Appeals Court Sides With EPA on Air Pollution Limits
AP
A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the Environmental Protection
Agency complied with the law in deciding which areas of the country failed
to meet federal limits on smog-forming pollution that can cause asthma and
respiratory illness.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/appeals-court-sides-epa-air-pollution-limits-31473195
South Mississippi shrimpers prepare for opening of season
High fuel costs, low catch prices a concern
BY REGINA ZILBERMINTS
Sun Herald
Van Pham, like most shrimpers, is worried about the upcoming season.
Shrimp prices are low and fuel is expensive. It may be hard to break even.
http://www.sunherald.com/2015/06/02/6257229_south-mississippi-shrimpers-prepare.html?rh=1
FedEx truck overturns on interstate
WAPT
JACKSON, Miss. —Traffic was moving slowly on Interstate 55 South Wednesday
morning, hours A FedEx truck overturned about midnight near Fortification
Street in Jackson. The driver was taken to a hospital, but his condition
was unknown.
http://www.wapt.com/news/central-mississippi/jackson/fedex-truck-overturns-on-interstate/33371826
MDWFP working to restock Lake Monroe
WTVA
JACKSON, Miss. (WTVA) -- The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries
and Parks has started the process of restocking fish in Lake Monroe.
http://www.wtva.com/news/national/story/MDWFP-working-to-restock-Lake-Monroe/CFI9TjZe1k-IKeswiknmaw.cspx
Republican wins runoff for US House seat in Mississippi
AP
Republican Trent Kelly has won a special-election runoff to fill a
vacant congressional seat in Mississippi.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2015/06/02/mississippi-us-house-runoff/28353457/
Oil Spill
Trial opens for BP exec charged with faking oil spill estimates
Andy Grimm
Times-Picayune
June 02, 2015 at 12:29 PM
Testimony began Tuesday in the trial of a BP executive accused of producing
phony estimates of the oil spill flowing into the Gulf of Mexico after the
2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2015/06/bp_oil_spill_rainey_trial_deep.html#incart_most_shared-environment
National
Obama climate rule nearly complete
The Hill
The Obama administration is conducting the final review of its
controversial rule to limit carbon emissions from power plants.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/243722-landmark-obama-climate-rule-enters-final-review-phase
Senators push bill updating brownfields program
The Hill
Top senators on the Environment and Public Works (EPW) committee have
introduced a bill to reauthorize the federal brownfields program, an
Environmental Protection Agency effort to clean up former industrial areas
where the land is too polluted for redevelopment.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/243780-senators-push-bill-updating-brownfields-program
Obama to seek cut in airplane emissions
The Hill
The Obama administration has decided to propose cutting greenhouse gas
emissions from aircraft.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/243856-obama-to-seek-cut-in-airplane-emissions
New regs for Wednesday: Efficiency, air pollution, immigration
The Hill
Wednesday's edition of the Federal Register contains new immigration rules,
efficiency standards for dehumidifiers and ceiling fans, and emissions
standards for hazardous air pollutants.
Emissions: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving forward with
new emissionsstandards under the Clean Air Act.
The emissions standards target seven hazardous air pollutants.
The rule goes into effect immediately.
http://thehill.com/regulation/243727-new-regs-for-wednesday-efficiency-air-pollution-immigration
Press Releases
Conservation Practices Enable Farmers to Measure Benefits of Investments in
Targeted Mississippi Watersheds
Jackson, Miss. – The United States Department of Agriculture/Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is making available $2 million to
interested farmers to help install voluntary edge-of-field monitoring
stations on agricultural lands in Mississippi, and seven other states.
Through edge-of-field monitoring, NRCS works with farmers and conservation
partners, such as universities and non-governmental organizations, to
monitor the amount of nutrients and sediment in water runoff and compare
the improvements under different conservation systems. Conservation
practices typically evaluated include planting cover crops with a no till
system, irrigation water management and practices to reduce and trap
nutrients and sediment.
"Edge-of-field water quality monitoring helps us evaluate the benefits of
conservation at the field level," stated Kurt Readus, NRCS state
conservationist for Mississippi. "This voluntary effort will increase
economic efficiency for the producer and maximize yields while also
conserving our natural resources."
Monitoring stations enable NRCS to measure at the edge of farm fields
rather than try to estimate conservation effects from in-stream
measurements that are subject to influences outside of the farmer's
control. Edge-of-field monitoring, combined with instream monitoring, can
provide a more thorough picture of the improvements within a watershed.
The funding is available to interested farmers in 327 watersheds across
Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Vermont and
Wisconsin.
NRCS first introduced edge-of-field monitoring as an opportunity through
Farm Bill conservation programs in 2013 and has already funded the
installation of 25 monitoring projects. The financial assistance is
available through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and
helps farmers install and maintain the monitoring systems for up to nine
years.
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| Webinar to Assist Potential Applicants for Conservation Funding |
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| Regional Conservation Partnership Program to make $235 Million Available to Partners |
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|WASHINGTON, June 2, 2015 – An upcoming webinar on the Regional Conservation Partnership|
|Program (RCPP) will help potential applicants as they seek available funding. During |
|the current round, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will invest up to|
|$235 million to improve the nation's water quality, combat drought, enhance soil |
|health, support wildlife habitat and protect agricultural production. Partners will |
|match the Federal investment. |
| |
| |
|"This webinar is a great opportunity to directly engage with our partners," said |
|Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "Our goal is to leverage available Federal funding |
|and produce more high-performing on-the-ground conservation solutions." |
| |
| |
|USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will host the webinar, open to |
|both conservation partners and the general public, on Thursday, June 4, 2015 from 2 |
|p.m. to 3:30 p.m. EST. To join the webinar, visit |
|https://usdanrcs.adobeconnect.com/r75qxphcya9/(Embedded image moved to file: |
|pic24648.jpg). Login to Adobe Connect using the Guest option and enter your name. |
| |
| |
|NRCS recently simplified the application process by creating new online tools: a |
|pre-proposal fillable form, RCPP pre-application data entry tool and pre-proposal data |
|entry tool instructions. These tools support partners as they fill out and submit their|
|pre-proposal application. |
| |
| |
|RCPP 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. |
| |
| |
|USDA is now accepting pre-proposals for RCPP. Pre-proposals are due July 8, 2015. For |
|more information on applying, visit the RCPP website. |
| |
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|# |
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