new study to be
released Thursday found that their states would be among
the biggest economic winners under a regulation proposed
by President Obama to fight climate change.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/24/us/states-against-epa-rule-on-carbon-pollution-would-gain-study-finds.html?ref=earth&_r=0
EPA gears up for public hearings on climate rule
The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency will hold four public hearings next
week to hear from people across the country on its carbon pollution
standards.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/213149-epa-gears-up-for-public-hearings-on-climate-rule
Senate Republicans meet with EPA's McCarthy on regs
The Hill
Republicans on the Senate Agriculture Committee met with Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) chief Gina McCarthy to criticize the agency's
proposal to redefine its jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/213096-mcconnell-meets-with-epas-mccarthy-on-climate-rule
$1.5 million at center of internal EPA battle over Superfund contractor�
��s
alleged overbilling
By George Russell
Published July 23, 2014
FoxNews.com
EXCLUSIVE: Fifteen months after a report charged the Environmental
Protection Agency with failing adequately to oversee Superfund cleanup
efforts at some of the country's most toxic waste dumps, the EPA�
��s internal
watchdog and EPA management are battling over $1.5 million that the
inspectors said in the probe was illegally overbilled between 2008 and 2012
by the clean-up contractor.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/07/23/15-million-at-center-internal-epa-battle-over-superfund-contractors-alleged/
DOT proposes 2-year phase-out of older tank cars for crude oil trains
BY CURTIS TATE
McClatchy Washington Bureau
The U.S. Department of Transportation proposed a two-year phase-out of
older tank cars used to transport crude oil by rail, among other measures
to improve the safety of crude oil transportation by rail.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/23/5710424/dot-proposes-2-year-phase-out.html?sp=/99/184/767/312/
Wyoming cave with fossil secrets to be excavated
The Associated Press
CHEYENNE, WYO. — For the first time in more than 30 years, paleontologists
are about to revisit one of North America's most remarkable troves of late
Pleistocene fossils: The bones of tens of thousands of animals piled at
least 30 feet deep at the bottom of a sinkhole-type cave.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/24/5711789/wyoming-cave-with-fossil-secrets.html?sp=/99/184/767/312/
Opinion
SUN HERALD | Editorial: Drilling in the Sound's time has passed
It appears the Mississippi Development Authority has come to its senses on
the subject of drilling in the Mississippi Sound and near the barrier
islands.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/23/5711200/sun-herald-editorial.html?sp=/99/728/
Press Releases
EPA to Hold Public Hearings on Clean Power Plan
Public hearings being held in Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Denver and Washington,
D.C.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold four,
two-day public hearings, across the country on the proposed Clean Power
Plan during the week of July 28, 2014. The hearings will be held in
Washington D.C., Atlanta, Denver and Pittsburgh, and will provide the
opportunity for interested parties to comment on the proposed rule before
it takes effect. The Washington D.C. hearing will be held on July 29 and
30.
At the direction of President Obama and after an unprecedented outreach
effort, EPA released the Clean Power Plan, which for the first time seeks
to cut carbon pollution from existing power plants, the single largest
source of carbon pollution in the United States. EPA predicts that when the
proposed plan is fully implemented in 2030, carbon emissions from these
sources will be 30 percent below 2005 levels. The proposal will protect
public health, move the United States toward a cleaner environment and
fight climate change while supplying Americans with reliable and affordable
power.
EPA has received around 300,000 comments on the proposal, and anticipates
hearing oral comments from about 1,600 people. Each location will have two
rooms to accommodate attendees and as many speakers as possible. Speaking
slots are still available in Pittsburgh; however, all speaking times for
Washington, D.C., Denver and Atlanta are fully booked. People can comment
on the proposal by email, fax or letter: EPA considers all comments
equally, no matter how they are submitted. The comment period on the
proposal is open until October 16, 2014.
WHO: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
WHAT: Public hearing in Washington, D.C. on the proposed Clean Power Plan
WHEN: July 29-30, 2014
The hearings will begin at 9 a.m. and continue until 8 p.m. EDT
WHERE: William Jefferson Clinton East Building, Room 1153
1201 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20004
MEDIA RSVP: All media who would like to attend the public hearing in
Washington, D.C. should RSVP to press@epa.gov by 5 p.m. EDT on July 28, so
we can include your name on our security list. Please bring picture
identification and allow additional time to enter the buildings and go
through security. A large number of attendees are expected, and space will
be first-come, first-serve.
Speaking schedules will be posted prior to the meeting. More information
about the hearing closest to you as well as what constitutes valid photo
identification for entering federal facilities. Staff will be available to
accommodate interested attendees who need assistance with federal ID
requirements: http://www2.epa.gov/carbon-polluti
on-standards/forms/public-hearings-clean-power-plan-proposed-rule.
Instructions for submitting comments in writing: http://go.usa.gov/XzNH
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| USDA Selects 36 Energy Facilities to Accept Biomass Deliveries |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Program Includes Biomass Removals from Federal Lands to Reduce Forest Fires |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
|WASHINGTON, July 23, 2014 — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the |
|U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has selected 36 energy facilities in 14 states to|
|accept biomass deliveries supported by the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), |
|which was authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. Biomass owners who supply these facilities |
|may qualify for BCAP delivery assistance starting July 28, 2014. |
| |
| |
|Of the total $25 million per year authorized for BCAP, up to 50 percent ($12.5 million)|
|is available each year to assist biomass owners with the cost of delivery of |
|agricultural or forest residues for energy generation. Some BCAP payments will target |
|the removal of dead or diseased trees from National Forests and Bureau of Land |
|Management public lands for renewable energy, which reduces the risk of forest fire. |
| |
| |
|"This program generates clean energy from biomass, reduces the threat of fires by |
|removing dead or diseased trees from public forest lands, and invests in rural |
|businesses and new energy markets," said Vilsack. "The fires we are seeing right now in|
|the west underscore the need for forest restoration and fire prevention. Pairing this |
|effort with forest restoration on public lands will help guard against these fires |
|while promoting economic opportunity for rural communities." |
| |
| |
|Farmers, ranchers or foresters who harvest and deliver forest or agricultural residues |
|to a BCAP-qualified energy facility may be eligible for financial assistance for |
|deliveries. The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), which administers BCAP, will begin |
|accepting applications from biomass owners from July 28 through Aug. 25. Deliveries of |
|residues for approved contracts may be made through Sept. 26, 2014. |
| |
| |
|The 36 BCAP energy facilities are: |
| |
| |
|Arizona |
| |
| |
|Novo BioPower LLC (f/k/a Snowflake White Mountain Power) |
| |
| |
|Forest Energy Corporation |
| |
| |
|California |
| |
| |
|Burney Forest Power |
| |
| |
|Pacific Ultrapower-Chinese Station |
| |
| |
|HL(Honey Lake) Power Company |
| |
| |
|Rio Bravo Rocklin |
| |
| |
|Collins Pine Company |
| |
| |
|Thermal Energy Development Partnership, LP |
| |
| |
|Covanta Delano Inc. |
| |
| |
|Covanta Mendota L.P. |
| |
| |
|Sierra Pacific Industries - Sonora |
| |
| |
|Sierra Pacific Industries - Burney Division |
| |
| |
|Sierra Pacific Industries - Quincy Division |
| |
| |
|Sierra Pacific Industries - Lincoln |
| |
| |
|Roseburg Forest Products |
| |
| |
|Colorado |
| |
| |
|Eagle Valley Clean Energy, LLC |
| |
| |
|Idaho |
| |
| |
|Clearwater Paper Corporation |
| |
| |
|Basic American Foods |
| |
| |
|Kansas |
| |
| |
|Abengoa |
| |
| |
|Michigan |
| |
| |
|Hillman Power Company LLC |
| |
| |
|Minnesota |
| |
| |
|Minnesota Power – Hibbard Renewable Energy Center |
| |
| |
|Minnesota Power – Rapid Energy Center |
| |
| |
|Missouri |
| |
| |
|Enginuity |
| |
| |
|Montana |
| |
| |
|Eureka Pellet Mills Inc. |
| |
| |
|F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber Co. |
| |
| |
|Nebraska |
| |
| |
|Chadron State College |
| |
| |
|New Mexico |
| |
| |
|Mt. Taylor Machine LLC |
| |
| |
|Oregon |
| |
| |
|Biomass One LP |
| |
| |
|Interfor Pacific Inc., Gilchrist Division |
| |
| |
|Ochoco Lumber dba Malheur Lumber |
| |
| |
|Roseburg Forest Products |
| |
| |
|Seneca Sustainable Energy, LLC |
| |
| |
|South Carolina |
| |
| |
|Council Energy Inc. |
| |
| |
|Allendale Biomass LLC |
| |
| |
|Dorchester Biomass, LLC |
| |
| |
|Washington |
| |
| |
|Boise White Paper |
| |
| |
|Visit www.fsa.usda.gov/bcap or a local FSA county office to learn more about BCAP. |
| |
| |
|BCAP was reauthorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. The Farm Bill builds on historic economic |
|gains in rural America over the past five years, while achieving meaningful reform and |
|billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers. Since enactment, USDA has made |
|significant progress to implement each provision of this critical legislation, |
|including providing disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; strengthening risk |
|management tools; expanding access to rural credit; funding critical research; |
|establishing innovative public-private conservation partnerships; developing new |
|markets for rural-made products; and investing in infrastructure, housing and community|
|facilities to help improve quality of life in rural America. For more information, |
|visit www.usda.gov/farmbill. |
| |
| |
|# |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
State
Lawsuit seeks to halt Burnsville plant
By Bobby Harrison
Daily Journal Jackson Bureau
JACKSON – A federal lawsuit is asking that construction on Mississippi
Silicon's Burnsville plant be halted because a Brazilian company helping
finance the project has allegedly engaged in unfair trade practices.
http://djournal.com/news/lawsuit-seeks-halt-burnsville-plant/
County official offers to help city save lake
The Meridian Star
By Terri Ferguson Smith
A county official is taking the lead in trying to save Long Creek
Reservoir from closure.
http://www.meridianstar.com/local/x1027605875/County-official-offers-to-help-city-save-lake
City of Meridian Draining Long Creek Reservoir
WTOK
Meridian, Miss. A popular Lauderdale County attraction is in the process of
being drained.
Randy Rives uses a drone to take pictures and video of the Long Creek
Reservoir. He's a local photographer and often uses the water as a backdrop
for a lot of his work. He's one of many not exactly thrilled about the
water being drained.
http://www.wtok.com/home/headlines/City-of-Meridian-Draining-Long-Creek-Reservoir--268365802.html
Engineers ask SCUA for more money
Stone County Enterprise
By Jody O'Hara
A representative of Neel-Schaffer came before the Stone County Utility
Authority at its Monday meeting and asked for fees in addition to what his
company and a local engineering firm have already been paid.
http://www.stonecountyenterprise.com/article_2219.shtml
Jamison: EPA award means more than recognition
Commercial Dispatch
July 23, 2014
Nathan Gregory
A local group's dedication to the cleanup and repurposing of the Kerr-McGee
site has received national recognition for its efforts.
http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=35018
Pascagoula River is a South Mississippi treasure
WLOX
Generations of South Mississippi families have long enjoyed it for fishing,
hunting and boating. Today, a growing number of tourists, are also
discovering the natural beauty of the Pascagoula River. It is the largest,
free-flowing river system in the lower 48 states. That simply means the
Pascagoula River is free of dams, locks and levees.
http://www.wlox.com/story/26085984/pascagoula-river-is-a-south-mississippi-treasure
Chinese aim for big Asian carp catch in Miss.
AP
BAIRD – If you can't beat them, eat them.
That's Mississippi's approach to invasive Asian carp, a pesky fish
the state is trying to turn into a job creator by catching and
exporting to China.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/money/business/2014/07/23/chinese-aim-big-asian-carp-catch-miss/13079925/
Booze, boats and DMR: New details revealed about DMR case as Scott Walker
sentenced to prison
New details revealed at Scott Walker's sentencing
BY ANITA LEE AND JUSTIN MITCHELL
Sun Herald
HATTIESBURG -- U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett sentenced Scott Walker, a
private consultant and former congressional staffer, to 18 months in
prison, saying beforehand Walker and his father abused the Mississippi
Department of Marine Resources.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/23/5711585/booze-boats-and-dmr-new-details.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1
Joseph Ziegler to plead guilty in DMR corruption case
WLOX
WLOX News has learned of another development in the Department of Marine
Resources corruption case. At about the same time Scott Walker learned his
sentence on Wednesday, former DMR administrator Joseph Ziegler, Jr. filed a
motion to change his plea to guilty.
http://www.wlox.com/story/26097686/joseph-ziegler-to-plead-guilty-in-dmr-corruption-case
Oil Spill
Surveys explore U-boat, oil spill impact
The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — The photos taken nearly a mile under the Gulf of Mexico are
so clear that small holes are visible in a lifeboat that may have gone down
or been scuttled when a passenger ship was sunk by a Nazi submarine in
1942.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/24/5711894/surveys-explore-u-boat-oil-spill.html?sp=/99/184/218/
National
EPA chief defends power plant rule against GOP charges of overreach
BY CHRIS ADAMS
McClatchy Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — The head of the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday
strongly defended the approach and legitimacy of an Obama administration
power plant rule that Republicans attacked as regulatory overreach and
Democrats said was vital.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/23/5710747/epa-chief-defends-power-plant.html?sp=/99/184/767/312/
States Against E.P.A. Rule on Carbon Pollution Would Gain, Study Finds
NY Times
WASHINGTON — Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and Senator James M.
Inhofe of Oklahoma are among the most vocal Republican
skeptics of the science that burning fossil fuels
contributes toglobal warming, but a new study to be
released Thursday found that their states would be among
the biggest economic winners under a regulation proposed
by President Obama to fight climate change.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/24/us/states-against-epa-rule-on-carbon-pollution-would-gain-study-finds.html?ref=earth&_r=0
EPA gears up for public hearings on climate rule
The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency will hold four public hearings next
week to hear from people across the country on its carbon pollution
standards.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/213149-epa-gears-up-for-public-hearings-on-climate-rule
Senate Republicans meet with EPA's McCarthy on regs
The Hill
Republicans on the Senate Agriculture Committee met with Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) chief Gina McCarthy to criticize the agency's
proposal to redefine its jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/213096-mcconnell-meets-with-epas-mccarthy-on-climate-rule
$1.5 million at center of internal EPA battle over Superfund contractor�
��s
alleged overbilling
By George Russell
Published July 23, 2014
FoxNews.com
EXCLUSIVE: Fifteen months after a report charged the Environmental
Protection Agency with failing adequately to oversee Superfund cleanup
efforts at some of the country's most toxic waste dumps, the EPA�
��s internal
watchdog and EPA management are battling over $1.5 million that the
inspectors said in the probe was illegally overbilled between 2008 and 2012
by the clean-up contractor.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/07/23/15-million-at-center-internal-epa-battle-over-superfund-contractors-alleged/
DOT proposes 2-year phase-out of older tank cars for crude oil trains
BY CURTIS TATE
McClatchy Washington Bureau
The U.S. Department of Transportation proposed a two-year phase-out of
older tank cars used to transport crude oil by rail, among other measures
to improve the safety of crude oil transportation by rail.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/23/5710424/dot-proposes-2-year-phase-out.html?sp=/99/184/767/312/
Wyoming cave with fossil secrets to be excavated
The Associated Press
CHEYENNE, WYO. — For the first time in more than 30 years, paleontologists
are about to revisit one of North America's most remarkable troves of late
Pleistocene fossils: The bones of tens of thousands of animals piled at
least 30 feet deep at the bottom of a sinkhole-type cave.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/24/5711789/wyoming-cave-with-fossil-secrets.html?sp=/99/184/767/312/
Opinion
SUN HERALD | Editorial: Drilling in the Sound's time has passed
It appears the Mississippi Development Authority has come to its senses on
the subject of drilling in the Mississippi Sound and near the barrier
islands.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/23/5711200/sun-herald-editorial.html?sp=/99/728/
Press Releases
EPA to Hold Public Hearings on Clean Power Plan
Public hearings being held in Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Denver and Washington,
D.C.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold four,
two-day public hearings, across the country on the proposed Clean Power
Plan during the week of July 28, 2014. The hearings will be held in
Washington D.C., Atlanta, Denver and Pittsburgh, and will provide the
opportunity for interested parties to comment on the proposed rule before
it takes effect. The Washington D.C. hearing will be held on July 29 and
30.
At the direction of President Obama and after an unprecedented outreach
effort, EPA released the Clean Power Plan, which for the first time seeks
to cut carbon pollution from existing power plants, the single largest
source of carbon pollution in the United States. EPA predicts that when the
proposed plan is fully implemented in 2030, carbon emissions from these
sources will be 30 percent below 2005 levels. The proposal will protect
public health, move the United States toward a cleaner environment and
fight climate change while supplying Americans with reliable and affordable
power.
EPA has received around 300,000 comments on the proposal, and anticipates
hearing oral comments from about 1,600 people. Each location will have two
rooms to accommodate attendees and as many speakers as possible. Speaking
slots are still available in Pittsburgh; however, all speaking times for
Washington, D.C., Denver and Atlanta are fully booked. People can comment
on the proposal by email, fax or letter: EPA considers all comments
equally, no matter how they are submitted. The comment period on the
proposal is open until October 16, 2014.
WHO: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
WHAT: Public hearing in Washington, D.C. on the proposed Clean Power Plan
WHEN: July 29-30, 2014
The hearings will begin at 9 a.m. and continue until 8 p.m. EDT
WHERE: William Jefferson Clinton East Building, Room 1153
1201 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20004
MEDIA RSVP: All media who would like to attend the public hearing in
Washington, D.C. should RSVP to press@epa.gov by 5 p.m. EDT on July 28, so
we can include your name on our security list. Please bring picture
identification and allow additional time to enter the buildings and go
through security. A large number of attendees are expected, and space will
be first-come, first-serve.
Speaking schedules will be posted prior to the meeting. More information
about the hearing closest to you as well as what constitutes valid photo
identification for entering federal facilities. Staff will be available to
accommodate interested attendees who need assistance with federal ID
requirements: http://www2.epa.gov/carbon-polluti
on-standards/forms/public-hearings-clean-power-plan-proposed-rule.
Instructions for submitting comments in writing: http://go.usa.gov/XzNH
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| USDA Selects 36 Energy Facilities to Accept Biomass Deliveries |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Program Includes Biomass Removals from Federal Lands to Reduce Forest Fires |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
|WASHINGTON, July 23, 2014 — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the |
|U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has selected 36 energy facilities in 14 states to|
|accept biomass deliveries supported by the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), |
|which was authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. Biomass owners who supply these facilities |
|may qualify for BCAP delivery assistance starting July 28, 2014. |
| |
| |
|Of the total $25 million per year authorized for BCAP, up to 50 percent ($12.5 million)|
|is available each year to assist biomass owners with the cost of delivery of |
|agricultural or forest residues for energy generation. Some BCAP payments will target |
|the removal of dead or diseased trees from National Forests and Bureau of Land |
|Management public lands for renewable energy, which reduces the risk of forest fire. |
| |
| |
|"This program generates clean energy from biomass, reduces the threat of fires by |
|removing dead or diseased trees from public forest lands, and invests in rural |
|businesses and new energy markets," said Vilsack. "The fires we are seeing right now in|
|the west underscore the need for forest restoration and fire prevention. Pairing this |
|effort with forest restoration on public lands will help guard against these fires |
|while promoting economic opportunity for rural communities." |
| |
| |
|Farmers, ranchers or foresters who harvest and deliver forest or agricultural residues |
|to a BCAP-qualified energy facility may be eligible for financial assistance for |
|deliveries. The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), which administers BCAP, will begin |
|accepting applications from biomass owners from July 28 through Aug. 25. Deliveries of |
|residues for approved contracts may be made through Sept. 26, 2014. |
| |
| |
|The 36 BCAP energy facilities are: |
| |
| |
|Arizona |
| |
| |
|Novo BioPower LLC (f/k/a Snowflake White Mountain Power) |
| |
| |
|Forest Energy Corporation |
| |
| |
|California |
| |
| |
|Burney Forest Power |
| |
| |
|Pacific Ultrapower-Chinese Station |
| |
| |
|HL(Honey Lake) Power Company |
| |
| |
|Rio Bravo Rocklin |
| |
| |
|Collins Pine Company |
| |
| |
|Thermal Energy Development Partnership, LP |
| |
| |
|Covanta Delano Inc. |
| |
| |
|Covanta Mendota L.P. |
| |
| |
|Sierra Pacific Industries - Sonora |
| |
| |
|Sierra Pacific Industries - Burney Division |
| |
| |
|Sierra Pacific Industries - Quincy Division |
| |
| |
|Sierra Pacific Industries - Lincoln |
| |
| |
|Roseburg Forest Products |
| |
| |
|Colorado |
| |
| |
|Eagle Valley Clean Energy, LLC |
| |
| |
|Idaho |
| |
| |
|Clearwater Paper Corporation |
| |
| |
|Basic American Foods |
| |
| |
|Kansas |
| |
| |
|Abengoa |
| |
| |
|Michigan |
| |
| |
|Hillman Power Company LLC |
| |
| |
|Minnesota |
| |
| |
|Minnesota Power – Hibbard Renewable Energy Center |
| |
| |
|Minnesota Power – Rapid Energy Center |
| |
| |
|Missouri |
| |
| |
|Enginuity |
| |
| |
|Montana |
| |
| |
|Eureka Pellet Mills Inc. |
| |
| |
|F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber Co. |
| |
| |
|Nebraska |
| |
| |
|Chadron State College |
| |
| |
|New Mexico |
| |
| |
|Mt. Taylor Machine LLC |
| |
| |
|Oregon |
| |
| |
|Biomass One LP |
| |
| |
|Interfor Pacific Inc., Gilchrist Division |
| |
| |
|Ochoco Lumber dba Malheur Lumber |
| |
| |
|Roseburg Forest Products |
| |
| |
|Seneca Sustainable Energy, LLC |
| |
| |
|South Carolina |
| |
| |
|Council Energy Inc. |
| |
| |
|Allendale Biomass LLC |
| |
| |
|Dorchester Biomass, LLC |
| |
| |
|Washington |
| |
| |
|Boise White Paper |
| |
| |
|Visit www.fsa.usda.gov/bcap or a local FSA county office to learn more about BCAP. |
| |
| |
|BCAP was reauthorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. The Farm Bill builds on historic economic |
|gains in rural America over the past five years, while achieving meaningful reform and |
|billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers. Since enactment, USDA has made |
|significant progress to implement each provision of this critical legislation, |
|including providing disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; strengthening risk |
|management tools; expanding access to rural credit; funding critical research; |
|establishing innovative public-private conservation partnerships; developing new |
|markets for rural-made products; and investing in infrastructure, housing and community|
|facilities to help improve quality of life in rural America. For more information, |
|visit www.usda.gov/farmbill. |
| |
| |
|# |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
News Clippings 7.23.14
7.23.14
State
Cochran continues to question EPA over new regulations
by MBJ Staff
Published: July 23,2014
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), ranking member of the
Senate Agriculture Committee, continues to raise questions about the impact
on agriculture and rural economies of the new Clean Water Act regulations
proposed this spring by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
http://msbusiness.com/blog/2014/07/23/cochran-continues-question-epa-new-regulations/
Down the Drain
The Meridian Star
By Terri Ferguson Smith
The city has plans to cut a hole about 40 feet wide to finish draining
Lakeview Long Creek Reservoir, but that won't happen until enough of the
lake drains through its spillway to safely breach the dam, according to the
Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
http://www.meridianstar.com/local/x864251459/Down-the-Drain
EPA honors Lowndes County group
WTVA
ATLANTA, Ga. (WTVA) -- The U. S. Enviornmental Protection Agency has
honored a Lowndes County group for its work to inform the public about the
Kerr-McGee Chemical Corporation Superfund Site.
http://www.wtva.com/news/national/story/EPA-honors-Lowndes-County-group/0wt1M-KTMEyuhXShAp_Wqw.cspx
New Plan Lays Out Future Roadmap For Gulf Islands Seashore
MPB
A new general management plan for the Gulf Islands National Seashore lays
out a 20-year roadmap for the future of the national park, which includes
most of Mississippi's barrier islands. As MPB's Evelina Burnett reports,
the seashore brings more than 1 million visitors to the state every year.
http://mpbonline.org/News/article/new_plan_lays_out_future_roadmap_for_gulf_islands_seashore
Lumber company announces Mississippi expansion
AP
PHILADELPHIA, Miss. – Weyerhaeuser Co. is investing $57 million to
modernize over the next three years at its softwood lumber mill in
Philadelphia, Miss.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/business/2014/07/22/lumber-company-announces-mississippi-expansion/12993425/
Mississippi pollinator protection project first on commercial farmland
Delta Farm Press
In a joint project, Syngenta and Delta F.A.R.M. (Farmers Advocating
Resource Management) have committed to establishing at least five
"Operation Pollinator" plots this year throughout northwest Mississippi,
with plans to increase the program to more fields and farms each year
through 2016. The Mississippi sites will be the first commercial farmland
in the nation to host the plots.
http://deltafarmpress.com/blog/mississippi-pollinator-protection-project-first-commercial-farmland
Oil Spill
Ex-BP engineer's retrial postponed
The Associated Press
The August retrial of a former BP engineer accused of obstructing justice
in an investigation of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill has been postponed
while an appeals court decides whether a judge was right to throw out his
earlier conviction.
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2014/07/ex-bp_engineers_retrial_postpo.html#incart_river
Oil spill claimant hits back at BP's 'campaign of intimidation' with
defamation suit
Jennifer Larino
The Times-Picayune
A New Orleans law firm swept up in BP's public campaign challenging
payments to certain oil spill claimants has sued the British oil giant, one
of its lawyers and an Associated Press reporter for defamation.
http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2014/07/oil_spill_claimant_files_defam.html
National
Industry to EPA: Climate rule 'not workable'
The Hill
Leading industry groups, including the Chamber of Commerce and the National
Mining Association, are pressing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
to heed warnings that its new climate regulation is "not workable."
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/212965-industry-takes-aim-at-epa-climate-rule
Climate change hits all Pentagon operations, official says
The Hill
All Pentagon operations in the U.S. and abroad are threatened by climate
change, according to a Defense Department official.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/213027-climate-change-hits-all-pentagon-operations-official-says
EPA improves radiation monitor system
The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has improved the management of
its system of radiation monitors around the country over the last two
years, its Office of Inspector General (OIG) said.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/212964-epa-improves-radiation-monitor-system
Landrieu pushes new revenue model for offshore drilling
The Hill
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) used a Tuesday hearing to advocate for
legislation that would remove the cap that Gulf Coast states have on the
revenue they can receive from offshore drilling royalties and fees.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/212993-landrieu-pushes-new-revenue-model-for-offshore-drilling
Obama Administration to Announce Stricter Oil Train Safety Standards
Wall Street Journal
The Obama administration will unveil Wednesday new rules proposing stricter
safety standards on trains carrying flammable fuels, including oil and
ethanol, according to a Capitol Hill source familiar with the pending
regulation.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/obama-administration-to-announce-stricter-oil-train-safety-standards-1406072438
'Saltwater' from fracking spill much different from ocean water
McClatchy
BY LISA SONG
In early July, a million gallons of salty drilling waste spilled from a
pipeline onto a steep hillside in western North Dakota's Fort Berthold
Reservation. The waste - a byproduct of oil and gas production - has now
reached a tributary of Lake Sakakawea, which provides drinking water to the
reservation.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/07/23/234153/saltwater-from-fracking-spill.html
The Hospital Disinfectant That's Being Used In Fracking
Forbes
Fracking seems to have more going against it than for it, but a South
Carolina-based company is hoping the oil and gas industry will mitigate
environmental damages and health concerns with its latest product,
Excelyte.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/rosatrieu/2014/07/22/the-hospital-disinfectant-thats-being-used-in-fracking/
Geothermal Industry Grows, With Help From Oil and Gas Drilling
NY Times
SAN FRANCISCO — Geothermal energy — tapping into heat deep
underground and using it to produce power — is sometimes
described as a forgotten renewable. It languishes in the
shadows of better-known sources like wind and the sun, and
in 2011 it accounted for less than 1 percent of electric
power worldwide, according to last year's World Energy
Outlook.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/24/business/geothermal-industry-grows-with-help-from-oil-and-gas-drilling.html?ref=earth&_r=0
EPA Denies Texas Emergency Weedkiller Request
Wall Street Journal
Federal regulators denied Texas farmers' push to use a powerful herbicide
against invasive "super weeds" threatening to strangle cotton crops.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/epa-denies-texas-emergency-weedkiller-request-1406053913
EPA sends out tweet promoting Kim Kardashian game, apologizes for doing so
Fox News
NEW YORK – It seems whoever runs the EPA's official Twitter account may
also be a fan of Kim Kardashian.
On Monday evening, a tweet went out from the official @EPAwater account
promoting the increasingly popular "Kim Kardashian: Hollywood" game.
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2014/07/22/epa-sends-out-tweet-promoting-kim-kardashian-game/?intcmp=latestnews
A glimpse inside the remote government warehouse where confiscated wildlife
ends up
Al.com
Tucked amid the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge is the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service's National Wildlife Property Repository. The
facility, located about 10 miles from downtown Denver, houses seized
wildlife-related items that are in violation of the U.S. Endangered Species
Act.
http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2014/07/a_glimpse_inside_the_remote_go.html#incart_river
Press Releases
Memphis Town Community Advisory Group receives 2014 Citizen Excellence in
Community Involvement Award
Release date: 7/22/2014
Contact Information: James Pinkney, (404) 562-9183 (Direct), (404) 562-8400
(Main) pinkney.james@epa.gov
(ATLANTA – July 22, 2014) The Memphis Town Community Advisory Group is
being recognized today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as
the winner of the 2014 Citizen Excellence in Community Involvement Award.
This award is presented annually to an individual or a community group
working with a Superfund team for outstanding achievements in the field of
environmental protection.
Through the Memphis Town Community Advisory Group's (CAG) monthly meetings,
a forum was provided to identify community concerns and partner with EPA to
identify acceptable solutions. The CAG took the initiative to apply for a
Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) to obtain technical support, and provided
meaningful comments to EPA, the Mississippi Department of Environmental
Quality (MDEQ) and the City of Columbus on site work plans and design
documents. The CAG also assisted EPA and MDEQ in identifying the best
options for sharing information with the local community.
The Memphis Town Community Advisory Group was recognized for its
commitment, dedication and leadership to the Columbus, MS community
affected by the Kerr-McGee Chemical Corporation Superfund Site. The CAG has
proven to be of significant value to not only the community in which it
serves but to the agency as well. The U.S. EPA looks forward to continued
partnership with the CAG throughout the investigation and cleanup process
at the Kerr-McGee Superfund Site.
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| USDA Reminds Farmers of 2014 Farm Bill Conservation Compliance Changes |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
|WASHINGTON, July 22, 2014 — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today reminded producers |
|that changes mandated through the 2014 Farm Bill require them to have on file a Highly |
|Erodible Land Conservation and Wetland Conservation Certification (AD-1026). The Farm |
|Bill relinked highly erodible land conservation and wetland conservation compliance |
|with eligibility for premium support paid under the federal crop insurance program. |
| |
| |
|"It's important that farmers and ranchers taking the right steps to conserve valuable |
|farm and natural resources have completed AD-1026 forms on file at their local Farm |
|Service Agency (FSA) office," said Vilsack. "This will ensure they remain eligible for |
|crop insurance support." |
| |
| |
|For farmers to be eligible for premium support on their federal crop insurance, a |
|completed and signed AD-1026 form must be on file with the FSA. Since many FSA and |
|Natural Resource Conservation (NRCS) programs have this requirement, most producers |
|should already have an AD-1026 on file. If producers have not filed, they must do so by|
|June 1, 2015. |
| |
| |
|When a farmer completes the AD-1026, FSA and NRCS staff will outline any additional |
|actions that may be required for compliance with the provisions. The Risk Management |
|Agency, through the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), manages the federal crop|
|insurance program that provides the modern farm safety net for American farmers and |
|ranchers. |
| |
| |
|Since enactment of the 1985 Farm Bill, eligibility for most commodity, disaster, and |
|conservation programs has been linked to compliance with the highly erodible land |
|conservation and wetland conservation provisions. The 2014 Farm Bill continues the |
|requirement that producers adhere to conservation compliance guidelines to be eligible |
|for most programs administered by FSA and NRCS. This includes the new price and revenue|
|protection programs, the Conservation Reserve Program, the Livestock Disaster |
|Assistance programs and Marketing Assistance Loans implemented by FSA. It also includes|
|the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the Conservation Stewardship Program, and|
|other conservation programs. |
| |
| |
|FSA recently released a revised form AD-1026, which is available at USDA Service |
|Centers and online at: www.fsa.usda.gov. USDA will publish a rule later this year that |
|will provide details outlining the connection of conservation compliance with crop |
|insurance premium support. Producers can also contact their local USDA Service Center |
|for information. A listing of service center locations is available at |
|www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/contact/local/. |
| |
| |
|Today's announcement was made possible by the 2014 Farm Bill. The Farm Bill builds on |
|historic economic gains in rural America over the past five years, while achieving |
|meaningful reform and billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers. Since enactment, |
|USDA has made significant progress to implement each provision of this critical |
|legislation, including providing disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; strengthening|
|risk management tools; expanding access to rural credit; funding critical research; |
|establishing innovative public-private conservation partnerships; developing new |
|markets for rural-made products; and investing in infrastructure, housing and community|
|facilities to help improve quality of life in rural America. For more information, |
|visit: www.usda.gov/farmbill. |
| |
| |
|# |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
EPA Warning: Recharging Air Conditioners with Wrong Refrigerant Poses
Injury and Fire Risks
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is cautioning
homeowners, manufacturers of propane-based refrigerants, home improvement
contractors and air conditioning technicians of the safety hazards related
to the use of propane in existing motor vehicle and home air conditioning
systems.
A number of refrigerants with "22a" or "R-22a" in the name contain highly
flammable hydrocarbons, such as propane. These refrigerants are being
marketed to consumers seeking to recharge existing home and motor vehicle
air conditioning systems that were not designed to use propane or other
flammable refrigerants. These refrigerants have never been submitted to EPA
for review of their health and environmental impacts and are not approved
for use in existing air conditioning systems.
Using propane-based refrigerant in an air conditioner that is not designed
for flammable refrigerants poses a threat to homeowners as well as service
technicians because systems that are recharged with "22a" refrigerants can
catch fire or explode resulting in injury and property damage. EPA is
investigating instances where propane-based refrigerants have been marketed
and used as a substitutes for HCFC-22 (R-22) and will take enforcement
actions where appropriate.
More information about R-22a and alternatives for air conditioning:
http://www.epa.gov/ozone/snap/r22a.html
State
Cochran continues to question EPA over new regulations
by MBJ Staff
Published: July 23,2014
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), ranking member of the
Senate Agriculture Committee, continues to raise questions about the impact
on agriculture and rural economies of the new Clean Water Act regulations
proposed this spring by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
http://msbusiness.com/blog/2014/07/23/cochran-continues-question-epa-new-regulations/
Down the Drain
The Meridian Star
By Terri Ferguson Smith
The city has plans to cut a hole about 40 feet wide to finish draining
Lakeview Long Creek Reservoir, but that won't happen until enough of the
lake drains through its spillway to safely breach the dam, according to the
Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
http://www.meridianstar.com/local/x864251459/Down-the-Drain
EPA honors Lowndes County group
WTVA
ATLANTA, Ga. (WTVA) -- The U. S. Enviornmental Protection Agency has
honored a Lowndes County group for its work to inform the public about the
Kerr-McGee Chemical Corporation Superfund Site.
http://www.wtva.com/news/national/story/EPA-honors-Lowndes-County-group/0wt1M-KTMEyuhXShAp_Wqw.cspx
New Plan Lays Out Future Roadmap For Gulf Islands Seashore
MPB
A new general management plan for the Gulf Islands National Seashore lays
out a 20-year roadmap for the future of the national park, which includes
most of Mississippi's barrier islands. As MPB's Evelina Burnett reports,
the seashore brings more than 1 million visitors to the state every year.
http://mpbonline.org/News/article/new_plan_lays_out_future_roadmap_for_gulf_islands_seashore
Lumber company announces Mississippi expansion
AP
PHILADELPHIA, Miss. – Weyerhaeuser Co. is investing $57 million to
modernize over the next three years at its softwood lumber mill in
Philadelphia, Miss.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/business/2014/07/22/lumber-company-announces-mississippi-expansion/12993425/
Mississippi pollinator protection project first on commercial farmland
Delta Farm Press
In a joint project, Syngenta and Delta F.A.R.M. (Farmers Advocating
Resource Management) have committed to establishing at least five
"Operation Pollinator" plots this year throughout northwest Mississippi,
with plans to increase the program to more fields and farms each year
through 2016. The Mississippi sites will be the first commercial farmland
in the nation to host the plots.
http://deltafarmpress.com/blog/mississippi-pollinator-protection-project-first-commercial-farmland
Oil Spill
Ex-BP engineer's retrial postponed
The Associated Press
The August retrial of a former BP engineer accused of obstructing justice
in an investigation of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill has been postponed
while an appeals court decides whether a judge was right to throw out his
earlier conviction.
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2014/07/ex-bp_engineers_retrial_postpo.html#incart_river
Oil spill claimant hits back at BP's 'campaign of intimidation' with
defamation suit
Jennifer Larino
The Times-Picayune
A New Orleans law firm swept up in BP's public campaign challenging
payments to certain oil spill claimants has sued the British oil giant, one
of its lawyers and an Associated Press reporter for defamation.
http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2014/07/oil_spill_claimant_files_defam.html
National
Industry to EPA: Climate rule 'not workable'
The Hill
Leading industry groups, including the Chamber of Commerce and the National
Mining Association, are pressing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
to heed warnings that its new climate regulation is "not workable."
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/212965-industry-takes-aim-at-epa-climate-rule
Climate change hits all Pentagon operations, official says
The Hill
All Pentagon operations in the U.S. and abroad are threatened by climate
change, according to a Defense Department official.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/213027-climate-change-hits-all-pentagon-operations-official-says
EPA improves radiation monitor system
The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has improved the management of
its system of radiation monitors around the country over the last two
years, its Office of Inspector General (OIG) said.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/212964-epa-improves-radiation-monitor-system
Landrieu pushes new revenue model for offshore drilling
The Hill
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) used a Tuesday hearing to advocate for
legislation that would remove the cap that Gulf Coast states have on the
revenue they can receive from offshore drilling royalties and fees.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/212993-landrieu-pushes-new-revenue-model-for-offshore-drilling
Obama Administration to Announce Stricter Oil Train Safety Standards
Wall Street Journal
The Obama administration will unveil Wednesday new rules proposing stricter
safety standards on trains carrying flammable fuels, including oil and
ethanol, according to a Capitol Hill source familiar with the pending
regulation.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/obama-administration-to-announce-stricter-oil-train-safety-standards-1406072438
'Saltwater' from fracking spill much different from ocean water
McClatchy
BY LISA SONG
In early July, a million gallons of salty drilling waste spilled from a
pipeline onto a steep hillside in western North Dakota's Fort Berthold
Reservation. The waste - a byproduct of oil and gas production - has now
reached a tributary of Lake Sakakawea, which provides drinking water to the
reservation.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/07/23/234153/saltwater-from-fracking-spill.html
The Hospital Disinfectant That's Being Used In Fracking
Forbes
Fracking seems to have more going against it than for it, but a South
Carolina-based company is hoping the oil and gas industry will mitigate
environmental damages and health concerns with its latest product,
Excelyte.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/rosatrieu/2014/07/22/the-hospital-disinfectant-thats-being-used-in-fracking/
Geothermal Industry Grows, With Help From Oil and Gas Drilling
NY Times
SAN FRANCISCO — Geothermal energy — tapping into heat deep
underground and using it to produce power — is sometimes
described as a forgotten renewable. It languishes in the
shadows of better-known sources like wind and the sun, and
in 2011 it accounted for less than 1 percent of electric
power worldwide, according to last year's World Energy
Outlook.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/24/business/geothermal-industry-grows-with-help-from-oil-and-gas-drilling.html?ref=earth&_r=0
EPA Denies Texas Emergency Weedkiller Request
Wall Street Journal
Federal regulators denied Texas farmers' push to use a powerful herbicide
against invasive "super weeds" threatening to strangle cotton crops.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/epa-denies-texas-emergency-weedkiller-request-1406053913
EPA sends out tweet promoting Kim Kardashian game, apologizes for doing so
Fox News
NEW YORK – It seems whoever runs the EPA's official Twitter account may
also be a fan of Kim Kardashian.
On Monday evening, a tweet went out from the official @EPAwater account
promoting the increasingly popular "Kim Kardashian: Hollywood" game.
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2014/07/22/epa-sends-out-tweet-promoting-kim-kardashian-game/?intcmp=latestnews
A glimpse inside the remote government warehouse where confiscated wildlife
ends up
Al.com
Tucked amid the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge is the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service's National Wildlife Property Repository. The
facility, located about 10 miles from downtown Denver, houses seized
wildlife-related items that are in violation of the U.S. Endangered Species
Act.
http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2014/07/a_glimpse_inside_the_remote_go.html#incart_river
Press Releases
Memphis Town Community Advisory Group receives 2014 Citizen Excellence in
Community Involvement Award
Release date: 7/22/2014
Contact Information: James Pinkney, (404) 562-9183 (Direct), (404) 562-8400
(Main) pinkney.james@epa.gov
(ATLANTA – July 22, 2014) The Memphis Town Community Advisory Group is
being recognized today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as
the winner of the 2014 Citizen Excellence in Community Involvement Award.
This award is presented annually to an individual or a community group
working with a Superfund team for outstanding achievements in the field of
environmental protection.
Through the Memphis Town Community Advisory Group's (CAG) monthly meetings,
a forum was provided to identify community concerns and partner with EPA to
identify acceptable solutions. The CAG took the initiative to apply for a
Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) to obtain technical support, and provided
meaningful comments to EPA, the Mississippi Department of Environmental
Quality (MDEQ) and the City of Columbus on site work plans and design
documents. The CAG also assisted EPA and MDEQ in identifying the best
options for sharing information with the local community.
The Memphis Town Community Advisory Group was recognized for its
commitment, dedication and leadership to the Columbus, MS community
affected by the Kerr-McGee Chemical Corporation Superfund Site. The CAG has
proven to be of significant value to not only the community in which it
serves but to the agency as well. The U.S. EPA looks forward to continued
partnership with the CAG throughout the investigation and cleanup process
at the Kerr-McGee Superfund Site.
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| USDA Reminds Farmers of 2014 Farm Bill Conservation Compliance Changes |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
|WASHINGTON, July 22, 2014 — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today reminded producers |
|that changes mandated through the 2014 Farm Bill require them to have on file a Highly |
|Erodible Land Conservation and Wetland Conservation Certification (AD-1026). The Farm |
|Bill relinked highly erodible land conservation and wetland conservation compliance |
|with eligibility for premium support paid under the federal crop insurance program. |
| |
| |
|"It's important that farmers and ranchers taking the right steps to conserve valuable |
|farm and natural resources have completed AD-1026 forms on file at their local Farm |
|Service Agency (FSA) office," said Vilsack. "This will ensure they remain eligible for |
|crop insurance support." |
| |
| |
|For farmers to be eligible for premium support on their federal crop insurance, a |
|completed and signed AD-1026 form must be on file with the FSA. Since many FSA and |
|Natural Resource Conservation (NRCS) programs have this requirement, most producers |
|should already have an AD-1026 on file. If producers have not filed, they must do so by|
|June 1, 2015. |
| |
| |
|When a farmer completes the AD-1026, FSA and NRCS staff will outline any additional |
|actions that may be required for compliance with the provisions. The Risk Management |
|Agency, through the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), manages the federal crop|
|insurance program that provides the modern farm safety net for American farmers and |
|ranchers. |
| |
| |
|Since enactment of the 1985 Farm Bill, eligibility for most commodity, disaster, and |
|conservation programs has been linked to compliance with the highly erodible land |
|conservation and wetland conservation provisions. The 2014 Farm Bill continues the |
|requirement that producers adhere to conservation compliance guidelines to be eligible |
|for most programs administered by FSA and NRCS. This includes the new price and revenue|
|protection programs, the Conservation Reserve Program, the Livestock Disaster |
|Assistance programs and Marketing Assistance Loans implemented by FSA. It also includes|
|the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the Conservation Stewardship Program, and|
|other conservation programs. |
| |
| |
|FSA recently released a revised form AD-1026, which is available at USDA Service |
|Centers and online at: www.fsa.usda.gov. USDA will publish a rule later this year that |
|will provide details outlining the connection of conservation compliance with crop |
|insurance premium support. Producers can also contact their local USDA Service Center |
|for information. A listing of service center locations is available at |
|www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/contact/local/. |
| |
| |
|Today's announcement was made possible by the 2014 Farm Bill. The Farm Bill builds on |
|historic economic gains in rural America over the past five years, while achieving |
|meaningful reform and billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers. Since enactment, |
|USDA has made significant progress to implement each provision of this critical |
|legislation, including providing disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; strengthening|
|risk management tools; expanding access to rural credit; funding critical research; |
|establishing innovative public-private conservation partnerships; developing new |
|markets for rural-made products; and investing in infrastructure, housing and community|
|facilities to help improve quality of life in rural America. For more information, |
|visit: www.usda.gov/farmbill. |
| |
| |
|# |
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EPA Warning: Recharging Air Conditioners with Wrong Refrigerant Poses
Injury and Fire Risks
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is cautioning
homeowners, manufacturers of propane-based refrigerants, home improvement
contractors and air conditioning technicians of the safety hazards related
to the use of propane in existing motor vehicle and home air conditioning
systems.
A number of refrigerants with "22a" or "R-22a" in the name contain highly
flammable hydrocarbons, such as propane. These refrigerants are being
marketed to consumers seeking to recharge existing home and motor vehicle
air conditioning systems that were not designed to use propane or other
flammable refrigerants. These refrigerants have never been submitted to EPA
for review of their health and environmental impacts and are not approved
for use in existing air conditioning systems.
Using propane-based refrigerant in an air conditioner that is not designed
for flammable refrigerants poses a threat to homeowners as well as service
technicians because systems that are recharged with "22a" refrigerants can
catch fire or explode resulting in injury and property damage. EPA is
investigating instances where propane-based refrigerants have been marketed
and used as a substitutes for HCFC-22 (R-22) and will take enforcement
actions where appropriate.
More information about R-22a and alternatives for air conditioning:
http://www.epa.gov/ozone/snap/r22a.html
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