State
Development official: Ozone regulations could affect Coast
Sun Herald
BY REGINA ZILBERMINTS
A proposed Environmental Protection Agency ruling to lower the amount of
ozone allowed in the air could affect of industries along the Gulf Coast,
an official told the Harrison County Board of Supervisors on Monday.
http://www.sunherald.com/2015/04/13/6174638/development-official-ozone-regulations.html
Council yet to approve infrastructure emergency plan
Clarion Ledger
Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber met with some state officials Monday about
his infrastructure emergency declaration, but the proposal is still
on hold because the City Council has yet to approve it.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2015/04/13/council-yet-approve-infrastructure-emergency-plan/25744059/
Mayor meets with state officials about Jackson's water woes
Health Department loan no longer an option, Yarber says
WAPT
JACKSON, Miss. —Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber met Monday with state officials
about problems with the city's infrastructure that led to a state of
emergency.
http://www.wapt.com/news/central-mississippi/jackson/mayor-meets-with-state-officials-about-jacksons-water-woes/32342390
Sewage backing up, flooding street, residents say
Green, smelly water ponding on Summer Street
WAPT
JACKSON, Miss. —People who live on Summer Street in Jackson told 16 WAPT
News that sewage is backing up into their yards and flooding the street.
http://www.wapt.com/whos-accountable/sewage-backing-up-flooding-street-residents-say/32345008
Cal-Maine, DOJ announce settlement of water pollution issue
AP
EDWARDS — Mississippi-based egg producer Cal-Maine will bring a facility in
Edwards into compliance with its state-issued water discharge permit.
The settlement was announced Monday by the company and the Department of
Justice.
http://msbusiness.com/blog/2015/04/13/cal-maine-doj-announce-settlement-of-water-pollution-issue/
Jackson County household hazardous waste collection set for April 25
Mississippi Press
April M. Havens
April 13, 2015 at 2:27 PM
GAUTIER, Mississippi -- Jackson County's 12 annual Household Hazardous
Waste Collection Day is set for April 25 at the Singing River Mall parking
lot.
The free event, for Jackson County residents only, is a drive-thru event
that will be held from 8 a.m. to noon.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2015/04/jackson_county_household_hazar_2.html
Jackson Co. encourages residents to properly discard hazardous waste
WLOX
The Jackson County Board of Supervisors urges residents to celebrate Earth
Day 2015 activities by participating in Household Hazardous Waste
Collection Day.
http://www.myfoxal.com/story/28792914/jackson-co-encourages-residents-to-properly-discard-hazardous-waste
Issues stacking up for potential special session
Clarion Ledger
Gov. Phil Bryant before the 2015 legislative session ended April 2
dropped hints he might at some point call lawmakers back into
special session to reconsider his workforce training proposal that
died.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2015/04/13/issues-stacking-potential-special-session/25727685/
Oil Spill
Researchers discuss aftermath of BP oil spill
Gainesville Sun
By Jeff Schweers
Published: Monday, April 13, 2015 at 11:44 p.m.
Five years have passed since the Deepwater Horizon explosion took 11 lives
and spilled more than 134 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico,
disrupting millions of lives and costing millions of dollars to the tourism
and fishing industries.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20150413/articles/150419857
Florida RESTORE group submits preliminary plan
By VALERIE GARMAN | News Herald
Published: Monday, April 13, 2015 at 18:52 PM.
PANAMA CITY — With the five-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil
spill looming, a group tasked with managing a portion of Florida's recovery
dollars has submitted a preliminary plan for how those funds will be
administered.
http://www.newsherald.com/news/government/florida-restore-group-submits-preliminary-plan-1.464147
CNN TO AIR SPECIAL REPORT ON 5TH ANNIVERSARY OF GULF OIL SPILL
Five years after the worst oil spill in U.S. history, CNN's Senior
Investigative Correspondent Drew Griffin returns to the Gulf of Mexico to
explore the impact of the Deepwater Horizon spill on the people, the
economy and the environment of the Gulf Coast.
Blowout: The Gulf Oil Disaster airs Tuesday, April 14th at 9pET/PT on CNN.
http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2015/04/13/cnn-to-air-special-report-on-5th-anniversary-of-deepwaterhorizon-w-drewgriffincnn-on-tues-414-at-9petpt-info/
National
Obama Administration Proposes New Offshore Drilling Rules
Draft regulation includes provisions already adopted by industry
Wall Street Journal
The Obama administration on Monday proposed new offshore oil and
natural-gas drilling regulations aimed at preventing the kind of explosion
that erupted nearly five years ago on BP PLC's Deepwater Horizon rig,
including provisions the industry has already adopted.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/obama-administration-proposes-new-offshore-drilling-rules-1428952622
What environmentalists get wrong when they use the Calif. drought to attack
fracking
BY CHRIS MOONEY
The Washington Post
With the continual worsening of California's drought, an odd argument has
arisen. It's the notion that in the context of the drought, it's important
for the state to cut back on the water used in "fracking," the hydraulic
fracturing method of extracting oil or gas reserves.
http://www.sunherald.com/2015/04/13/6174517/what-environmentalists-get-wrong.html
Disaster Plans for Oil Trains
Federal officials devise scenario involving a train explosion to prepare
officials for the worst
Wall Street Journal
Imagine a mile-long train transporting crude oil derailing on an elevated
track in Jersey City, N.J., across the street from senior citizen housing
and 2 miles from the mouth of the Holland Tunnel to Manhattan.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/disaster-plans-for-oil-trains-1428969241
Press Releases
Major Egg Producer to Reduce Water Pollution Discharges at Mississippi
Facility
Contact: Davina Marraccini, 404-562-8293 (direct), 404-562-8400 (main),
marraccini.davina@epa.gov
ATLANTA – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Justice
Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division announced today a
settlement with Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., one of the nation's largest egg
producers, that resolves Clean Water Act violations at the company's
poultry egg production facility in Edwards, Miss. Under the settlement,
Cal-Maine will bring the facility into compliance with its state-issued
water discharge permit, significantly reduce nutrient pollution discharges,
and improve environmental data collection and reporting practices. The
company will also pay a $475,000 penalty to be split evenly between the
U.S. Federal and Mississippi governments.
"Clean Water Act violations from agricultural facilities can impair
drinking water sources, transmit disease-causing bacteria, and endanger our
lakes and rivers," said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA's
Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. "When concentrated animal
feeding operations discharge pollutants into U.S. waters, the law requires
them to have a permit and comply with it. We're committed to enforcing the
law to protect water quality for communities like the one where this
facility is located."
"The Justice Department is committed to protecting clean water for all
Americans, and ensuring large concentrated animal feeding operations are
good neighbors to those communities living near them like Edwards," said
Assistant Attorney General John Cruden for the Justice Department's
Environment and Natural Resources Division. "This settlement will bring
Cal-Maine into compliance with state and federal laws and cut nutrient
pollution discharges into area waterways."
"This is good news for water quality and health for the residents of
Edwards by requiring that Cal-Maine's facilities operate in accordance with
state and federal laws," said U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis for the
Southern District of Mississippi. "The settlement also represents the
commitment by the Justice Department and our federal and state partners to
protect water, air and land from health hazards and pollution."
Today's settlement, a consent decree filed in federal court in the Southern
District of Mississippi Northern Division, resolves alleged violations of
Cal-Maine's Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES) permit at its facility in Edwards, Miss., a large concentrated
animal feeding operation that houses more than 2 million chickens.
Cal-Maine discharged pollutants from the production area into a tributary
of a nearby creek without NPDES permit authorization, and applied
nitrogen-laden wastewater on fields at the facility during winter months
when land application was prohibited and sometimes at rates that exceeded
their permit requirements. Cal-Maine also committed hundreds of water
sampling, recordkeeping and reporting violations.
The facility is located in a community where close to half of the
households have an annual income of less than $25,000. One of EPA's top
priorities is to protect communities that are disproportionately affected
by pollution.
Too much nitrogen and phosphorus in the water causes algae to grow faster
than ecosystems can handle. Large growths of algae, known as algal blooms,
contribute to the creation of hypoxia or "dead zones" in water bodies where
oxygen levels are so low that most aquatic life cannot survive. Excessive
nitrogen and phosphorus that washes into water bodies and is released into
the air are often the direct result of human activities, and agricultural
operations are one of the major sources of nutrient pollution.
Under the settlement, Cal-Maine is already developing and implementing:
procedures for its egg production and land application areas to achieve
compliance with its NPDES permit, an employee training policy, and improved
recordkeeping and reporting practices. The procedures were submitted to,
and reviewed and approved by EPA and Mississippi officials over the course
of settlement negotiations. Cal-Maine has begun implementing these
procedures and must comply with all the terms of the settlement by April
30, 2016.
Once the pollution controls required by the settlement are implemented, EPA
estimates Cal-Maine will cut discharges of nitrogen by 89,000 pounds and
phosphorous by 20,000 pounds per year. EPA estimates it will cost Cal-Maine
approximately $418,000 to implement the settlement requirements and bring
the Edwards, Miss., facility into compliance with state and federal clean
water laws.
Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. and Cal-Maine Farms, Inc. merged into one corporate
entity called Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., effective January 1, 2015.
This case is part of EPA's National Enforcement Initiative to prevent
animal waste from contaminating surface and ground water. For more
information on that initiative, visit
http://www2.epa.gov/enforcement/national-enforcement-initiative-preventing-animal-waste-contaminating-surface-and-ground
.
Once the proposed consent decree is lodged with the Court, it will be
subject to a 30-day public comment period. A copy of the consent decree is
available at
http://www2.epa.gov/enforcement/cal-maine-foods-inc-clean-water-act-settlement
.
