State
DEQ seeks payment for violations at Madison Co. lake project
Clarion Ledger
After facing up to $50,000 in fines from the Mississippi Department
of Environmental Quality for violations at a park project, Madison
County will pay $6,500 in penalties.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2015/02/17/deq-sulfur-springs-payments/23584289/
Hub City weighing next step in wastewater treatment
Hattiesburg American
City of Hattiesburg officials were asked Tuesday to take another
step forward in the quest to find a solution to the city's
wastewater treatment woes.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/local/2015/02/17/wastewater-treatment-options/23593267/
Waste Pro faces lawsuit over 'radioactive' claim from 2013
Commercial Dispatch
February 17, 2015 10:11:45 AM
Andrew Hazzard - ahazzard@cdispatch.com
A former Waste Pro employee is suing the company for exposing him to what
he says was dangerous, radioactive waste in the Golden Triangle.
http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=40106
County Finds Silver Lining in Stalling of Oil Production
Natchez Democrat
http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/2015/02/18/county-finds-silver-lining-in-stalling-of-oil-production/
WMAs get one-year reprieve
Clarion Ledger
Threatened by federal budget cuts, three popular wildlife management
areas will remain open — for now.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/2015/02/16/wmas-get-one-year-reprieve/23532939/
Confusion surrounds Capitol St. project finish slated for April
Clarion Ledger
Officials have expressed confusion after the city of Jackson
announced that the Capitol Street improvement project has been
pushed back from its original March completion date to April 10.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2015/02/17/capitol-street-completion-delayed-again/23562585/
Oil Spill
RESTORE committee faces weighty decision
AT WEDNESDAY MEETING, GROUP WILL ADD WEIGHT TO CRITERIA FOR PROJECTS TO
RECEIVE FUNDING FROM OIL SPILL FINES
Pensacola Today
A large part of Pensacola's environmental and economic future
could be decided this week, as a group of nine citizens
finalize the criteria that will govern how as much as $200
million will be spent in the next decade.
http://pensacolatoday.com/2015/02/restore-committee-faces-weighty-decision/
National
EPA Considers Delaying Carbon Deadline After Utilities Object
Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) -- The Obama administration may ease off on a deadline for
power companies to start meeting new rules to cut carbon emissions, the top
environmental regulator said, a win for utilities that complained too much
was required too soon.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-17/epa-considers-revised-timing-for-complying-with-power-plant-rule
Morningstar Names EPA Clean Power Plan Winners -- And One Potential Loser
Forbes
The Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan will make money for
most electric utilities and their investors, who may be "laughing all the
way to the bank," according to a report Morningtar just released to
institutional investors.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2015/02/17/morningstar-names-epa-clean-power-plan-winners-and-one-potential-loser/
West Virginia, Canada derailments renew focus on oil tank cars
BY CURTIS TATE
McClatchy Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — The tank cars involved in back-to-back crude oil train
derailments since the weekend were an improved design built since 2011,
raising new questions about the safety of the tank car fleet used to haul
North America's energy bounty.
http://www.sunherald.com/2015/02/17/6076112/west-virginia-canada-derailments.html
Oil tanker cars involved in West Virginia train derailment had been
upgraded for safety
Fox News
The tanker cars that were part of an oil train that derailed in West
Virginia Monday were newer models that included safety upgrades voluntarily
adopted by the industry four years ago.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/02/18/oil-tanker-cars-involved-in-west-virginia-train-derailment-had-been-upgraded/?intcmp=latestnews
Tiny Oregon Minnow is First Fish Taken off Endangered List
Action comes 22 years after the 3-Inch-long fish was first listed as
endangered species
Wall Street Journal
GRANTS PASS, Ore.—A tiny minnow that lives only in backwaters in Oregon's
Willamette Valley is the first fish to be formally removed from Endangered
Species Act protection because it is no longer in danger of extinction.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/tiny-oregon-minnow-is-first-fish-taken-off-endangered-list-1424196300
California Turns to the Ocean for Drinking Water
With no letup seen for drought, coastal cities build more desalination
plants despite high cost
Wall Street Journal
SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—California's four-year drought is putting a new
spotlight on a plentiful but costly water alternative: ocean water, minus
the salt.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/california-turns-to-the-ocean-for-1424215351
Ohio court strikes down local fracking bans
The Hill
Towns and cities in Ohio cannot regulate hydraulic fracturing on their own,
the state's Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/232945-ohio-court-strikes-down-local-fracking-bans
A start-up that's solved fracking's dirty problem
CNBC
A tiny start-up in Boston is pioneering a revolution in the wastewater
treatment industry that could turn it on its head: a forward-osmosis
technology to purify the water used in fracking.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102360610#.
Press Releases
TODAY: Secretary Kerry and EPA Administrator McCarthy to Launch
International Air Quality Program
WASHINGTON- Today, Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy will meet at 2 p.m. EST in
the U.S. Department of State's Treaty Room for a signing ceremony to launch
a joint air quality program at select U.S. diplomatic missions overseas.
Secretary Kerry and Administrator McCarthy will deliver brief remarks and
sign a statement of intent.
The partnership between the U.S. Department of State and the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency recognizes air pollution as a serious and
growing health threat worldwide. Yet in many areas, real-time air quality
data are unavailable.
The State Department and EPA's collaboration will provide data from U.S.
missions overseas to EPA's AirNow platform. That will provide U.S. citizens
and government personnel overseas with better information to mitigate
health risks from air pollution and make informed health decisions. It
also will enhance the availability of ambient air quality data and
expertise around the world, offering a greater opportunity for the United
States to create partnerships on air quality with other nations.
