State
Ex-county official pleads guilty to bribery charge
AP
By JEFF AMY
GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - Federal prosecutors moved Tuesday against two former
government officials they say took bribes to steer work to a contractor for
a Mississippi Gulf Coast government utility.
http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_268748/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=IPe2X7PA
Attorney: 'It's a bad day' Harrison Supervisor Savant resigns, pleads
guilty plea to conspiracy
Sun Herald
BY PAUL HAMPTON AND ANITA LEE
GULFPORT -- Harrison County Supervisor Kim Savant plead guilty at 4 p.m.
today to a felony charge of conspiring to commit bribery involving federal
funds before U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/12/16/5972204_savant-resigns-from-harrison-county.html?sp=/99/100/&rh=1
Indictment details bribes for work at Harrison County agency
Sun Herald
BY ANITA LEE AND PAUL HAMPTON
Former Harrison County Utility Authority Director Kamran Pahlavan accepted
automobiles, New Orleans Saints tickets, hotel rooms and use of a beach
front condominium in exchange for utility work he steered to S.H. Anthony
Inc., a federal indictment alleges.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/12/16/5971918/former-harrison-county-utility.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1
Board president weighs in on Savant's resignation
WLOX
HARRISON COUNTY, MS (WLOX) -At this point, the Harrison County Board of
Supervisors have learned of former supervisor Kim Savant's resignation and
his guilty plea to a conspiracy to commit bribery charge.
http://www.wlox.com/story/27645966/board-president-weighs-in-on-savants-resignation
Harrison County gets grant for waste collection
Sun Herald
Harrison County has received a $70,000 grant for a household hazardous
waste collection event, officials with the Mississippi Department of
Environmental Quality announced Monday.
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/12/15/5971374/around-south-mississippi-for-dec.html?sp=/99/184/
Limited oyster season pays off for fishermen
WLOX
The Commission on Marine Resources got an update Tuesday on this year's
limited oyster season in Mississippi. The season has been open for 27 days
now. The Department of Marine Resource's Joe Jewell told commissioners that
oyster fishermen have made more than 1,600 trips since then.
http://www.wlox.com/story/27644966/limited-oyster-season-pays-off-for-fishermen
Hattiesburg to offer Christmas Tree Recycling Program
WDAM
The City of Hattiesburg's Urban Forestry Division is preparing for its
Annual Christmas Tree Recycling Program. The public is invited to recycle
their Christmas trees from December 29th to February 28th.
http://www.wdam.com/story/27643612/hattiesburg-to-offer-christmas-tree-recycling-program
Oil Spill
Louisiana reopens fishing waters near Grand Isle closed since BP oil spill
The Associated Press
December 16, 2014 at 11:28 AM
Commercial fishermen are once again harvesting Gulf seafood off the coasts
of Elmer's and Grand Terre islands, an area that's been closed due to the
2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2014/12/grand_isle_fishing_water_open.html#incart_river
Bye-bye BP: Area stores now fly Marathon flag
Tully Taylor
Enterprise-Journal
December 16, 2014 2:00 pm
Several convenience stores in the area are undergoing makeovers, trading in
the familiar green and yellow of BP for the less common red and blue of
Marathon.
http://www.enterprise-journal.com/news/article_fee4d128-8548-11e4-94ae-6b8821dad347.html
National
EPA to take comments on ozone plan
The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will officially kick off the
public comment period Wednesday for its proposal to reduce smog-forming
ozone pollution.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/227257-epa-to-take-comments-on-ozone-plan
U.S. to unveil plan to curb oil and gas sector methane soon: sources
Reuters
Tue, Dec 16 2014
By Valerie Volcovici
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration as soon as Wednesday will
announce its plans for curbing methane emissions from the oil and gas
sector, which the United States must do to meet its 2020 target for cutting
greenhouse gas emissions, people familiar with the issue said Tuesday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/16/us-climatechange-epa-methane-idUSKBN0JU2LS20141216
3.6 Degrees of Uncertainty
NY Times
After two weeks of grinding meetings in Lima, Peru, the
world's climate negotiators emerged this weekend with a
deal. They settled on preliminary language, to be
finalized a year from now in Paris, meant to help keep the
long-term warming of the planet below 3.6 degrees
Fahrenheit.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/science/earth/is-a-two-degree-limit-on-global-warming-off-target.html?ref=earth&_r=0
Is fracking polluting the air?
USA Today
Toxic air pollution from fracking causes a wide spectrum of health
problems for Americans across the country, an environmental group
charged in a report released Tuesday.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/12/16/fracking-air-pollution-health-nrdc/20451639/
Opinion
Coal Ash Decision To Cloud The Lines Between EPA And Conservative Congress
Forbes
With all the dissension between the Obama administration and the coal
industry, you'd think that finding any common ground would be troublesome.
But the two sides are likely to agree on whether to label coal ash as a
solid waste or as a hazardous waste.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2014/12/16/coal-ash-decision-to-cloud-the-lines-between-epa-and-conservative-congress/?partner=yahootix
Press Releases
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| USDA Improves Forest Health by Harvesting Biomass for Energy |
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| 2014 Farm Bill Program Generates Renewable Energy, Helps Reduce Forest Fire Threats |
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|WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2014 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that more|
|than 200,000 tons of biomass were removed from federal lands through the Biomass Crop |
|Assistance Program (BCAP). BCAP, reauthorized by the 2014 Farm Bill, provided |
|incentives for the removal of dead or diseased trees from National Forests and Bureau |
|of Land Management lands for renewable energy, while reducing the risk of forest fire. |
|This summer, 19 energy facilities in 10 states participated in the program. |
| |
| |
|"This initiative helps to retrieve forest residues that are a fire risk, but otherwise |
|are costly to remove," said Vilsack. "In just three months, working with private |
|partners across the country, the program helped to reduced fire, disease and insect |
|threats while providing more biomass feedstock for advanced energy facilities." |
| |
| |
|The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Farm Service Agency administered the |
|program earlier this year. Eligible farmers, ranchers or foresters participating in |
|BCAP received a payment to partially offset the cost of harvesting and delivering |
|forest or agricultural residues to a qualified energy facility. Up to $12.5 million is |
|available each year for biomass removal. |
| |
| |
|Key program accomplishments include: |
| |
| |
| · In Colorado's Front Range, 18,000 tons of trees targeted by the USDA Forest |
| Service to reduce forest fire threats were removed to generate energy. |
| |
| |
| · In California's Rim Fire area in Tuolumne County, nearly 100 percent of the USDA |
| Forest Service's targeted 40,000 tons of forest residue was approved for removal |
| and transport to energy facilities. |
| |
| |
| · In Arizona, 41,000 tons of forest residue in Apache and Navajo counties were |
| approved for removal and transport to energy facilities. |
| |
| |
| · In Oscoda County, Mich., home of the Huron Manistee National Forest, 5,000 tons |
| of forest residue were approved for removal and transport to energy facilities. |
| |
| |
|These accomplishments helped the Forest Service meet or exceed its restoration goals |
|for Fiscal Year 2014, including reducing hazardous fuels on 1.7 million acres in the |
|wildland urban interface and sustaining or restoring watershed conditions on 2.9 |
|million acres, resulting in 2.8 billion board feet of timber volume sold. To further |
|support this program, the Forest Service has entered into a three-year, $1.5 million |
|agreement to provide technical assistance to the Farm Service Agency as they implement |
|BCAP on National Forest System lands. This will enable the development and execution of|
|biomass sales, and help open and support new and existing markets for biomass products.|
| |
| |
|USDA will issue a final regulation this winter to incorporate BCAP updates established |
|in the 2014 Farm Bill. The next funding opportunity will be announced once updates are |
|incorporated. |
| |
| |
|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. |
| |
| |
|Visit www.fsa.usda.gov/bcap or contact a local FSA county office at offices.usda.gov to|
|learn more about BCAP. |
| |
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|# |
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Federal Agencies Support Virginia's Innovative Market-based Approach to
Improving Water Quality in Chesapeake Bay
Virginia program to serve as model for similar programs across the country
WASHINGTON – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina
McCarthy today joined U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary (USDA) Tom
Vilsack, Mike Boots of the White House Council on Environmental Quality
(CEQ), Commonwealth of Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, a private
investor and an Appomattox, Va. farmer to recognize an innovative,
market-based nutrient trading program run by Virginia to improve the water
quality of Chesapeake Bay.
At the McConnell Safety Transportation Operation Center, in Fairfax, Va.,
EPA, USDA, and CEQ highlighted the cost-effective program that has saved
the Commonwealth more than $1 million, demonstrating an innovative means of
meeting Clean Water Act stormwater requirements and Virginia state water
quality goals for the bay. The program encourages economic investment while
reducing phosphorus pollution to local waterways in order to meet water
quality goals for the Chesapeake Bay. It is expected similar programs will
be established around the nation to provide new revenue sources for
agricultural producers while reducing soil erosion and runoff.
"Virginia's nutrient trading program is a strong example of how to create
economic opportunity and new income for rural America while protecting and
improving local waterways and the Chesapeake Bay," said EPA Administrator
Gina McCarthy. "The program is a win for the environment and our economy
and we encourage states to look at Virginia as a model and a resource as
they adopt similar programs."
"The Chesapeake Bay faces numerous challenges, and the Commonwealth of
Virginia is responding with innovative thinking and collaboration across
sectors," said Mike Boots, who leads the White House Council on
Environmental Quality. "Not only do creative approaches like these provide
new markets for private investors and generate new revenue for farmers,
they also bolster the strength of our natural resources, improving their
resilience to threats posed by a changing climate and other stressors."
"I am glad the federal government has chosen to recognize this innovative,
pro-business program,"said Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe. "Our nutrient
credit trading system is building the New Virginia Economy by protecting
our environment and controlling costs for the private sector and the
Virginia taxpayer."ý
Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality has created a demand and
supply market for land conservation projects that are protective of water
quality for future generations. The agency's stormwater program requires
reductions of phosphorus runoff from certain types of road construction
projects that can be achieved by purchasing phosphorus credits from
state-certified credit banks. Credits purchased are generated by Virginia
farmers in the Potomac and James River watersheds, whose farming practices
have permanently reduced the amount of phosphorus flowing into those rivers
and, ultimately, the Chesapeake Bay. The farm practices are certified by
the state as "nutrient credit banks" and come solely from private
investors, reducing reliance on public funds and generating a new revenue
stream for participating farmers. These credits cost VDOT approximately 50
percent less than other, more traditional engineered pollution reduction
practices, such as detention ponds, and underground filters. In addition,
these banks advance other goals such as wildlife habitat, stream buffers
and land preservation.ý
USDA video of the Virginia program was highlighted in today's event:
http://youtu.be/ucBFVeq-vds ý
By advancing the goals of improving the health and regional economy of the
Chesapeake Bay as laid out in President Obama's 2009 Executive Order,
nutrient trading is giving farmers additional income opportunities that
help keep agricultural lands in production and stretch limited budgets by
tapping private sector investments.
EPA and USDA are working together to implement and coordinate policies and
programs that encourage water quality trading and will release a web-based
water quality trading roadmap tool in early 2015. As part of a joint
memorandum of understanding to support trading and environmental markets,
the two agencies are centralizing information for buyers and sellers to
utilize water quality trading. This resource library will be searchable and
help users find information specific to their needs. Both agencies will
sponsor a national conference in 2015 for stakeholders to share experiences
and move forward with trading as a valuable tool for driving environmental
improvement.
