State
Earthquake experts talk preparedness after weekend tremors
WLBT
Look for some insurance companies to see a spike in earthquake coverage
after this weekend's pair of minor quakes near Canton.
http://www.msnewsnow.com/story/28975471/earthquake-experts-talk-preparedness-after-weekend-tremors
Insurance? Disaster prep? Canton quakes reality check
Clarion Ledger
The minor earthquakes in Madison County over the weekend shocked and
surprised residents who had never been through an earthquake.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2015/05/04/insurance-disaster-prep-canton-quakes-reality-check/26898017/
Geologist: CO2 drilling not connected to Madison earthquakes
Clarion Ledger
Saturday night's minor earthquakes in Madison County were likely the
result of fault lines that had been inactive for millions of years
temporarily springing back to life.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2015/05/04/geologist-co-drilling-connected-madison-earthquakes/26897409/
Why are so many earthquakes happening lately in 2015? Swarms shake Texas,
Mississippi
Mississippi Press
May 04, 2015 at 5:29 PM
The deadly Nepal earthquake that killed thousands last week stunned the
world. But closer to home a rash of tiny earthquakes lately in places like
Dallas, Texas and Mississippi, have raised some questions.
Why are so many earthquakes happening lately in 2015?
http://www.gulflive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/05/why_are_so_many_earthquakes_ha.html#incart_river
The 'new kudzu,' cogon grass, spreading rapidly across the South
WLOX
A grass plant called one of the most aggressive weeds in the world, is
quickly spreading throughout Mississippi and the entire southeast. If you
haven't yet heard of cogon grass, you've certainly seen it. Some folks are
calling it the new kudzu of the South.
http://www.wlox.com/story/28971921/the-new-kudzu-cogon-grass-spreading-rapidly-across-the-south
Cogon grass causing headaches on Coast
Cogon grass, an invasive species on the Coast, spreads easily, damages all
surrounding plants and is very had to get rid of
BY REGINA ZILBERMINTS
Sun Herald
Cogon grass -- the pretty white blooms highly visible along Interstate 10
-- isn't new to the Coast.
http://www.sunherald.com/2015/05/04/6210427_cogon-grass-causing-headaches.html?rh=1
Over a Ton of Garbage Collected During Friends of Boley Creek Clean Up
Picayune Item
http://www.picayuneitem.com/2015/05/friends-of-boley-creek-cleanup/
Gulf Coast Research Laboratory to host free REEF workshop on lionfish
Mississippi Press
May 04, 2015 at 10:53 AM
The REEF Environmental Education Foundation, in conjunction with the
University of Southern Mississippi, is hosting a free workshop on the Gulf
Coast to educate the community about invasive lionfish.
http://www.gulflive.com/sports/index.ssf/2015/05/gulf_coast_research_laboratory.html
Forrest County Emergency Management Director retires
WDAM
The Forrest County Board of Supervisors presented a proclamation to
Emergency Management Director Terry Steed for his many years of service to
the county.
http://www.wdam.com/story/28973616/forrest-county-emergency-management-director-retires
Oil Spill
5th Circuit: Mexican states can't sue over BP oil spill
The Associated Press
May 04, 2015 at 5:40 PM
NEW ORLEANS — A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court's ruling
that three Mexican states cannot sue BP and other companies over damages
from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2015/05/5th_circuit_mexican_states_can.html#incart_most_shared-environment
NOAA has new oil spill web tool
Sun Herald
A new online tool developed by NOAA to manage and integrate the massive
amounts of data collected by different sources during the five years
following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is available for use by research
teams and the public.
http://www.sunherald.com/2015/05/04/6210665/business-briefs-may-5.html
National
Study: Cutting carbon dioxide saves 3,500 US lives a year
The Associated Press
May 04, 2015 at 2:22 PM
WASHINGTON — The Obama Administration's hotly debated plan to reduce
heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the nation's power plants will save about
3,500 lives a year by cutting back on other types of pollution as well, a
new independent study concludes.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2015/05/study_cutting_carbon_dioxide_s.html#incart_river
Supreme Court to Review FERC Energy-Saving Rule
High court will consider the case during its next term, which begins in
October
Wall Street Journal
WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court said on Monday it would consider whether a
federal regulator overstepped its authority with a rule to promote energy
conservation using incentives for big energy consumers to cut power use.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/supreme-court-to-review-ferc-energy-saving-rule-1430748924
Cleanup of Superfund Town Would Leave Some Asbestos Behind
BILLINGS, Mont. — May 5, 2015
By MATTHEW BROWN Associated press
A long-delayed cleanup proposal for a Montana community where thousands
have been sickened by asbestos exposure would leave the dangerous material
inside some houses rather than remove it, as government officials seek to
wind down an effort that has lasted more than 15 years and cost $540
million.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/cleanup-superfund-town-leave-asbestos-30806147
New regs for Tuesday: Radio stations, foreign workers, volunteers
The Hill
Tuesday's edition of the Federal Register contains new rules for
government-sponsored volunteer programs, pesticides used on soybeans,
travel-related radio stations, and foreign agricultural workers.
Here's what is happening:
Pesticide: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is exempting a
pesticide used on soybeans from rules limiting how much of it can be used
by farmers.
Monsanto Company requested the exemption for Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.)
Cry2Ab2 protein.
The rule goes into effect immediately.
Oil: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is conducting a
retrospective analysisof certain rules for oil pipeline companies and
hydropower prefiling requirements.
The agency is considering whether a formal public review is necessary.
The public has until May 26 to comment.
http://thehill.com/regulation/240926-new-regs-for-tuesday-radio-stations-foreign-workers-volunteers
Press Releases
USDA Announces $235 Million Available for Innovative New Conservation
Partnerships
Jackson, Miss. – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today an
investment of up to $235 million to improve the nation's water quality,
combat drought, enhance soil health, support wildlife habitat and protect
agricultural viability. The funding is being made available through the
Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), the newest conservation
tool of the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
RCPP, created by the 2014 Farm Bill, empowers local leaders to work with
multiple partners—such as private companies, local and tribal governments,
universities, non-profit groups and other non-government partners—along
with farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners to design solutions that work
best for their region. Local partners and the federal government both
invest funding and manpower to projects to maximize their impact. This will
be the second round of projects funded through RCPP. The RCPP program helps
USDA build on already-record enrollment in conservation programs, with over
500,000 producers participating to protect land and water on over 400
million acres nationwide.
"This is a new, innovative approach to conservation," said Vilsack. "This
initiative allows local partners the opportunity to design and invest in
conservation projects specifically tailored for their communities. These
public-private partnerships can have an impact that's well beyond what the
Federal government could accomplish on its own. These efforts keep our land
and water clean, and promote tremendous economic growth in agriculture,
construction, tourism, and other industries."
Vilsack continued, "We had tremendous interest from local partners when we
first launched this program last year. In this new round of applications,
we'll be looking for even greater emphasis on expanding partnerships that
break down barriers, work across boundaries, leverage resources and create
new opportunities for innovation."
Secretary Vilsack made the announcement at a signing ceremony in Denver for
the Colorado Pressurized Small Hydropower Partnership Project, a
2015-funded project that focuses on water quantity resource concerns in
Colorado. The project, which will receive $1.8 million in NRCS support
alongside local partner investments, will facilitate the conversion of
flood irrigation systems to more resource-efficient pressurized irrigation
systems with integrated hydropower. "USDA continues to look for new
opportunities to address drought across the West. RCPP projects like this
one in Colorado highlight the work the NRCS is doing with partners to
increase efficiency while supporting production," Vilsack said.
In January, USDA delivered first round funding to 115 high-impact projects,
including the Colorado project, across all 50 states and the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico.
One of these projects, "Securing Private Working Forests to Benefit
Longleaf Pine, Threatened and Endangered Species, and Military Readiness,"
will restore approximately 20,000 acres of longleaf near as many as seven
military installations across the country through the purchase of
conservation easements. The project will enhance longleaf forests while
also increasing the forested buffer around military bases. Longleaf forests
produce valuable products, such as high quality wood and pulpwood for
paper, that are important to rural economies. Also, these forests are home
to many rare species, and by restoring the habitat on which they depend,
their populations will grow.
Another project, "The Tri-State Western Lake Erie Basin Phosphorous
Reduction Initiative" brings together more than 40 partnering organizations
from Michigan, Ohio and Indiana to reduce the runoff of phosphorous to
waterways in the western basin of Lake Erie. The lake has suffered from
nutrient pollution for years, including last year's water crisis that left
400,000 residents in the Toledo, Ohio area without water to drink, bathe or
cook. From providing clean drinking water to employing thousands of people
in the tourism industry, the health of Lake Erie affects nearly every
aspect of life in the region. This project will target funding to the
streams and rivers that have the largest impact on water quality in the
lake.
In January, USDA announced $394 million in awards in the first round of
RCPP applications (which represented two years' worth of funding for fiscal
years 2014 and 2015).
Today's announcement was made possible by the 2014 Farm Bill. The 2014 Farm
Bill builds on historic economic gains in rural America over the past five
years, while achieving meaningful reform and billions of dollars in savings
for taxpayers. Since enactment, USDA has made significant progress to
implement each provision of this critical legislation, including providing
disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; strengthening risk management
tools; expanding access to rural credit; funding critical research;
establishing innovative public-private conservation partnerships;
developing new markets for rural-made products; and investing in
infrastructure, housing and community facilities to help improve quality of
life.
USDA is now accepting proposals for RCPP. Pre-proposals are due July 8. For
more information on applying, visit the RCPP website.
#
NOAA announces new Deepwater Horizon oil spill searchable database web tool
Brings together multiple scientific data and analysis sets for public,
researchers in one location
May 4, 2015
A new online tool developed by NOAA to manage and integrate the massive
amounts of data collected by different sources during the five years
following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, called DIVER for Data
Integration, Visualization, Exploration, and Reporting, is now available
for use by research teams and the public athttps://dwhdiver.orr.noaa.gov.
The DIVER announcement plays a part in the Department of Commerce's goal of
unleashing its vast resources of environmental data and delivering on one
of its key priorities – transforming data capabilities and supporting a
data-driven economy. NOAA is a constituent agency of the Commerce
Department.
"NOAA pledged from the start of the Deepwater event to be as transparent as
possible with the data collected," said Kathryn D. Sullivan, Ph.D., under
secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator.
"The DIVER data warehouse approach builds upon that original pledge, and is
another significant step in making NOAA's environmental data available for
the research community, resource managers and the general public."
DIVER provides unprecedented flexibility for filtering and downloading
validated data collected as part of the ongoing Natural Resources Damage
Assessment and response. These data collections now include more than
53,000 samples that have resulted in 3.8 million analytical determinations.
Previously, validated data were being posted on
www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov as soon as they were available, but in
discrete files rather than inegrated through a tool like DIVER.
The DIVER data warehouse was built using industry standards for open source
big-data approaches to integrating and synthesizing various types of data,
such as chemistry results, photos, instrument collections, dolphin and
oyster information from multiple data sources.
The custom query tool, "DIVER Explorer," allow users to refine questions
and explore large datasets online. Query results are presented with maps,
charts, tables, metadata and export options. A major focus of the DIVER
system is providing access to integrated datasets, the foundation for
scientific analysis and decision-making.
DIVER was initially built to support the efforts of the Deepwater Horizon
Natural Resource Damage Assessment Trustees to assess the risk and injury
to natural resources, and support restoration and assessment of lost
recreational use. The expansion of the tool for public access builds upon
the commitment made by NOAA during the oil spill response to provide
transparent access to validated NRDA data.
The new DIVER tool also provides information about the actual data sets,
and NOAA's approach to creating "common data models," which support data
synthesis and analysis. By providing detailed access to the NRDA data
schemas and field definitions, NOAA hopes to foster increased collaboration
across the scientific community.
The DIVER system currently provides access to nearly four million validated
results of analytical chemistry from over 53,000 samples of water, tissue,
oil and sediment collected to support the Deepwater Horizon NRDA. DIVER
datasets come from federal, state, academic and non-government
organizations, and include response and historical data collection efforts.
As additional datasets become publicly available they will be accessible
through DIVER, as well as NOAA'sEnvironmental Response Management
Application Gulf Response, and the Gulf Spill Restoration website,
maintained by NOAA on behalf of the Deepwater Horizon NRDA Trustees.
