State
Area companies have paid nearly half million in penalties since 2011
Commercial Dispatch
June 13, 2015 10:57:14 PM
Andrew Hazzard
Entities in the Golden Triangle have paid nearly half a million dollars in
environmental penalties in fewer than five years.
http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=42578
Permit error could have led to EPA violation
Commercial Dispatch
June 13, 2015 10:57:14 PM
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality has corrected an error
in the wastewater pretreatment permit it issued Yokohama that would have
allowed the company's Clay County facility to discharge cadmium, a known
cancer-causing agent, at a level that exceeds safe limits.
http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=42577
What's in a tire? It's not just rubber.
Commercial Dispatch
June 13, 2015 10:57:14 PM
A tall, blue-collar man is eating at a gas station. His sewn-on nametag
says 'Jimmy' in red letters and he's talking with another man over
sandwiches. When asked if he knew what was in his tires, he laughed and
looked around uncertainly.
http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=42579
As FBI informant, former Utility Authority director wants case against him
dismissed
BY ANITA LEE
Sun Herald
Former Harrison County Utility Authority Director Kamran Pahlavan says he
served as an FBI informant for an investigation into corruption at the
agency, but never expected to be indicted himself.
http://www.sunherald.com/2015/06/13/6275874/as-fbi-informant-former-utility.html
Developer questions Diamondhead sewer plant
Sea Coast Echo
By Dwayne Bremer
A developer who recently purchased 80 acres of commercial property in
Diamondhead has asked the Diamondhead Water and Sewer District (DWSD) to
change the location of its proposed new treatment plant so she can bring a
multi-million development to the city.
http://www.seacoastecho.com/article_8883.shtml#.VX7G_Pm6eUl
Final water contact advisory lifted in Gulfport
Sun Herald
HARRISON COUNTY -- Officials with the Mississippi Department of
Environmental Quality announced the removal of the remaining water contact
advisory on the Gulf Coast.
http://www.sunherald.com/2015/06/12/6273670/final-water-contact-advisory-lifted.html
Endangered frog finds new home in Jackson County
Critically endangered amphibian is given a new home in Jackson County
BY JEFF CLARK
Sun Herald
GAUTIER -- An endangered South Mississippi frog may be leaping away from
extinction and into repopulation, thanks to a program at the Mississippi
Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge in Gautier.
http://www.sunherald.com/2015/06/12/6273773_endangered-frog-finds-new-home.html?rh=1
Kemper green-energy plant at risk as key contract deadline passes
Watchdog
The success of Mississippi Power's Kemper Plant rests in part on the
assumption that there will be one or more buyers for some 3 million tons of
CO2 generated each year as a byproduct of the plant's revolutionary coal
gasification process.
http://watchdog.org/223943/kemper-green-energy-plant-at-risk/
Regional
Raw oysters can harbor flesh eating bacteria
WVUE
NEW ORLEANS, LA (WVUE) - The count continues to rise of the number of
people along the Gulf Coast who've contracted a rare, flesh eating
bacteria. One local expert explains why you could be at risk eating raw
oysters.
http://www.fox8live.com/story/29314095/raw-oysters-can-harbor-flesh-eating-bacteria
Swarm of earthquakes rattles rural Alabama; reason unclear
The Associated Press
June 13, 2015 at 8:31 AM
Jim Sterling didn't know what had hit his 156-year-old antebellum home when
an earthquake struck Alabama's old plantation region early one morning last
November. Startled, he grabbed a gun and ran outdoors.
http://www.gulflive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/06/swarm_of_earthquakes_rattles_r.html#incart_river
National
GOP pushes changes to clean air law to fight ozone rule
The Hill
House Republicans knocked a proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule
restricting ozone levels on Friday, suggesting they could change the Clean
Air Act in order to hamper the regulations.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/244844-gop-pushes-changes-to-clean-air-law-to-fight-ozone-rule
Week ahead: House GOP takes aim at EPA funding
The Hill
A bill slashing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funding and blocking
several of its new regulations is scheduled to pass through the House
Appropriations Committee.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/244896-week-ahead-house-gop-takes-aim-at-epa-funding
Bill targets 'loopholes' for fracking pollution
The Hill
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) has introduced a bill to close what he
characterized as loopholes for pollution that the oil and natural gas
industry uses for hydraulic fracturing.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/244802-dem-seeks-to-close-fracking-pollution-loopholes
Wastewater disposal, not fracking, causing earthquakes, USGS says
Robert Rhoden
The Times-Picayune
June 12, 2015 at 12:08 PM
The number of earthquakes in the central U.S. has increased dramatically in
recent years, jumping from a yearly average of 24 quakes of magnitude 3 or
larger from 1973-2008 to 193 such quakes per year from 2009-2014, the U.S.
Geological Survey reported. In 2014 alone, 688 earthquakes were reported.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2015/06/wastewater_disposal_not_fracki.html#incart_river
High-Tech Solar Projects Fail to Deliver
Wall Street Journal
Some costly high-tech solar power projects aren't living up to promises
their backers made about how much electricity they could generate.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/high-tech-solar-projects-fail-to-deliver-1434138485
Press Releases
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|USDA Begins Accepting Applications from States for $100 Million Biofuels Infrastructure|
| Partnership |
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| |
|WASHINGTON, June 12, 2015 – Following an announcement by the U.S. Department of |
|Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack on May 29, 2015, the Commodity Credit |
|Corporation (CCC) today announced that all 50 states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico |
|and Washington, D.C. may now apply for up to $100 million in grants under the Biofuels |
|Infrastructure Partnership (BIP). The funding is to support the infrastructure needed |
|to make more renewable fuel options available to American consumers. The Farm Service |
|Agency will administer BIP. |
| |
| |
|USDA continues to aggressively pursue investments in American-grown renewable energy to|
|create new markets for U.S. farmers and ranchers, help Americans save money on their |
|energy bills, support America's clean energy economy, cut carbon pollution and reduce |
|dependence on foreign oil and costly fossil fuels. A typical gas pump delivers fuel |
|with 10 percent ethanol, which limits the amount of renewable energy most consumers can|
|purchase at the pump. |
| |
| |
|Through BIP, USDA will award competitive grants, matched by states, to expand the |
|infrastructure for distribution of higher blends of renewable fuel. These competitive |
|grants are available to assist states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and Washington, |
|D.C. with infrastructure funding. States that offer funding equal to or greater than |
|that provided by the federal government will receive higher consideration for grant |
|funds. States may work with private entities to enhance their offer. |
| |
| |
|CCC funds must be used to pay a portion of the costs related to the installation of |
|fuel pumps and related infrastructure dedicated to the distribution of higher ethanol |
|blends, for example E15 and E85, at vehicle fueling locations. The matching |
|contributions may be used for these items or for related costs such as additional |
|infrastructure to support pumps, marketing, education, data collection, program |
|evaluation and administrative costs. |
| |
| |
|This new investment seeks to double the number of fuel pumps capable of supplying |
|higher blends of renewable fuel to consumers. This will expand markets for farmers, |
|support rural economic growth and the jobs that come with it, and ultimately give |
|consumers more choices at the pump. |
| |
| |
|Applications must be submitted by July 15, 2015, using www.grants.gov. To locate, |
|search by funding opportunity number "USDA-FSA-2015-22." |
| |
| |
|# |
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