State
MDEQ awards grants for solid waste management
WTVA
JACKSON, Miss. (WTVA) -- The Mississippi Department of Environmental
Quality is awarding grants to two communities for solid waste enforcement
and recycling.
http://www.wtva.com/news/_MDEQ_awards_grants_for_solid_waste_management.html
Mississippi Power adds another $25 million to cost of Kemper plant
Sun Herald
Mississippi Power reported Tuesday the estimated cost of the power facility
in Kemper County rose another $25 million in July.
http://www.sunherald.com/2015/09/01/6393124_mississippi-power-adds-another.html?rh=1
Regional
TVA seeking public input on coal ash study
The Associated Press
KNOXVILLE, TENN. — The Tennessee Valley Authority is seeking public input
on a study for closing coal ash storage sites.
http://www.sunherald.com/2015/09/02/6394035/tva-seeking-public-input-on-coal.html
National
Drillers Unleash 'Super-Size' Natural Gas Output
Applying newer fracking methods to existing field offers potential for more
and cheaper fuel
WSJ
The U.S. may have far more natural gas than anyone imagined, all reachable
at a profit even with today's bargain-basement prices.
Experimental wells in Louisiana by explorers including Comstock Resources
Inc. andChesapeake Energy Inc. are proving highly lucrative thanks to
modern drilling techniques and the sheer volume of fossil fuels that can be
coaxed out of the ground.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/drillers-get-super-size-natural-gas-output-1441127955
Study: What's in most seabirds? Plastics
AP
WASHINGTON — Up to 90 percent of the world's seabirds likely have
pieces of plastic in their guts, a study estimates.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/world/2015/09/01/study-finds-seabirds-swallowed-plastic/71540864/
Opinion
The EPA's Next Big Economic Chokehold
Lowering ozone—from cars, trucks, factories and power plants—in the name of
an imaginary health benefit.
WSJ
By TONY COX
Sept. 1, 2015 7:19 p.m. ET
This fall the Environmental Protection Agency plans to take its next grand
regulatory step, following the announcement of the EPA's Clean Power Plan
over the summer. The agency is likely to introduce stringent new standards
for ground-level ozone, arguing that a lower allowable level of ozone—an
important component of smog—will reduce asthma in the U.S., among other
claimed health benefits.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-epas-next-big-economic-chokehold-1441149571
Press Releases
NOAA RESTORE Act Science Program awards $2.7 million for Gulf research
Projects to assess ecosystem modeling, ecological indicators, monitoring
and observing
September 1, 2015
NOAA's RESTORE Act Science Program has completed its first funding
competition and is awarding approximately $2.7 million to seven research
teams.
Each of the teams will address one or more of the Science Program's
short-term priorities for the Gulf of Mexico, which focus on assessing
ecosystem modeling, evaluating indicators for Gulf conditions, and
assessing and developing recommendations for monitoring and observing in
the Gulf.
These projects will aid current scientific understanding and management
needs and inform the future direction of the NOAA RESTORE Act Science
Program, as well as other science and restoration initiatives in the
region. The results from these projects will also help in the development
of management strategies to support the sustainability of the Gulf of
Mexico ecosystem, including its fisheries.
"These awards put funds in the hands of researchers who can work with us to
make a difference in the Gulf of Mexico," said Julien Lartigue, Ph.D.,
director of the NOAA RESTORE Act Science Program. "These teams of
researchers will be working closely with resource managers and others who
can use the results of their work to advance our understanding and
management of the Gulf."
"We received many strong proposals, which shows the capacity out there for
addressing the science and management needs of the region. We will look to
further tap into this capacity with future competitions," he added.
The seven teams receiving funding draw researchers from 17 institutions
including universities, federal and state agencies, non-governmental
organizations and the private sector. In total, 31 researchers will be
involved, with 28 of them located in the Gulf of Mexico region. Of the
seven projects, six are being led by institutions located in the region
(three in Texas, one in Florida, one in Mississippi, and one in Louisiana).
The awards range in size from $309,000 to $400,000 and the projects will
run for up to two years. These projects were selected following a rigorous
and highly competitive process which included a review by a panel of
independent experts.
The seven research team awards are:
· Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi ($398,349): To develop and test
a set of indicators and an approach for using them based on specific
management needs in the Gulf.
· NatureServe ($399,955): For this national conservation network to
recommend scientifically rigorous, practical, and cost-effective
monitoring indicators for five key habitats across the Gulf.
· University of Miami ($398,812): To work with resource managers to
expand observing system evaluation techniques to include
biogeochemistry and ecosystem observations. This should help with
recommendations on the type and location of observations needed for
monitoring and managing the Gulf.
· Texas A&M University Corpus Christi ($395,000): To work with resource
managers and other researchers to test and align ecosystem models
with management needs and restoration activities in the Gulf.
· University of Southern Mississippi ($366,787): To use archived
satellite ocean observations, ocean circulation models, and existing
marine sampling datasets, including fish datasets, to identify
ecological active regions in the Gulf, as well as gaps in current
oceanographic data collection.
· University of Texas at Austin ($391,021): To work with experts from
academia, federal and state government, and non-governmental
organizations to compile and evaluate existing information on fish
spawning aggregations in the Gulf. This information should aid in the
conservation and management of the region's fisheries.
· Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium ($309,276): To investigate
the influence of the Mississippi River and its delta on the
oceanography, ecology, and economy of the Gulf and identify the
additional data collection and modeling necessary for managers to
better monitor and manage the Gulf's natural resources.
Additional details on the funded projects are available on the NOAA RESTORE
Act Science Programwebsite.
This funding is in response to the RESTORE Act, also known as the Resources
and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies
of the Gulf Coast States Act that authorized NOAA to establish and
administer a Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Science, Observation,
Monitoring, and Technology Program. Additional details on the funded
projects were published today on the NOAA RESTORE Act Science Program
website.
The NOAA program is funded by 2.5 percent of the Gulf Coast Restoration
Trust Fund, established by the RESTORE Act, which comprises 80 percent of
Clean Water Act civil penalties recovered from parties responsible for the
Deepwater Horizon oil spill. On February 19, 2013, a federal judge approved
a $1 billion civil settlement with Transocean, as a responsible party for
the oil spill. This settlement provides the NOAA RESTORE Act Science
Program with $20 million plus 25 percent of any interest accrued from the
portion of the settlement deposited into the Trust Fund.
Additional funding may become available from the proposed Deepwater Horizon
Oil Spill settlementannounced by BP and the U.S. Department of Justice on
July 2, 2015.
BP announced that it has reached an agreement in principle with the United
States and the five Gulf states to settle the civil claims against the
company arising out of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill tragedy. As part of
the $18.7 billion dollar overall settlement BP will pay, upon court
approval, a $5.5 billion Clean Water Act penalty, 80 percent of which will
go to restoration efforts in the affected states pursuant to a Deepwater
specific statute the RESTORE Act. This will be the largest civil penalty in
the history of environmental law. The terms will not be final or binding
until a consent decree is negotiated, undergoes public comment, and secures
final court approval.
The mission of the NOAA RESTORE Act Science Program is to increase
understanding of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem, including its fisheries, and
to support its restoration and sustainability through research,
observation, monitoring, and technology development.
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2015/090115-noaa-restore-act-science-program-awards-2.7-million-for-gulf-research.html
