7.16.14
State
Groundworx permit deemed valid after MDEQ hearing
WDAM
HATTIESBURG, MS (WDAM) -After a day-long hearing with the Mississippi
Department of Environmental Quality, the Groundworx permit is considered
valid and in good standing.
http://www.wdam.com/story/26022557/mdeq-holds-hearing-to-check-validity-of-groundworx-permit
MDEQ board affirms Groundworx operational permit
Hattiesburg American
The Mississippi Environmental Quality Permit Board on Tuesday affirmed the
operational permit issued to Groundworx LLC, to dispose of Hattiesburg
treated wastewater.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/local/hattiesburg/2014/07/15/deborah-delgado-groundworx-hattiesburg-wastewater/12707271/
Biloxi beach closes after sewage spill
Sun Herald
Lightning struck a lift station Tuesday afternoon causing sewage to spill
into the Sound, according to the state Department of Environmental Quality.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/15/5700202/around-south-mississippi.html
Protect yourself from flesh eating bacteria
WLOX
OCEAN SPRINGS, MS (WLOX) -Tuesday, an Ocean Springs family laid to rest
their beloved son, brother, and uncle. Nick Duvernay died just days after
coming into contact with the flesh eating bacteria Vibrio Vulnificus,
during a fishing trip in the Gulf.
http://www.wlox.com/story/26026573/protect-youself-from-flesh-eating-bacteria
Two survivors of flesh eating bacteria share their stories
WLOX
GULFPORT, MS (WLOX) -It's called Vibrio Vulnificus. That's the medical
name. Most of us know it as the deadly flesh eating bacteria disease. Just
this past week, a 38 year old Ocean Springs man died four days after
becoming infected. But it is survivable, if you get quick treatment.
http://www.wlox.com/story/26026449/two-survivors-of-flesh-eating-bacteria-share-their-stories
Flesh-eating Vibrio bacteria at seasonal peak in South Mississippi waters
One death, seven cases reported so far this year
Sun Herald
BY LAUREN WALCK
René Olier went fishing June 5 just the way he had for 50 years. He stopped
to get live bait and set out for an area south of Cat Island.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/15/5700048/flesh-eating-vibrio-bacteria-at.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1
Enrollment date for Black Creek Initiative looming
Hattiesburg American
Landowners and property operators interested in participating in the Upper
Black Creek Watershed Initiative have a key sign-up date looming this week.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/local/2014/07/15/deadline-nears-black-creek-initiative/12703797/
Oil Spill
U.S. court revives BP retirement-plan lawsuit
Reuters
(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday revived a lawsuit in which
participants in four BP Plc employee retirement savings plans claimed they
were deceived into buying and holding BP stock before and after the 2010
Deepwater Horizon disaster.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-bp-lawsuit-20140715,0,2497312.story
Feds Hit Hard Against Those Making False BP Claims, Maybe Too Hard
Forbes
After the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in 2010, BP Oil set up
the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) to compensate individuals and
companies harmed by the spill.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/walterpavlo/2014/07/15/feds-hit-hard-against-those-making-false-bp-claims-maybe-too-hard/
National
House Republicans take aim at EPA climate rules
The Hill
House appropriators on Tuesday approved a $30 billion spending bill
designed to block a host of looming Environmental Protection Agency
regulations viewed by the GOP as exceeding the agency's authority.
http://thehill.com/regulation/212308-panel-advances-spending-bill-that-would-block-epa-regs
Though Scorned by Colleagues, a Climate-Change Skeptic Is Unbowed
NY Times
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — John Christy, a professor of
atmospheric science at the University of Alabama in
Huntsville, says he remembers the morning he spotted a
well-known colleague at a gathering of climate experts.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/16/us/skeptic-of-climate-change-john-christy-finds-himself-a-target-of-suspicion.html?ref=earth&_r=0
Crumbling Roads in Oil Fields Slow U.S. Energy Boom
Bloomberg
By Dan Murtaugh
The road to U.S. energy security is often unpaved.
In southern Texas and North Dakota, where shale drilling has propelled U.S.
oil production to the highest level in 28 years, thousands of 18-wheel
trucks are rumbling to wells on roads designed decades ago for farmers to
bring crops to markets. Road closures have slowed output, with diverted
traffic increasing accidents, as Texas seeks $1 billion to maintain roads
in the oil belt.
http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-10/crumbling-roads-in-oil-fields-slowing-u-s-energy-boom.html
Opinion
COLUMN-Capturing CO2 emissions remains frustratingly expensive: Kemp
Reuters
(John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)
By John Kemp
LONDON, July 10 (Reuters) - Fossil fuels will remain an indispensable part
of the global energy supply for at least the next 50 years, so a means must
be found to burn them without pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/10/climatechange-carboncapture-kemp-idUSL6N0PL4CK20140710
Press Releases
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| USDA Awards Funds to Promote Development of Rural Wood to Energy Projects |
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| 15 States to Benefit |
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|WASHINGTON, July 15, 2014 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the |
|award of more than $2.5 million in grants to develop wood energy teams in 11|
|states and an additional $1.25 million for nine wood energy projects. |
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|"Renewable wood energy is part of the Obama Administration's 'all of the |
|above' energy strategy," Vilsack said. "Working with our partners, the |
|Forest Service is supporting development of wood energy projects that |
|promote sound forest management, expand regional economies and create new |
|rural jobs." |
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|The federal funds will leverage more than $4.5 million in investments from |
|USDA partners. Under the terms of the agreements announced today, private, |
|state and federal organizations will work together to stimulate the |
|development of additional wood energy projects in their states. Activities |
|may include workshops that provide technical, financial and environmental |
|information, preliminary engineering assessments and community outreach |
|needed to support development of wood energy projects. |
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|Grant recipients are from: Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, Montana, New Mexico,|
|New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia. |
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|Secretary Vilsack also announced projects to be funded through the |
|Wood-to-Energy grant program, which will use woody material from National |
|Forest System lands, such as beetle-killed trees, to improve forest health |
|and aid in wildfire prevention. The grant program helps applicants complete |
|the necessary design work needed to secure public or private investment for |
|construction. |
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|This year more than $1.25 million will be provided to assist projects in New|
|Hampshire, Minnesota, Texas, California, Oregon, and Washington. For more |
|information on the projects funded by the Forest Service, please visit the |
|Statewide Wood Energy Teams (SWET) and Wood to Energy Grant Recipients page.|
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|The Forest Service Wood to Energy grant program began in 2005 and has |
|provided more than $36 million toward various projects, ranging from biomass|
|boilers for schools and hospitals, to helping businesses acquire equipment |
|that improves processing efficiencies. So far, over 150 grants have been |
|awarded to small businesses, non-profits, tribes and local state agencies to|
|improve forest health, while creating jobs, green energy and healthy |
|communities. |
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|For more information on the cooperative agreement program, visit |
|http://na.fs.fed.us/werc/wood-energy/. For more information on USDA's |
|renewable energy programs, please visit the USDA Energy website. |
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|Today's announcements support forest restoration and the Obama |
|administration's efforts to help communities better prepare for and reduce |
|the severity of wildfires, especially in the face of climate change. Over |
|the past ten years the Forest Service has had to borrow $3.2 billion dollars|
|from other agency programs to support emergency wildfire suppression costs |
|amid longer fire seasons and more frequent and severe wildfire activity. On |
|July 8th, President Obama requested $615 million for emergency wildfire |
|suppression activities for FY 2014, and a new budget approach to fund |
|wildfire suppression similar to other natural disaster events, mirroring |
|bipartisan legislation proposed by Congress. These actions alleviate the |
|need to conduct fire transfers this year and in future years and will help |
|reduce firefighting costs, promote long-term forest health, and maintain |
|fiscal responsibility. |
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|The mission of the Forest Service, part of the U.S. Department of |
|Agriculture, is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the |
|Nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future |
|generations. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides |
|assistance to state and private landowners, and maintains the largest |
|forestry research organization in the world. Public lands the Forest Service|
|manages contribute more than $13 billion to the economy each year through |
|visitor spending alone. Those same lands provide 20 percent of the Nation's |
|clean water supply, a value estimated at $7.2 billion per year. The agency |
|has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 80 percent of |
|the 850 million forested acres within the U.S., of which 100 million acres |
|are urban forests where most Americans live. |
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Zep Inc. Pays $905,000 for Alleged Violations of the Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
Contact Information: Dawn Harris Young, (404) 562-8421 (Direct), (404)
562-8400 (Main), harris-young.dawn@epa.gov
ATLANTA - Zep Inc., located in Atlanta, GA, has agreed to pay $905,000 to
resolve alleged violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
announced today. As part of the settlement, Zep Inc., has certified that
it is now in compliance with FIFRA.
The alleged violations are related to the sale and distribution of the
unregistered and misbranded pesticide, "Formula 165", " as a supplemental
distributor without first obtaining a supplemental distribution agreement
with the registrant between April 21, 2010, and January 6, 2012. The lack
of a supplemental agreement also meant that ZEP Inc. was not authorized to
manufacture or sell or distribute the pesticide.
In addition, EPA alleged that Zep Inc., gave false certifications of
compliance with FIFRA Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) on documents
associated with the registration of three pesticides in its line of
Enforcer brand insecticides - Enforcer RoachMax Bait, Enforcer AntMax Bait
and Enforcer Fire Ant Bait. Pesticide registrants are required to certify
their compliance with the GLP on any testing or studies submitted to the
EPA in support of a registration.
Under EPA's antimicrobial testing program, ZEP Formula 165 was evaluated,
and EPA's testing showed that contrary to labeling claims, the product was
ineffective against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A pesticide is misbranded
and in violation of FIFRA if it makes false or misleading label claims.
The purpose of FIFRA is to ensure that no pesticides are produced,
imported, distributed, sold, or used in a manner that poses an unreasonable
risk to human health or the environment. The EPA is committed to ensuring
that products are properly registered which includes meeting GLP
requirements. Further, products in the marketplace must meet stringent
effectiveness standards, since the public cannot readily ascertain with the
naked eye the effectiveness of antimicrobial pesticides. EPA continues to
place a priority on ensuring that pesticides are effective to protect human
health and the environment.
EPA continues to focus national enforcement efforts on supplemental
distributor activities because, in many cases, the agency has found that
labels on pesticides produced and sold by supplemental distributors often
lack critical information required by law, which increases the risk of harm
from potential misuse of the product.
For additional information about pesticides, visit:
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/.
