State
Mississippi Power officials tout benefits of Kemper plant
Meridian Star
By Jeff Byrd
April 5, 2015 4:06 am
Just inside the Kemper County line and 20 miles north of Meridian,
construction on Mississippi Power Company's power plant continues.
http://www.meridianstar.com/news/mississippi-power-officials-tout-benefits-of-kemper-plant/article_f792488a-db54-11e4-a41e-77b62b83a461.html
Broom: Feds may grant redfish exemption
Clarion Ledger
For the first time since the 1980s, Mississippi anglers could have a
chance to harvest redfish in federal waters.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/2015/04/04/broom-feds-may-grant-redfish-exemption/25306159/
Waterway district asks Miss Supreme Court to reconsider
AP
HATTIESBURG, MISS. — The Pat Harrison Waterway District is asking the
Mississippi Supreme Court to reconsider its recent close ruling that Lamar
County may leave the district with a $337,000 payment.
http://www.sunherald.com/2015/04/05/6160605/waterway-district-asks-miss-supreme.html
On the move: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Clarion Ledger
Cori Carraway has been selected chief of the permit section of the
regulatory branch of Operations Division for the Vicksburg District. She
previously served as a senior environmental specialist in the permit
section. A Vicksburg native, Carraway has a bachelor's degree in
environmental science from Mississippi State University.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/money/business/2015/04/04/move-us-army-corps-engineers/25298737/
Mississippi legislators divided on tax issues as session ends
AP
JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi lawmakers finished their three-month session
last week and returned home with plenty of campaign fodder as most of the
122 House members and 52 senators seek re-election.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/local-news/desoto/mississippi-legislators-divided-on-tax-issues-as-session-ends_42166662
Oil Spill
Dispersant used in BP spill might cause damage to human lungs, fish, crab
gills, new study says
Mark Schleifstein
The Times-Picayune
April 03, 2015 at 8:36 PM
The dispersant most often used during the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill
might cause damage to cells in human lungs and in the gills of fish and
crabs, according to a study published Thursday in a peer-reviewed
scientific journal.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2015/04/dispersant_used_in_bp_spill_mi.html#incart_river
Regional
In Bonnet Carre Spillway test, corps will pull some needles from bay
Mark Schleifstein
The Times-Picayune
April 03, 2015 at 4:55 PM
The Army Corps of Engineers plans to take advantage of high water
conditions on the Mississippi River to practice removing wooden needles
from one of the 350 bays in the Bonnet Carre Spillway between Norco and
Montz. The exercise takes place Wednesday (April 8).
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2015/04/corps_test_will_pull_some_wood.html#incart_river
National
Recycling Becomes a Tougher Sell as Prices Drop
The fall in oil prices has dragged down the price of virgin plastic,
erasing recyclers' advantage
Wall Street Journal
BINBROOK, England—A former World War II bomber hangar houses a monument to
the recent plunge in oil prices: hundreds of bags of shredded plastic.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/recycling-becomes-a-tougher-sell-as-plastic-prices-drop-1428279575
Beneath California Crops, Groundwater Crisis Grows
NY Times
Even as the worst drought in decades ravages California,
and its cities face mandatory cuts in water use, millions
of pounds of thirsty crops like oranges, tomatoes and
almonds continue to stream out of the state and onto the
nation's grocery shelves.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/06/science/beneath-california-crops-groundwater-crisis-grows.html?_r=0
Press Releases
GCRL Oil Spill Seminar Series coincides with Deepwater Horizon 5th
Anniversary
The University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Coast Research Laboratory
(GCRL) will host a seminar series, "Deepwater Horizon: A scientist's
perspective," which will begin on April 20, the fifth anniversary of the
oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Deepwater Horizon spill occurred some 42 miles off the coast of
Louisiana and is said to be the worst in U.S. history. Estimates of the
amount of oil spilled range from 3-5 million barrels. Eleven rig employees
lost their lives during the explosion and subsequent sinking of the rig.
The leaking oil well was not capped until July 15, 2010, 87 days after the
incident.
This seminar series offers a retrospective exploration of the spill through
presentations by research staff and discussions among speakers, education
staff and attendees to answer pressing questions. The series will be
introduced with an interactive session to present a broad overview of
research areas with general results and how these studies exemplify the
process of science in building new knowledge. Attendees will be invited to
submit their questions for later speakers. Later sessions will feature
researchers sharing results from across their fields of expertise through
interactive presentations.
April 20, 2015 Spill Science Five Years Later: Addressing your questions
with science
Dr. Jessie Kastler, Coordinator of Program Development, Marine Education
Center, GCRL, USM
May 11, 2015 Oil and Dispersants: Where are they now and what have they
done?
Dr. Joe Griffitt, Associate Professor, Department of Coastal Science &
GCRL, USM
Dr. Vernon Asper, Professor, Department of Marine Science, USM
June 1, 2015 Oil spill impacts on Gulf animals: How are they doing?
Dr. Frank Hernandez, Assistant Professor, Department of Coastal Sciences &
GCRL, USM
Dr. Ruth Carmichael, Senior Marine Scientist II, Dauphin Island Sea Lab &
Associate Professor of Marine Sciences, University of South Alabama
June 22, 2015 Gliders in the Gulf: Ocean technology and the oil spill
Dr. Oscar Schofield, Professor, Institute of Marine and Coastal Science,
Rutgers University
July 13, 2015 Where Do We Go from Here? Future directions in oil spill
research
Dr. Monty Graham, Interim Director of GCRL & Professor and Chair of Marine
Science, USM
These seminars will be free of charge and the public is encouraged to
attend. They will be held at 6:00 pm Mondays in the Caylor Auditorium on
the GCRL campus, for directions please go
to:http://www.usm.edu/gcrl/about_us/location.php . To reserve your seat
please register for the seminar(s) you plan on
attending:https://campscui.active.com/orgs/UniversityofSouthernMississippiMEC
The sponsoring partners for this seminar series include CONCORDE, a
multi-university oil spill research team and its sponsor the Gulf of Mexico
Research Initiative (GoMRI), and the Mississippi Alabama Sea Grant
Consortium (MASGC).
Mississippi NRCS Accepting Applications for Wetland Reserve Easements
Jackson, Miss. – The United States Department of Agriculture/Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has secured available funds for the
Agricultural Conservation Easement Program Wetland Reserve Easements
(ACEP-WRE). This program assists farmers, ranchers, private forest
landowners and partners with restoring and enhancing wetlands and improving
wildlife and plant habitat. Eligible lands include farmed or converted
wetlands that can be successfully and cost-effectively restored. The
deadline for applications for funding consideration for this fiscal year is
May 15, 2015.
The ACEP-WRE are funded by the 2014 Farm Bill. The Farm Bill divides ACEP
into two components: a wetland easement component, which largely mirrors
the former Wetland Reserve Program and an agricultural land easement
component, which retains the purposes and functionality of Grassland
Reserve Program and Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program.
"ACEP-WRE provides an opportunity for landowners to get involved in
conserving our natural resources," stated Kurt Readus, Mississippi NRCS
state conservationist. "The benefits of ACEP-WRE will benefit generations
to come through perpetual easements on eligible lands and restoring the
wetland values."
To enroll eligible land through wetland reserve easements, landowners
should submit an application to their local NRCS field office. To find a
NRCS office nearest you, please visit
http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app?agency=nrcs
Applications are currently being accepted and can be obtained at your local
Mississippi NRCS field office in Mississippi or by visiting
www.nrcs.usda.gov/GetStarted. ACEP-WRE applications are accepted on a
continuous basis; however the deadline for submission for FY 2015 funding
consideration is May 15, 2015.
Please visit
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/ms/programs/easements for
more information about ACEP-WRE and other easement options.
