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
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| USDA Selects 36 Energy Facilities to Accept Biomass Deliveries |
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| Program Includes Biomass Removals from Federal Lands to Reduce Forest Fires |
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|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. |
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|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. |
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|"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." |
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|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. |
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|The 36 BCAP energy facilities are: |
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|Arizona |
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|Novo BioPower LLC (f/k/a Snowflake White Mountain Power) |
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|Forest Energy Corporation |
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|California |
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|Burney Forest Power |
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|Pacific Ultrapower-Chinese Station |
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|HL(Honey Lake) Power Company |
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|Rio Bravo Rocklin |
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|Collins Pine Company |
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|Thermal Energy Development Partnership, LP |
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|Covanta Delano Inc. |
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|Covanta Mendota L.P. |
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|Sierra Pacific Industries - Sonora |
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|Sierra Pacific Industries - Burney Division |
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|Sierra Pacific Industries - Quincy Division |
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|Sierra Pacific Industries - Lincoln |
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|Roseburg Forest Products |
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|Colorado |
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|Eagle Valley Clean Energy, LLC |
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|Idaho |
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|Clearwater Paper Corporation |
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|Basic American Foods |
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|Kansas |
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|Abengoa |
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|Michigan |
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|Hillman Power Company LLC |
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|Minnesota |
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|Minnesota Power – Hibbard Renewable Energy Center |
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|Minnesota Power – Rapid Energy Center |
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|Missouri |
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|Enginuity |
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|Montana |
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|Eureka Pellet Mills Inc. |
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|F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber Co. |
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|Nebraska |
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|Chadron State College |
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|New Mexico |
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|Mt. Taylor Machine LLC |
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|Oregon |
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|Biomass One LP |
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|Interfor Pacific Inc., Gilchrist Division |
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|Ochoco Lumber dba Malheur Lumber |
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|Roseburg Forest Products |
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|Seneca Sustainable Energy, LLC |
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|South Carolina |
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|Council Energy Inc. |
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|Allendale Biomass LLC |
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|Dorchester Biomass, LLC |
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|Washington |
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|Boise White Paper |
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|Visit www.fsa.usda.gov/bcap or a local FSA county office to learn more about BCAP. |
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|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. |
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