State
Local counties awarded grants to tackle illegal dumping sites
WTVA
Several North Mississippi counties were recipients of grants from the
Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality to clean up illegal dumping
sites.
http://www.wtva.com/news/local/story/Local-counties-awarded-grants-to-tackle-illegal/CCljdKXiM0CzKcPRa4NKNg.cspx
Cash For Cleaning Up Dump Sites Comes Through
WCBI
BY ROBERT DAVIDSON
(JACKSON, MS) WCBI Five area counties are getting grants to clean up
illegal dump sites. The Department of Environmental Quality is handing out
the money to Benton, Chickasaw, Pontotoc, Tishomingo and Union counties.
http://www.wcbi.com/local-news/cash-for-cleaning-up-dump-sites-comes-through/
2 construction companies honored
The Courier (OH)
The Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. plant in Tupelo, Mississippi, has earned the
Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality's enHance Partnership Award
for 2015.
http://thecourier.com/local-news/2015/05/14/2-construction-companies-honored/
Danger on the Rails: What hazards are rolling through South Mississippi?
WLOX
Every day, trains move through South Mississippi carrying all sorts of
cargo. Just what is on the trains as they chug past our homes, businesses,
schools and cars? Railroad companies are tightlipped about the train's
manifest, but we were able to learn what methods are employed in the event
of a train accident. And it's all to ensure your safety.
http://www.wlox.com/story/29066983/danger-on-the-rails-what-hazards-are-rolling-through-south-mississippi
What's a Mississippi gopher frog and why was 170 acres purchased for it?
Mississippi Press
A Mississippi environmental nonprofit has bought more than 170 acres of
land from a residential development to reforest and protect it as critical
habitat for the critically endangered Mississippi gopher frog.
http://www.gulflive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/05/whats_a_mississippi_gopher_fro.html#incart_river
Last water advisories lifted
Sun Herald
The state Department of Environmental Quality has lifted the last two water
contact advisories on the Coast.
http://www.sunherald.com/2015/05/14/6227868/around-south-mississippi.html
COAST RESIDENTS TO JOIN HANDS TOMORROW AGAINST DRILLING
MPB
Mississippi coast residents will join others across the globe tomorrow to
speak out against offshore drilling and in support of renewable energy.
http://www.mpbonline.org/blogs/news/2015/05/15/coast-residents-to-join-hands-tomorrow-against-drilling/
National
Oil lobby launches ads against EPA ozone rule
The Hill
The oil industry is launching a multimedia advertising campaign tomorrow in
opposition to the Obama administration's attempt to restrict allowable
concentrations of ozone pollution.
http://thehill.com/policy/finance/242099-oil-lobby-launches-ads-against-epa-ozone-rule
Greens say climate change will worsen allergies, asthma
The Hill
A new report from an environmental group says that certain respiratory
allergies and asthma will be exacerbated if climate change is allowed to
continue unabated.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/241970-greens-say-climate-change-will-worsen-allergies-asthma
Scientists have discovered first fully warm-blooded fish
BY CHELSEA HARVEY
The Washington Post
It's one of the most basic biology facts we're taught in school growing up:
Birds and mammals are warm-blooded, while reptiles, amphibians and fish are
cold-blooded. But new research is turning this well-known knowledge on its
head with the discovery of the world's first warm-blooded fish -- the opah.
http://www.sunherald.com/2015/05/14/6227299/scientists-have-discovered-first.html
Press Releases
MISSISSIPPI UPPER Black Creek Watershed 2nd SIGNUP ANNOUNCED
Jackson, Miss. – The United States Department of Agriculture/Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is again accepting applications for
the Upper Black Creek Watershed Initiative through the Environmental
Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). The NRCS and the United States Forest
Service (USFS) are partnering to improve the health and resiliency of the
forest ecosystems where public and private lands meet.
The Upper Black Creek Watershed Initiative project is part of the Joint
Landscape Restoration partnership investing $1.76 million in Mississippi to
help mitigate wildfire threats to communities and landowners. The project
will also assist to improve wildlife habitat for at-risk species and
protect water quality and supply throughout the area.
Some of the most popular conservation practices are tree planting, forest
site preparation, prescribed burning, grazing land practices and herbaceous
weed control for cogongrass. There are also opportunities for forest
landowners to receive financial assistance with forest management plan
development.
The Mississippi counties that are eligible include all or parts of the
following counties: Jefferson Davis, Marion, Lamar, Forrest, Perry, Pearl
River, Stone, George and Jackson.
"NRCS is proud to partner with the USFS to provide financial assistance to
eligible landowners and operators to address the resource concerns in the
Upper Black Creek Watershed," stated Kurt Readus, state conservationist for
Mississippi. "The funding for FY 2015 is in addition to the $1.03 million
we received in FY 2014."
Landowners and producers interested in participating in the Upper Black
Creek Watershed Initiative may apply at their local USDA Service Center /
NRCS office. NRCS financial-assistance programs offer a continuous
sign-up, however applications received by June 19, 2015 will be considered
for funding.
For additional information on the 2015 Upper Black Creek Watershed program,
visit the Mississippi NRCS website:
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/ms/programs/financial/?cid=nrcs142p2_017159
or go by your local NRCS office. Please visit
http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app to locate the NRCS office
nearest you.
#
Duke Energy Subsidiaries Plead Guilty and Sentenced for Clean Water Act
Crimes
The companies will pay a fine and conduct community service and wetlands
mitigation
WASHINGTON – Three subsidiaries of North Carolina-based Duke Energy
Corporation, the largest utility in the United States, pleaded guilty today
to nine criminal violations of the Clean Water Act at several of its North
Carolina facilities and agreed to pay a $68 million criminal fine and spend
$34 million on environmental projects and land conservation to benefit
rivers and wetlands in North Carolina and Virginia. Four of the charges
are the direct result of the massive coal ash spill from the Dan River
steam station into the Dan River near Eden, North Carolina, in February
2014. The remaining violations were discovered as the scope of the
investigation broadened based on allegations of historical violations at
the companies' other facilities.
Under the plea agreement, both Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy
Progress, must certify that they have reserved sufficient assets to meet
legal obligations with respect to its coal ash impoundments within North
Carolina, obligations estimated to be approximately $3.4 billion.
Officials from the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Enforcement
and Compliance Assurance, EPA's Office of Inspector General, the Justice
Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division and the three U.S.
Attorney's Offices in North Carolina, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Criminal Investigations and the North Carolina State Bureau of
Investigation (SBI) made the announcement following a plea hearing at the
federal courthouse in Greenville, North Carolina today.
"Over two hundred sixteen million Americans rely on surface water as their
source of drinking water. Duke Energy put that precious resource at risk in
North Carolina as the result of their negligence," said Assistant
Administrator Cynthia Giles for EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance
Assurance. "Companies that cut corners and contaminate waters on which
communities depend, as Duke did here, will be held accountable."
"The massive coal ash spill into North Carolina's Dan River last year was a
crime and it was the result of repeated failures by Duke Energy's
subsidiaries to exercise controls over coal ash facilities," said Assistant
Attorney General John C. Cruden of the Justice Department's Environment and
Natural Resources Division. "The terms of these three plea agreements will
help prevent this kind of environmental disaster from reoccurring in North
Carolina and throughout the United States by requiring Duke subsidiaries to
follow a rigorous and independently verifiable program to ensure they
comply with the law."
"Duke Energy's crimes reflect a breach of the public trust and a lack of
stewardship for the natural resources belonging to all of the citizens of
North Carolina," said U.S. Attorney Thomas G. Walker for the Eastern
District of North Carolina. "The massive release at the Dan River coal ash
basin revealed criminal misconduct throughout the state -- conduct that
will no longer be tolerated under the Judgment imposed by the court today."
On Feb. 20, 2015, the three U.S. Attorney's Offices in North Carolina filed
separate criminal bills of information in their respective federal courts,
alleging violations of the Clean Water Act at the following Duke
facilities: the Dan River steam station (Rockingham County), the Cape Fear
steam electric plant (Chatham County), the Asheville steam electric
generating plant (Buncombe County), the H.F. Lee steam electric plant
(Wayne County), and the Riverbend steam station (Gaston County). The
alleged violations included unlawfully failing to maintain equipment at the
Dan River and Cape Fear facilities and unlawfully discharging coal ash
and/or coal ash wastewater from impoundments at the Dan River, Asheville,
Lee and Riverbend facilities.
As part of their plea agreements, Duke Energy Business Services LLC, Duke
Energy Carolinas LLC and Duke Energy Progress Inc. will pay a $68 million
criminal fine and a total $24 million community service payment to the
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for the benefit of the riparian
environment and ecosystems of North Carolina and Virginia. The companies
will also provide $10 million to an authorized wetlands mitigation bank for
the purchase of wetlands or riparian lands to offset the long-term
environmental impacts of its coal ash basins. In addition, they will pay
restitution to the federal, state and local governments that responded to
the Dan River spill and be placed on a period of supervised probation for
five years.
Duke's subsidiaries operating 18 facilities in five states, including 14 in
North Carolina, will also be required to develop and implement nationwide
and statewide environmental compliance programs to be monitored by an
independent court appointed monitor and be regularly and independently
audited. Results of these audits will be made available to the public to
ensure compliance with environmental laws and programs. The companies'
compliance will be overseen by a court-appointed monitor who will report
findings to the court and the U.S. Probation Office as well as ensuring
public access to the information.
Approximately 108 million tons of coal ash are currently held in coal ash
basins owned and operated by the defendants in North Carolina. Duke Energy
Corporation subsidiaries also operate facilities with coal ash basins in
South Carolina (approximately 5.99 million tons of coal ash), Kentucky
(approximately 1.5 million tons of coal ash), Indiana (approximately 35.6
million tons of coal ash) and Ohio (approximately 5.9 million tons of coal
ash).
The companies must also meet the obligations imposed under federal and
state law to excavate and close coal ash impoundments at the Asheville, Dan
River, Riverbend, and Sutton facilities.
Additionally, at the insistence of the United States, the holding company
Duke Energy Corporation has guaranteed the payment of the monetary
penalties and the performance of the nationwide and statewide environmental
compliance plans.
The criminal investigation was conducted by the EPA-CID, EPA-Region 4,
EPA-OIG, IRS-CI and NC SBI with assistance from the F B I and the
Department of Defense Criminal Investigative Service.
