State
Scientists weigh in on the safety of our waters
WLOX
Coastal waters have been making headlines in recent weeks, and there have
been some tragic outcomes that seem to occur earlier every year. What's
causing these rare, but life threatening, cases of flesh eating disease?
http://www.wlox.com/story/29119287/scientists-theres-nothing-wrong-with-our-water
Keep Monroe County Beautiful receives national recognition
Monroe Journal
AMORY – The annual Keep Monroe County Beautiful luncheon May 7 honored the
volunteers who work tirelessly throughout the year picking up litter and
keeping the county clean.
http://monroecountyjournal.com/2015/05/19/keep-monroe-county-beautiful-receives-national-recognition/
Shrimp fishermen ready for 2015 Mississippi season
WLOX
Commercial fishermen in Mississippi are busy repairing their boats and
loading supplies in preparation for the upcoming shrimp season. The 2015
season is expected to open sometime in early June. Last year, the season
began on June 18, but opening day will likely be earlier, this year.
http://www.myfoxal.com/story/29105935/shrimp-fishermen-ready-for-2015-mississippi-season
Help stock bass at Barnett
Clarion Ledger
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks is
scheduled to stock Florida-strain largemouth bass in Ross Barnett
Reservoir on Thursday and welcomes anglers wanting to assist.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/2015/05/19/help-stock-bass-at-barnett/27588297/
Electrical cooperative pulls out of Kemper power plant deal
AP
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - The entity that procures power for many Mississippi
electric cooperatives says it is pulling out of a deal to buy 15 percent of
the $6.2 billion Kemper County power plant.
http://www.abc3340.com/story/29119591/electrical-cooperative-pulls-out-of-kemper-power-plant-deal
Census: Bay St. Louis is Mississippi's fastest-growing city
Sun Herald
BAY ST. LOUIS -- The city's population has surpassed its pre-Hurricane
Katrina numbers for the first time since the 2005 storm, according to
census data released today, making it the fastest-growing in the state
among cities of more than 1,500 people.
http://www.sunherald.com/2015/05/20/6237960_census-bay-st-louis-is-mississippis.html?rh=1
Oil Spill
BP oil spill contributed to dead dolphins, scientists say, citing tissue
samples
Mark Schleifstein
The Times-Picayune
May 20, 2015 at 4:03 PM
The BP oil spill contributed to the deaths of bottlenose dolphins along the
Gulf of Mexico's northern coast, scientists said Wednesday (May 20), citing
a study of tissue samples that for the first time found conclusive evidence
of a link between the disaster and the animals' deaths.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2015/05/dead_dolphin_tissue_samples_sh.html#incart_most_shared-environment
Scientists link dolphin deaths in Gulf to 2010 BP spill
BY CAIN BURDEAU
Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS -- In a new study, a team of scientists says there's a definite
link between the massive BP oil spill in 2010 and a record number of
dolphin deaths along the northern Gulf of Mexico.
http://www.sunherald.com/2015/05/20/6237445/scientists-link-dolphin-deaths.html
Study Finds Link Between Dolphin Deaths, Oil Exposure
Scientists found most animals had lesions in lungs; BP disputes research
findings
Wall Street Journal
Most of the dolphins in the northern Gulf of Mexico that have died since
the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill suffered severe health problems
consistent with petroleum exposure, according to a study backed by the
federal government and published in a scientific journal Wednesday.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/study-finds-link-between-dolphin-deaths-oil-exposure-1432158102
IMMS director raises questions about dolphin deaths study
WLOX
A new study of dolphin deaths makes a strong case for linking them to the
BP oil spill. But the director of the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies
says, not so fast.
http://www.wlox.com/story/29118611/imms-director-raises-questions-about-dolphin-deaths-study
Series of oil spill settlements include BP, Halliburton, Transocean,
numerous plaintiffs
AP
NEW ORLEANS – A committee of lawyers representing businesses and
individuals claiming damages from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill
announced a $211 million settlement Wednesday with Transocean Ltd., owner
of the ill-fated Deepwater Horizon drilling rig.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/05/20/series-oil-spill-settlements-include-bp-halliburton-transocean-numerous/
BP Settles Deepwater Horizon Claims With Transocean, Halliburton
Companies end dispute over claims stemming from 2010 disaster in Gulf of
Mexico
Wall Street Journal
In a series of legal deals, BP PLC agreed to settle its remaining claims
with oil-services firms Halliburton Co. and Transocean Ltd. over the 2010
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
The deals don't completely end the long-running courtroom showdown over
damages related to the offshore well disaster, which killed 11 workers and
led to millions of barrels of crude oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico.
BP's final bill for the spill and its economic and environmental damages
remains in the hands of U.S. federal courts.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/halliburton-bp-agree-to-settle-deepwater-horizon-claims-1432153375
Oil spill trustees announce $133M in proposed restoration projects, 4 of 10
are in Alabama
Al.com
Dennis Pillion
May 20, 2015 at 4:00 PM
State and federal trustees announced 10 new proposed projects Wednesday to
restore damage stemming from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, with a
total estimated cost of $133.6 million.
http://www.al.com/news/beaches/index.ssf/2015/05/oil_spill_trustees_announce_13.html
Regional
Louisiana black bear could move off threatened-species list
Mississippi Press
May 20, 2015 at 1:36 PM
Federal and Louisiana officials say it's time to get the animal that
inspired teddy bears off the list of protected species.
http://www.gulflive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/05/louisiana_black_bear_could_mov.html#incart_river
Judge's ruling halts fracking permits in NC
WNCN
RALEIGH, N.C. -It's one of the most controversial environmental issues in
North Carolina and for now, fracking has been put on hold.
http://www.wncn.com/story/29112944/judge-temporarily-halts-fracking-permits-in-nc
National
Senate GOP: EPA driven by politics, not science
The Hill
Senate Republicans charged Wednesday that the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) relies too heavily on politics in its regulations and not
enough on science.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/242664-senate-gop-epa-driven-by-politics-not-science
California farmers offer to give up portion of their water rights amid
ongoing drought
Fox News
A group of California farmers offered late Wednesday to surrender 25
percent of the water available to them this year, in what could be one of
the most important concessions forced by the state's ongoing drought.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/05/21/california-farmers-offer-to-give-up-portion-their-water-rights-amid-ongoing/?intcmp=latestnews
California governor declares state of emergency after oil slick spreads off
coast
AP
GOLETA, Calif. – An oil spill from a ruptured onshore pipeline that fouled
beaches and threatened wildlife along a scenic stretch of the California
coast spread across 9 miles of ocean Wednesday and officials said up to
105,000 gallons may have leaked out.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/05/21/california-gov-declares-state-emergency-after-oil-slick-spreads-off-coast/?intcmp=latestnews
New regs for Thursday: Motorcycle helmets, pipelines, endangered species
The Hill
Thursday's edition of the Federal Register contains new safety standards
for motorcycle helmets and plastic gas pipelines, as well as changes to
endangered species rules.
http://thehill.com/regulation/242647-new-regs-for-thursday-motorcycle-helmets-pipelines-endangered-species
Opinion
Federal agencies turn to citizen scientists
By Amanda D. Rodewald, contributor
The Hill
Knowledge is power, and with it comes options and opportunities to make
better decisions. In the case of our environment, knowledge has fueled
efforts to make our country a healthier and safer place. When Ohio's
Cuyahoga River burned, and when our cities were clogged with unhealthy air,
we learned and we took action. And, as a result, we developed some of the
most innovative and effective environmental technologies and regulations on
our planet.
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/242741-federal-agencies-turn-to-citizen-scientists
Press Releases
NRDA Public Meeting June 4 in Long Beach
(JACKSON, Miss.) – The Deepwater Horizon oil spill Natural Resource Damage
Assessment (NRDA) Trustees released a draft plan Wednesday that proposes 10
early restoration projects across the Gulf states.
The Draft IV Early Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessments is
available for public review and comment through June 19. It can be viewed
at www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov and will also be available at a public
meeting on June 4 in Long Beach.
The meeting will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the FEC Auditorium
on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Park Campus,
730 East Beach Boulevard, Long Beach, 39560. The public meeting will begin
with an interactive open house during which Trustee staff will be available
to discuss project details. The open house will be followed by a formal
presentation and opportunity for the public to provide comments to Trustee
representatives.
The two projects proposed in Mississippi are:
• Bike and Pedestrian Use Enhancements at Davis Bayou, Gulf Islands
National Seashore –
Mississippi District.
• Restoring Living Shorelines and Reefs in Mississippi Estuaries – Coastal
Mississippi.
For more information about the proposed projects visit
www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov. Comprehensive information on all
aspects of restoration in Mississippi can be found at www.restore.ms.
# # #
Deepwater Horizon oil spill contributed to high number of Gulf dolphin
deaths
Tissue study finds petroleum contaminants likely source of lung, adrenal
lesions causing deaths
May 20, 2015
As part of an unusual mortality event investigation, a team of scientists
has discovered that dead bottlenose dolphins stranded in the northern Gulf
of Mexico since the start of theDeepwater Horizon oil spill have lung and
adrenal lesions consistent with petroleum product exposure according to a
paper published today in the peer-reviewed online journal PLOS ONE.
These findings support those of a 2011 health assessment of live dolphins
in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, a heavily oiled area during the spill which
showed those resident dolphins had poor health, adrenal disease, and lung
disease.
The timing, location, and nature of the detected lesions support that
contaminants from theDeepwater Horizon oil spill caused these lesions and
contributed to the high numbers of dolphin deaths within this oil spill's
footprint. Increased dolphin deaths following the oil spill are part of the
northern Gulf of Mexico unusual mortality event investigation.
"This is the latest in a series of peer-reviewed scientific studies,
conducted over the five years since the spill, looking at possible reasons
for the historically high number of dolphin deaths that have occurred
within the footprint of theDeepwater Horizon spill," said Dr. Teri Rowles,
veterinarian and one of 22 contributing authors on the paper, and head of
NOAA's Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program, which is
charged with determining the causes of unusual mortality events, also known
as UMEs. "These studies have increasingly pointed to the presence of
petroleum hydrocarbons as being the most significant cause of the illnesses
and deaths plaguing the Gulf's dolphin population. This study carries those
findings significantly forward."
Direct causes of death, during this period, likely included:
· Chronic adrenal insufficiency resulting from adrenal gland effects;
· Increased susceptibility to life-threatening outcomes due to adrenal
insufficiency, especially when challenged with pregnancy, cold
temperatures, and infections; and
· Increased susceptibility to primary bacterial pneumonia, possibly due
to lung injury, or alterations in immune function.
Animals with untreated adrenal insufficiency are at risk of
life-threatening adrenal crises. The adrenal gland produces hormones – such
as cortisol and aldosterone – that regulate metabolism, blood pressure and
other bodily functions.
"Animals with adrenal insufficiency are less able to cope with additional
stressors in their everyday lives," said Dr. Stephanie Venn-Watson, the
study's lead author and veterinary epidemiologist at the National Marine
Mammal Foundation, "and when those stressors occur, they are more likely to
die."
Since early 2010, there has been an ongoing cetacean unusual mortality
event involving primarily bottlenose dolphins in the northern Gulf of
Mexico. Three out of four groupings of elevated dolphin strandings
identified within this event followed the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
This ongoing die-off, with the highest number of dead bottlenose dolphin
strandings on recordin the northern Gulf of Mexico, coincided with the
largest marine-based oil spill in the United States.
Barataria Bay, Louisiana, was one of the most heavily oiled coastal areas
from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the new study shows that half of
the dead dolphins examined from Barataria Bay that stranded between June
2010 and November 2012 had a thin adrenal gland cortex, indicative of
adrenal insufficiency. One in every three dolphins examined across
Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama had this lesion. In comparison, only 7
percent of the dead stranded reference dolphins, collected from other
coastal regions outside the Deepwater Horizon oil spill area and time
frame, had a thin adrenal cortex.
In fact, almost half of the dolphins with this otherwise rare adrenal
lesion appeared to have died without another clear explanation for their
death.
In addition to the adrenal lesions, the scientific team discovered that
more than one in five dolphins that died within the Deepwater Horizon oil
spill footprint had a primary bacterial pneumonia. Many of these cases were
unusual in severity, and caused or contributed to death.
"These dolphins had some of the most severe lung lesions I have seen in the
over 13 years that I have been examining dead dolphin tissues from
throughout the United States," said Dr. Kathleen Colegrove, the study's
lead veterinary pathologist based at the University of Illinois. In
comparison, only 2 percent of reference dolphins had these lesions.
In other mammals, exposure to petroleum-based polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons, known as PAHs, through inhalation or aspiration of oil
products can lead to injured lungs and altered immune function, both of
which can increase an animal's susceptibility to primary bacterial
pneumonia. Dolphins are particularly susceptible to inhalation effects due
to their large lungs, deep breaths and extended breath hold times.
The prevalence of Brucella and morbillivirus infections, which were
investigated as potential alternative causes for increased dolphin deaths,
was low in UME dolphins after the oil spill and was no different compared
to the reference dolphins. Additionally, biotoxin levels were either low or
below the detection limit in the UME dolphins.
Ongoing studies assessing changes in these lung and adrenal gland lesions
over time will help to address questions regarding how long these chronic
conditions may last.
The study team included representatives from NOAA's National Marine
Fisheries Service, NOAA's National Ocean Service, the National Marine
Mammal Foundation, the University of Illinois, the University of Georgia,
the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and University of South Alabama, the Institute
for Marine Mammal Studies, Gulfport, Mississippi; the Louisiana Department
of Wildlife and Fisheries, the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, New
Orleans; the Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, Florida; the Texas Marine
Mammal Stranding Network, Galveston; and the Marine Mammal Pathology
Services, Olney, Maryland.
This work was completed as a part of the Northern Gulf of Mexico unusual
mortality event investigation and a part of the Deepwater Horizon Natural
Resource Damage Assessment being conducted cooperatively among NOAA, other
federal and state trustees, and BP.
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2015/20150520-deepwater-horizon-oil-spill-contributed-to-high-number-of-gulf-dolphin-deaths.html
