State
If Power Plants Close, Your Bills Go Up: Wicker Blasts New EPA Rules at DC
Hearing
NewsMS
WASHINGTON, D.C.–If coal power plants are forced to close under new EPA
rules, your light bill could go way up. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) blasted
the new Environmental Protection Agency rules in a Senate hearing in DC
Wednesday.
http://www.newsms.fm/power-plants-close-bills-go-wicker-blasts-new-epa-rules-dc-hearing/
Court strikes down Kemper rate increases, orders refunds
Clarion Ledger
The Mississippi Supreme Court has invalidated the rate increases
related to Mississippi Power Co.'s Kemper County coal plant, and
ordered refunds to the utility's 186,000 ratepayers.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/business/2015/02/12/kemper-coal-rate-increases/23308907/
MUW's Borsig named IHL Commissioner
WLOX
Dr. Jim Borsig is Mississippi's new Commissioner of Higher Education. The
IHL board just introduced Borsig, and said his first day on the job will be
April 15, 2015.
http://www.wlox.com/story/28097330/muws-borsig-named-ihl-commissioner
Oil Spill
South Mississippians prioritize Gulf of Mexico restoration projects
RESTORE Act has provided $150M to $180M for oil spill cleanup
BY VICKI TERRINONI
Special to the Sun Herald
BILOXI -- About 30 people attended an informal Gulf of Mexico restoration
workshop Thursday night at DeMiller Hall to give input on the priorities
for the Environmental Protection Agency in allocating the Gulf Coast
Restoration Fund monies.
http://www.sunherald.com/2015/02/12/6068836/south-mississippians-prioritize.html
Study associates 3-year pattern of Gulf of Mexico bottlenose dolphin deaths
with BP oil spill
Mark Schleifstein
The Times-Picayune
February 12, 2015 at 3:43 PM
A new peer-reviewed study of deaths of bottlenose dolphins in the northern
Gulf of Mexico finds the highest number of animal strandings and deaths
between 2010 and early 2013 occurred in areas most impacted by the 2010 BP
Deepwater Horizon oil spill, including Barataria Bay and other Louisiana
locations.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2015/02/new_study_indicates_three-year.html#incart_river
National Guard members involved in BP oil spill response eligible for VA
medical benefits, website reports
Jennifer Larino
The Times-Picayune
February 12, 2015 at 2:39 PM
Members of the National Guard who were part of the response effort during
the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill may be eligible for medical benefits
through the Department of Veterans Affairs, AmeriForce reports.
http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2015/02/national_guard_bp_oil_spill_va.html#incart_river
More than half of $500 million in oil spill payments distributed to seafood
workers
Jennifer Larino
The Times-Picayune
February 12, 2015 at 4:40 PM
Oil spill claims administrator Patrick Juneau said Thursday (Feb. 12) more
than half of a second, $500 million round of payments has been distributed
to Gulf Coast seafood workers since a November court order approving the
step. The claims office continues to process payments to seafood workers
impacted by the BP oil spill.
http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2015/02/bp_oil_spill_seafood_payments.html#incart_river
University of Alabama researchers to lead 3-year Gulf Coast oil spill study
Al.com
Melissa Brown
February 12, 2015 at 11:46 AM
Two biological sciences professors at the University of Alabama are set to
lead a three-year, $1.5 million study on the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil
spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
http://www.al.com/news/tuscaloosa/index.ssf/2015/02/university_of_alabama_research.html
Regional
States want 20 more years to meet Gulf dead-zone goals
Des Moines Register
A task force representing Iowa and 11 other states said Thursday it
needs another 20 years to reduce the size of a dead zone in the Gulf
of Mexico by two-thirds.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/agriculture/2015/02/12/states-contributing-gulf-dead-zone-push-deadline/23322609/
Some parts of Louisiana's coastline are actually growing, NASA says
Emily Lane
The Times-Picayune
February 12, 2015 at 1:53 PM
While the Louisiana coastline continues to shrink in some stretches by a
football field of wetlands an hour, new land has formed in recent decades
in the Atchafalaya Bay, thanks largely to the effects of the Wax Lake
Outlet, according to NASA Earth Observatory article.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2015/02/some_parts_the_louisianas_coas.html#incart_river
National
U.S. "clean coal" project demise shows EPA plan's weakness: lawyers
Thu, Feb 12 2015
Reuters
By Valerie Volcovici and Ayesha Rascoe
WASHINGTON, Feb 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. government's move to suspend a
trouble-plagued $1.65 billion carbon capture and storage (CCS) project this
month may have bolstered legal challenges to proposed environmental
regulations on power plant carbon emissions, several legal experts said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/12/usa-climate-carboncapture-idUSL1N0VM2H020150212
EPA's Power Plant Rule Defies Will of Congress, Senate Republicans Say
Bloomberg
An Environmental Protection Agency proposal to curb carbon dioxide
pollution from power plants would impose significant costs on utilities and
ratepayers without providing tangible benefits for the climate, Senate
Republicans said.
http://www.bna.com/epas-power-plant-n17179923018/
EPA assailed for leaving coal country off climate hearing tour
The Hill
Republicans are condemning an Environmental Protection Agency official's
comment that it only held hearings on its climate rule in places where
people would be "comfortable."
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/232612-gop-chides-epa-over-climate-rule-hearings
EPA officials wanted to be 'comfortable'
Loisville Courier Journal
The Environmental Protection Agency's top air quality official told
a member of Congress that the agency held hearings on its clean
power plant only in states where its officials would be
"comfortable."
http://www.courier-journal.com/story/watchdog-earth/2015/02/12/epa-officials-were-not-comfortable-coming-to-coal-country/23306733/
Two Former Freedom Officials to Plead Guilty in Spill Case
Chemical Leak in West Virginia Contaminated Water Supply for 300,000 People
Wall Street Journal
Two former Freedom Industries officials facing criminal water pollution
charges agreed to plead guilty in connection with the government's case
over a chemical leak that contaminated the water supply for 300,000 people
in West Virginia last year.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/two-former-freedom-officials-to-plead-guilty-in-spill-case-1423759004
Invasive Asian carp may soon be on the menu at MU dining halls
Missourian
COLUMBIA — The texture of Asian carp reminded MU junior Abigail Auner of
ground beef.
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/a/184410/invasive-asian-carp-may-soon-be-on-the-menu-at-mu-dining-halls/
Press Releases
States Develop New Strategies to Reduce Nutrient Levels in Mississippi
River, Gulf of Mexico
Summary
The 12 states of the Hypoxia Task Force have devised new strategies to
speed up reduction of nutrient levels in waterways in the
Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin. High nutrients levels are a key
contributor each summer to the large area of low oxygen in the Gulf of
Mexico known as a dead zone. Each state has outlined specific actions it
will take to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus in the Mississippi/Atchafalaya
River Basin from wastewater plants, industries, agriculture, and stormwater
runoff.
The Task Force has decided to extend the target date for shrinking the dead
zone from its current average size of almost 6,000 square miles to about
2,000 square miles from 2015 to 2035. Progress has been made in certain
watersheds within the region, but science shows a 45 percent reduction is
needed in the nitrogen and phosphorus entering the Gulf of Mexico. In order
to track progress and spur action, the Task Force is also aiming at a 20
percent reduction in nutrient loads by 2025.
In Their Words
"It's going to take time to vastly improve water quality in very large
bodies of water like the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico. Federal
agencies and states are committing to comprehensive actions and increased
resources to spur progress on the ground and in the water," said Ellen
Gilinsky, Senior Advisor for Water for the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency and Task Force co-chair.
"Each of the states within the Mississippi River Basin are best able to
understand what they need to do to achieve these aggressive goals. The
Hypoxia Task Force has been supporting the states as they develop
voluntary, science-based strategies that work to achieve the shared goals
of our states," said Bill Northey, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture and state
co-chair of the Task Force.
Audio
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/bd4379a92ceceeac8525735900400c27/c1feec0ba93871db85257dea005f017f!OpenDocument
More information
Visit http://water.epa.gov/type/watersheds/named/msbasin/index.cfm
In More Detail
High nutrient levels are one of America's costliest, most widespread, and
most challenging environmental problems. Too much nitrogen and phosphorus
in the water leads to large algae growth, called algal blooms. These algal
blooms can severely reduce or eliminate oxygen in water, creating dead
zones and harming aquatic life, and harm humans because they produce
elevated toxins and bacterial growth.
Examples of actions in state nutrient reduction strategies include:
· The Illinois Fertilizer Act ensures that a $0.75/ton assessment on
all bulk fertilizer sold in Illinois is allocated to research and
educational programs focused on nutrient use and water quality.
· Iowa's Water Quality Initiative has four main components: outreach
and education, statewide practice implementation, targeted
demonstration watershed projects, and tracking and accountability.
· Minnesota is providing $221 million in state funds to support a wide
range of activities including development of watershed restoration
and protection strategies, ground water and drinking water
protection, and monitoring and assessment.
· Wisconsin is using state and Clean Water Act funding to expand the
use of conservation practices in 45 agricultural watersheds and
critical sites in the Mississippi River Basin.
The Task Force will focus on several areas in addition to the state
nutrient reduction strategies, including:
· Quantitative Measures: States and federal agencies will need to
predict and measure how much nutrient levels are reduced by certain
actions. So at their meeting in May 2015, members will describe how
tracking mechanisms, watershed monitoring, and computer modeling will
be used to quantitatively measure progress, particularly by the state
nutrient reduction strategies.
· Federal Programs: Federal agencies will work to integrate,
strengthen, and quantify the nutrient load reductions from programs
including, the USDA Regional Conservation Partnership Program, USDA
Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watershed Initiative, U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service Mississippi River Habitat Initiative and Landscape
Conservation Cooperatives, and EPA Water Pollution Control Program
Grants and Nonpoint Source Management Program.
· Funding: Reducing nutrient levels requires significant financial
resources so Hypoxia Task Force members will identify funding needs
for specific nutrient reduction actions and then better target
existing resources and pursue additional funding.
· Partnerships: The Task Force aims to expand existing and forge new
partnerships.
Agriculture – Farmers have a long tradition of commitment to soil and
water conservation and have been a critical part of the development
of state strategies. Farm innovations and the examples set by early
adopters help improve solutions and provide needed demonstration,
accelerating actions that improve agricultural productivity and water
quality.
Businesses - Many businesses are actively working to reduce their
environmental impacts and have lessons to share that will enable
other businesses to implement similar actions. Nitrogen inhibitors
and other products already help keep nutrients in the soil and
deliver nutrients to plants.
Cities and Communities – The Task Force will rely on municipal
wastewater agencies and the communities they serve to improve
performance of sewage treatment facilities as a component of state
nutrient strategies.
NGOs - Many non-governmental organizations share the Task Force's
goals and mission and are working on initiatives to address water
quality and nutrient pollution in the region.
Universities – Land Grant Universities have helped develop state nutrient
reduction strategies and will continue playing an integral role in
implementing them.
Members of the Hypoxia Task Force are the Army Corps of Engineers; U.S.
Department of Agriculture; Department of the Interior; U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and the
states of Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. Tribes
are represented by the National Tribal Water Council.
