State
No decision in Lamar County on proposed spray fields
Hattiesburg American
PURVIS – The notion of spray fields in Lamar County to dispose of
treated wastewater got a rousing nose-hold from a number of those
gathered at Monday morning's board of supervisors' meeting.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/2015/08/04/decision-lamar-county-proposed-spray-fields/31124107/
Mississippi Primary Election Results
Clarion Ledger
http://www.clarionledger.com/longform/news/politics/2015/08/04/mississippi-primary-election-results/31137019/
Major upsets noted in DeSoto County
Clarion Ledger
Legislative races held some of the biggest upsets of the night,
especially for incumbent lawmakers hailing from DeSoto County.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2015/08/05/major-upsets-noted-desoto-county/31148081/
Election roundup: Boards of supervisors shaken up across South Mississippi
Sun Herald
It was a tough night for supervisors across the Coast with at least one
incumbent losing in Hancock County and at least two in Jackson County.
Harrison County had already lost two incumbents to scandal, so it will also
have two new faces on the board.
http://www.sunherald.com/2015/08/04/6351678_boards-of-supervisors-shaken-up.html?rh=1
Regional
2015 Gulf 'dead zone' larger than Connecticut, Rhode Island combined
Mark Schleifstein
The Times-Picayune
August 04, 2015 at 5:29 PM
The 2015 "dead zone," an area of dangerously low-oxygen water in the Gulf
of Mexico along Louisiana's coast, is bigger than the states of Connecticut
and Rhode Island combined, and ranks as the 11th largest since mapping
began in 1985.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2015/08/2015_gulf_dead_zone_larger_tha.html#incart_river
Seawater bacteria death confirmed in Escambia
Pensacola News Journal
One person has died in Escambia County from the Vibrio vulnificus
infection, a bacteria typically found in warm, brackish seawater,
according to the Florida Department of Health.
http://www.pnj.com/story/news/local/escambia-county/2015/08/03/seawater-bacteria-death-confirmed-escambia/31069117/
National
Emails appear to show coordination between EPA, environmental groups on
power plant rules
Fox News
Numerous emails appear to show close coordination between the EPA and
environmental groups in drafting the controversial Clean Power Plan which
could mark the demise of coal-fired power plants in the United States.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/08/04/emails-appear-to-show-coordination-between-epa-environmental-groups-on-power/
How the clean energy boom let EPA toughen up its carbon rules
Washington Post
The Obama administration's new Clean Power Plan, released Monday, is being
heralded as a "game-changer." In fact, a better description is that it's
trying to cement changes already occurring in how we get electricity, and
in particular, the stunning recent boom in solar energy — as well as in
wind.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/08/04/how-the-clean-energy-boom-let-epa-toughen-up-its-carbon-rules/
Obama spurns natural gas in climate rule
The Hill
President Obama's love affair with natural gas is over.
The president once touted gas as an essential clean bridge fuel to wean the
United States off dirtier fossil fuels and onto renewable energy, and it
was seen as a key to his landmark climate change rule for power plants.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/250268-obama-spurns-natural-gas-in-climate-rule
Republicans criticize 'sue-and-settle' arrangements
The Hill
Senate Republicans criticized the Obama administration and environmental
groups Tuesday for what they said is a pattern of lawsuits that are settled
to change and influence regulations.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/250227-republicans-criticize-sue-and-settle-arrangements
Press Releases
2015 Gulf of Mexico dead zone 'above average'
Heavy June rains, high July nutrient runoff levels likely cause for
increased size
August 4, 2015
Scientists have found this year's Gulf of Mexico dead zone — an area of low
to no oxygen that can kill fish and marine life — is, at 6,474 square
miles, above average in size and larger than forecast by NOAA in June. The
larger than expected forecast was caused by heavy June rains throughout the
Mississippi River watershed.
The measured size this year — an area about the size of Connecticut and
Rhode Island combined — is larger than the 5,052 square miles measured last
year, indicating that nutrients from the Mississippi River watershed are
continuing to affect the nation's coastal resources and habitats in the
Gulf. The size is larger than the Gulf of Mexico / Mississippi River
Watershed Nutrient Task Force (Hypoxia Task Force) target of 1,900 square
miles.
"Dead zones," also called hypoxia areas, are caused by nutrient runoff from
agricultural and other human activities in the watershed and are highly
affected by river discharge and nitrogen loads. These nutrients stimulate
an overgrowth of algae that sinks, decomposes, and consumes the oxygen
needed to support life in the Gulf. Dead zones are a major water quality
issue with an estimated total of more than 550 occurring annually
worldwide. The Gulf of Mexico dead zone is the second largest human-caused
hypoxic area in the world.
"An average area was expected because the Mississippi River discharge
levels and associated nutrient data from May indicated an average delivery
of nutrients during this critical month which stimulates the fuel for the
mid-summer dead zone," said Nancy Rabalais, Ph.D. executive director of the
Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON), who led the July 28 to
Aug 3 survey cruise. A suite of NOAA-sponsored models forecasted a range of
4,633 to 5,985 square miles based on May nitrogen loading data provided by
USGS. "Since the models are based largely on the May nitrogen loads from
the Mississippi River, the heavy rains that came in June with additional
nitrogen and even higher river discharges in July are the possible
explanations for the larger size," said Rabalais.
Funded by NOAA and the EPA, the annual measurement mapping of the dead zone
provides a critical scientific record of the trend of hypoxia in the Gulf,
as well as the primary measure of progress used by the Hypoxia Task Force
to determine whether efforts to reduce nutrient loading upstream in the
Mississippi River Basin are yielding results. This year marks the 30th
annual ship-based sampling that is the backbone of the mapping effort.
"The importance of having continued and sustained coastal observations are
foundational in helping us better understand the size and impacts of the
Gulf dead zone. This information ultimately informs the best strategies to
reduce the size and the impacts of the dead zone, which will help improve
the sustainability and productivity of our coastal economy," said Holly
Bamford, Ph.D., assistant NOAA administrator for the National Ocean Service
performing the duties of the assistant secretary of commerce for
conservation and management.
"The annual ship-based sampling is the backbone of the mapping effort,"
said Diane Altsman, chief of staff of the EPA Gulf of Mexico Program. "It
is important for us to partner with NOAA on supporting the cruise this year
to ensure that the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Task Force has the critical
information needed to assess their progress in mitigating hypoxia, part of
our effort to restore the Gulf coastal ecosystem."
The largest previous Gulf of Mexico dead zone was in 2002, encompassing
8,497 square miles. The smallest recorded dead zone measured 15 square
miles in 1988. The average size of the dead zone over the past five years
has been about 5,500 square miles, nearly three times the 1,900 square mile
goal set by the Hypoxia Task Force in 2001 and reaffirmed in 2008.
The hypoxic zone off the coast of Louisiana and Texas forms each summer
threatening the ecosystem that supports valuable commercial and
recreational Gulf fisheries. NOAA-funded research in the past decade shows
hypoxia results in habitat loss, displacement of fish (including shrimp and
croaker) from their preferred areas, and a decline in reproductive ability
in some species.
Visit the Gulf Hypoxia web site for additional graphics and information
concerning this summer's LUMCON research cruise, and previous cruises.
NOAA's National Ocean Service has been funding monitoring and research for
the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico since 1985 and currently oversees the
NGOMEX program, the hypoxia research effort for the northern Gulf which is
authorized by the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act.
The National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science is the coastal science
office for NOAA's National Ocean Service.
NOAA's mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's
environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to
conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram and our other social media channels.
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2015/080415-gulf-of-mexico-dead-zone-above-average.html
