7.14.14
State
CL&W will not face penalties for overflows
Commercial Dispatch
July 11, 2014 10:35:22 AM
Nathan Gregory - ngregory@cdispatch.com
Columbus Light and Water will not face financial penalties stemming from an
inquiry by the Environmental Protection Agency regarding sanitary sewage
overflows.
http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=34758
Hercules ordered to aid Hattiesburg on sewer repair
Hattiesburg American
Under a consent order issued by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency, Hercules Inc. will be required to take part in
the repair of a collapsed sewer line that buckled a road in
northeast Hattiesburg last month.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/local/hattiesburg/2014/07/13/hercules-aid-hattiesburg/12605179/
Hercules begins clean-up of contaminants along southern, eastern boundaries
WDAM
Hercules, Inc. has begun a clean-up of on and off-site contamination that
the Environmental Protection Agency said will protect public health and the
environment.
http://www.wdam.com/story/26004837/hercules-begins-clean-up-of-contaminants-along-southern-eastern-boundaries
Final debris pickup in Tupelo begins Monday
WTVA
TUPELO, Miss, (WTVA) -- The deadline for placing tornado debris on
roadsides in Tupelo is near.
http://www.wtva.com/news/local/story/Final-debris-pickup-in-Tupelo-begins-Monday/c5oaUxEZN0CZhKMFjeJCTg.cspx
Group a no-show at silicon plant meeting
By Dennis Seid
Daily Journal
IUKA – A scheduled meeting Saturday morning to discuss alleged health risks
with a silicon metal plant under construction in Tishomingo County was a
bust, as only two people showed up.
http://djournal.com/news/group-show-silicon-plant-meeting/
AP analysis: Feds don't recognize Mississippi's claim that state waters
extend 9 miles south
The Associated Press
July 13, 2014 at 4:12 PM
JACKSON, Mississippi -- Since July 2013, Mississippi has claimed its state
waters extend nine miles south into the Gulf of Mexico.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2014/07/ap_analysis_feds_dont_recogniz.html#incart_river
Mississippi Phosphates to close Madison headquarters, consolidate
operations to Pascagoula plant
Mississippi Press
April M. Havens
PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- Mississippi Phosphates Corp. will consolidate
all operations to the company's Pascagoula manufacturing facility and close
its administrative headquarters in Madison, company leaders announced
today.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2014/07/mississippi_phosphates_to_clos.html#incart_river
Mississippi Phosphates to move all operations to Pascagoula
SUN HERALD
PASCAGOULA -- Mississippi Phosphates Corp. announced Friday it plans to
consolidate operations to the company's Pascagoula plant, closing its
corporate headquarters in Madison.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/11/5694852/mississippi-phosphates-to-move.html?sp=/99/184/201/
No trashy lady: Amberlyn Liles heads up Oxford's sanitation department
By Errol Castens
Daily Journal
OXFORD – It doesn't take much imagination to make a joke at Amberlyn Liles'
expense.
As the superintendent of Oxford's sanitation department, there's the easy
"trashy lady" pejorative, or the ancient line, "What's a nice girl like you
doing in a dump like this?"
http://djournal.com/news/trashy-lady-amberlyn-liles-heads-oxfords-sanitation-department/
It's My Job: Waste Management
Dennis Burrell, 57, of Bentonia is a Waste Management driver.
Clarion Ledger
I've been with Waste Management 34 years in August, working as a
front-end loader commercial driver.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/business/2014/07/12/job-waste-management/12573977/
Oil Spill
Envisioning Profit in Environmental Good Works
Equity Firm Restores Louisiana Marshland to Earn Credits It Can Sell
NY Times
ABOARD THE DREDGE BUTCHER, OFF THE LOUISIANA COAST — All
day and all night, this ship off a knob of Louisiana at
Alligator Bend sucks up silt from the floor of Lake Borgne
and pumps it through a half-mile of fat steel pipe. At the
other end, a slurry gushes noisily out into what was until
recently a stretch of open water. New land is rising here,
forming mud flats that will soon be covered with waving
spartina grass.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/13/us/equity-firm-restores-louisiana-marshland-to-earn-credits-it-can-sell.html?_r=0
BP-funded improvements subject of Pensacola meeting
Pensacola News Journal
Pensacola residents will have an opportunity this week to weigh in
on the use of more than $2 million in fines from the 2010 Gulf oil
spill.
http://www.pnj.com/story/news/2014/07/11/bp-funded-improvements-subject-pensacola-meeting/12542891/
U.S. appeals new trial for ex-BP engineer
The Associated Press
July 11, 2014 at 7:14 PM
Federal prosecutors are appealing a judge's decision to grant a new trial
to a former BP engineer convicted of obstructing justice in an
investigation of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2014/07/us_appeals_new_trial_for_ex-bp.html#incart_river
Louisiana's coast gets new advocates for restoration: Editorial
The Editorial Board
The Times-Picayune
There is arguably no more vital issue across South Louisiana than
replenishing our state's eroding coastline. The rapid degeneration of
coastal marshes, beaches and barrier islands is putting hundreds of
thousands of residents, homes and businesses at increased risk from
hurricanes and tropical storms.
http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2014/07/new_focus_on_restoring_louisia.html#incart_river
Regional
Tainted Legacy: Wealthy and powerful vs. big oil
WWL
Former Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster didn't just support tort reform, he
campaigned on the issue, promising to rein in plaintiff's attorneys who
made big bucks suing big companies for big damages.
http://www.wwltv.com/news/Tainted-legacy-wealth-and-powerful-266603471.html
National
Court backs EPA permitting process for mountaintop mining
The Hill
An appeals court upheld an Environmental Protection Agency rule that cracks
down on water pollution from mountaintop removal coal mining.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/212023-court-backs-epa-permitting-process-for-mountaintop-mining
EPA, Pentagon vehicle freeze could jeopardize wildfire assistance
The Hill
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards are to blame for a freeze
in a Pentagon program that provides military equipment to fire departments
for fighting wildfires, according to a group of bipartisan senators.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/212003-epa-pentagon-agreement-may-jeopardize-wildfire-assistance
New regs for Monday: Used autos, earthquakes at nuclear power plants,
fracking
The Hill
Monday's edition of the Federal Register contains new rules on used auto
parts, replica collector's items, fisheries, hydraulic fracturing, nuclear
facilities and truck drivers.
http://thehill.com/regulation/211950-new-regs-for-monday-used-autos-earthquakes-at-nuclear-power-plants-fracking
Opinion
Recycling program still going strong
Natchez Democrat
Published 12:03am Sunday, July 13, 2014
Have you started the habit of recycling?
This month marks the first anniversary of curbside recycling in the city of
Natchez. In September, Vidalia will complete its first year of curbside
recycling, and in November, the city of Brookhaven will complete its second
year of curbside recycling.
http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/2014/07/13/recycling-program-still-going-strong/
Press Releases
EPA Orders Hercules Incorporated to Perform Response Actions at its
Hattiesburg Facility
Contact Information: James Pinkney, (404) 562-9183 (Direct), (404) 562-8400
(Main) pinkney.james@epa.gov
(ATLANTA – July 11, 2014) Hercules Incorporated in Hattiesburg, Mississippi
has entered into a Consent Order with the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) that requires response actions to be taken in two areas near the
facility to ensure the protection of public health and the environment. The
Consent Order is issued pursuant to Section 3008(h) of the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) for the implementation of certain
interim measures pending further site investigation and evaluation of final
site-wide corrective actions.
The EPA, along with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality
(MDEQ), believes that certain interim measures are necessary at this time
to address the migration of chemicals from the facility at the eastern and
southern property boundaries. These chemicals, called volatile organic
compounds (VOCs), have been detected in shallow off-site groundwater along
the eastern property boundary, and are present on-site near the southern
property boundary. There is currently no known risk of exposure to the
public from this groundwater contamination.
Interim measures required by this Consent Order include, among other
actions: coordination with and assistance to the City of Hattiesburg for
sewer line replacement along Providence Street (adjacent to the Hercules
facility); removal of contaminants in an off-site groundwater monitoring
well east of the facility; evaluation of VOCs in shallow groundwater east
of the facility and south of 7th Street; removal of an underground
petroleum storage tank and other structure on Hercules property south of 7
th Street; and decommissioning of the on-site wastewater treatment
impoundment basin. The Consent Order also requires further evaluation of
options for groundwater remediation to the east and south of the facility
as necessary to protect human health and the environment.
Implementation of the interim measures began the week of July 7, 2014, and
the EPA and MDEQ will be working jointly to provide oversight of all
activities required by the Consent Order to ensure compliance with
environmental laws.
###
First Participants in Conservation Stewardship Program Can Renew For Five
More Years
Jackson, Miss—The first participants of the Conservation Stewardship
Program with contracts approved in fiscal year 2010, have from July 11
until September 12, 2014 to file an application to renew their contracts
and make decisions on additional conservation activities that will benefit
priority natural resource issues.
CSP is a United States Department of Agriculture/Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS) program that provides opportunities for farmers
and ranchers who are already established conservation stewards to improve
water quality, soil health and wildlife habitat.
Since CSP began in 2009, more than 58 million acres across the nation have
been enrolled in the program – an area approximately the size of
Mississippi and Louisiana combined. CSP participants boost their
operations' conservation benefits by installing new conservation activities
that make positive improvements in soil, water, air and wildlife habitat.
"CSP farmers are conservation leaders that go the extra mile to conserve
our nation's resources," stated Mississippi NRCS State Conservationist Kurt
Readus. "The 2014 Farm Bill continued that strong commitment and heightened
the program's focus on generating conservation benefits. This program
allows landowners to reach the next level of conservation and opens the
door to trying new conservation activities."
CSP participants with active contracts approved in 2010 can contact their
local USDA, NRCS office to get more details on what is needed to renew
their contracts. To locate your NRCS office, visit;
http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app
To learn about technical and financial assistance available through CSP,
visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/GetStarted, or
www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/financial/csp/ .
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