State
Mississippi Power retires units 1 and 2 at Plant Watson
SUN HERALD
GULFPORT -- Mississippi Power announced Monday that the gas-fired units 1
and 2 at Plant Watson have been retired.
http://www.sunherald.com/2015/07/13/6320414/mississippi-power-retires-units.html
County continues trash cleanup campaign
DeSoto Times
DeSoto County is taking steps to regain its status as a certified affiliate
of Keep America Beautiful (KAB) and Keep Mississippi Beautiful (KMB),
actions officials say will help in the battle to clean litter from roadways
and property across the county.
http://www.desototimes.com/news/county-continues-trash-cleanup-campaign/article_b3dd3bbe-2996-11e5-b53e-ab148db10723.html
SHRIMPERS WORRY, WATCH AS SEASON RE-OPENS IN ALL STATE WATERS
MPB
Mississippi re-opens all state waters to shrimping this morning. The state
had temporarily closed some areas because sampling showed there were too
many shrimp below the legal limit. MPB's Evelina Burnett reports, shrimpers
are hoping the catch has grown during this time.
http://www.mpbonline.org/blogs/news/2015/07/13/shrimpers-worry-watch-as-season-re-opens-in-all-state-waters/
Signal International files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Sun Herald
Signal International announced Monday it has filed for bankruptcy.
http://www.sunherald.com/2015/07/13/6319814/signal-international-files-for.html
Confederate Memorial Day latest casualty of Civil War symbols backlash
Commercial Appeal
As traditions and symbols of the Old South continue to fall,Confederate
Memorial Day has emerged as the latest target in one North Mississippi
county.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/local-news/desoto/confederate-memorial-day-latest-casualty-of-civil-war-symbols-backlash_14064830
Oil Spill
Gulfport settles with BP for $4.4 million
Sun Herald
GULFPORT -- The city accepted a $4.4 million offer to settle its claim
against BP for damages sustained during the company's 2010 Deepwater
Horizon oil spill.
http://www.sunherald.com/2015/07/13/6320362_gulfport-settles-with-bp-for-44.html?rh=1
Local Scientists Use Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill For Learning Opportunity
WXXV
The BP oil spill brought countless negative effects to the Gulf Coast, but
local scientists are using it as a learning opportunity in case an accident
as big as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill ever occurs again.
http://www.wxxv25.com/news/local/story/Local-Scientists-Use-Deepwater-Horizon-Oil-Spill/e73rDDrgRUSi3u63wifMyg.cspx
Lawyer fees claim billions in $18.7 billion BP settlement, website reports
Jennifer Larino
The Times-Picayune
July 13, 2015 at 1:28 PM
More than a quarter of the $18.7 billion settlement over the BP oil spill
will go to law firms representing hundreds of local governments, school
boards and other entities on the Gulf Coast, the Louisiana Record reports.
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/07/bp_settlement_lawyer_fees.html
Regional
EPA: Knox, Blount, Anderson in compliance with pollution standard
Knoxville News Sentinel
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency declared Monday that
Knox and Blount counties and a portion of Anderson County comply with a key
federal air-pollution standard for the first time in years, a designation
that local officials said could make it easier to recruit new businesses
and industry to the region.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/local-news/epa-knox-blount-anderson-in-compliance-with-pollution-standard_84877801
Louisiana wetlands loss is blue crab's gain; study to examine habitat
Benjamin Alexander-Bloch
The Times-Picayune
July 13, 2015 at 4:08 PM
Scientists will examine how the Louisiana blue crab population has remained
relatively stable over the past two decades despite the massive changes in
Louisiana's coastal landscape.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2015/07/blue_crab_population_wetlands.html#incart_most_shared-environment
National
Water fight revs up as majority of states slap EPA with lawsuits
McClatchy
WASHINGTON
Leaders from more than half the states in the country have now weighed in
on lawsuits that seek to halt a recent federal clean water rule.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article27157156.html
Business groups sue over Obama water rule
The Hill
The Obama administration continues to be flooded with lawsuits over its new
water regulations.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/247689-business-groups-sue-over-obama-water-rule
Obama officials: Power plant rule part of a 'moral obligation'
The Hill
World leaders have a "moral obligation" to fight climate change, and top
Obama aides are making good on that obligation with its climate rule for
power plants, two administration officials write in a new blog post.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/247701-obama-officials-climate-rule-part-of-a-moral-obligation
Natural gas surpasses coal as biggest US electricity source
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Natural gas overtook coal as the top source of U.S. electric power
generation for the first time ever earlier this year, a milestone that has
been in the making for years as the price of gas slides and new regulations
make coal more risky for power generators.
http://www.sunherald.com/2015/07/13/6320328/natural-gas-surpasses-coal-as.html
Environmental Activists Can't Intervene in Exxon Case, Judge Rules
Ruling marks setback in environmental groups' effort to scuttle $225
million settlement
Wall Street Journal
A judge on Monday rejected an attempt by environmental activists and a
state lawmaker to intervene in New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's decision to
settle a contamination case with Exxon Mobil Corp. for $225 million, a
significant setback in the effort to scuttle the deal.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/environmental-activists-cant-intervene-in-exxon-case-judge-rules-1436813804
Opinion
Wicker: BP Settlement Adds Certainty to Oil Spill Recovery
Mississippi to Receive Additional $1.5 Billion for Environmental and
Economic Restoration
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico was the worst oil
spill in U.S. history. Five years later the legal claims against BP have
made history, too, with the nation's largest-ever environmental settlement.
http://www.wicker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/weekly-report?ID=ca93b3fd-6bba-4836-b390-55b5e31adc63
