USM hosts Earth Fair
WDAM
ATTIESBURG, MS (WDAM) -Southern Miss students got some lessons in recycling and sustainability during an Earth Week event at Shoemaker Square Tuesday.
An Earth Fair featured several environmental organizations, including the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, the Mississippi Recycling Coalition and the Mississippi Sierra Club.
City OKs resolution for Kuhn plan
Vicksburg Post
The door to implementing an urban renewal plan city officials hope will eventually transform the Kuhn Hospital property into a multipurpose residential/commercial area is now open.
…Acquiring the 12.8-acre property at 1422 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard is essential if the city is to get a low-interest $250,000 state Brownfields CAP loan from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality to begin taking the three buildings on the site down.http://www.vicksburgpost.com/2016/04/19/city-oks-resolution-for-kuhn-plan/
1st Day Out Against Litter deemed a success
Hattiesburg American
Lamar County officials say the first Day Out Against Litter was a success with more than 100 bags of trash collected.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/local/lamar-county/2016/04/19/1st-day-out-against-litter-deemed-success/83225120/
County seeks emergency planning grant money
By Caleb Bedillion
Daily Journal
TUPELO – Lee County will once again seek a grant to help emergency management officials prepare for possible chemical spills.http://djournal.com/news/county-seeks-emergency-planning-grant-money/
ALGIX to celebrate Earth Day with open house
Meridian Star
ALGIX, a local biotechnology company, will host its second annual Earth Day celebration from noon to 4 p.m. Friday at its headquarters in the Sonny Montgomery Industrial Park at 5168 Water Tower Road in Meridian. http://www.meridianstar.com/news/algix-to-celebrate-earth-day-with-open-house/article_d51b9648-06a6-11e6-a2c3-4f1dcb731391.html
CMR denies Jackson County's request for 1-mile menhaden fishing limit
Sun Herald
BILOXI -- The Mississippi Commission on Marine Resources denied Jackson County's request to limit menhaden fishing to at least a mile off the county's mainland.
State, DMR soliciting vendors to provide new ferry service to Deer Island
Mississippi Press
BILOXI, Mississippi -- The Secretary of State's office and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (DMR) have begun the process to find vendors who will provide ferry service to the new $360,000 Deer Island public pier.http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2016/04/state_dmr_solicing_vendors_to.html#incart_river_index
Fish sniffing dog cracks down on fillet smuggling
WLOX
BILOXI, MS (WLOX) -He's a specially trained English cocker spaniel that sniffs out fish fillets. That's right, fish fillets.
http://www.wlox.com/story/31762143/fish-sniffing-dog-cracks-down-on-fillet-smuggling
http://www.wlox.com/story/31762143/fish-sniffing-dog-cracks-down-on-fillet-smuggling
LOCAL CASINO WANTS TO SAVE ON ENERGY
WXXV
LED lights use only a fraction of the energy a normal light bulb uses, saving energy and benefiting the environment.http://www.wxxv25.com/2016/04/19/local-casino-wants-to-save-on-energy/
Oil Spill
BP Oil Spill Trashed More Shoreline Than Scientists Thought
National Geographic
National Geographic
The largest oil spill in U.S. history was even bigger than previously thought, at least in terms of the amount of coastline that was oiled, scientists report in a new study. The findings shed new light onto the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, which began six years ago Wednesday.http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160420-bp-oil-spill-shoreline-affected-deepwater-horizon-anniversary/
BP Settles With Cal Dive Over Deepwater Horizon Spill
BP agrees to pay $3.5 million to Cal Dive, which filed for bankruptcy protection last year
WSJ
WSJ
BP PLC has agreed to pay Cal Dive International Inc. more than $3.5 million for damages tied to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which six years ago spewed millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and triggered a six-month drilling moratorium.http://www.wsj.com/articles/bp-settles-with-cal-dive-over-deepwater-horizon-spill-1461096865
Regional
Knox County air quality OK with EPA, but American Lung Association report gives it an ‘F’
Knoxville News Sentinel
The American Lung Association gives Knox County an 'F' grade in air quality.
But Knox County's director of air quality management, Lynne Liddington, said one letter doesn't tell the whole story.
National
Senators hit Obama’s EPA budget request
The Hill
The Hill
Members of both parties took aim at President Obama’s budget request for the Environmental Protection Agency during a Senate hearing Tuesday.
Criminal charges today in Flint water crisis
Detroit Free Press
LANSING — Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette will announce criminal charges today in connection with his ongoing investigation of the Flint drinking water crisis, three sources familiar with the investigation told the Free Press on Tuesday.
http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/flint-water-crisis/2016/04/19/criminal-charges-coming-wednesday-flint-water-crisis/83251574/
VW resists move for trial instead of EPA settlement
Reuters
Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) is resisting a demand from U.S. plaintiffs to go to trial rather than settle its diesel emissions case with government regulators, according to a court filing, as it braces for a crucial court hearing on Thursday.http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-court-idUSKCN0XH0ZV
Adjusting to life, and leaner wallets, after the gas boom
AP
TOWANDA, Pa. — Jami Patel spends long hours behind the front desk of a nearly empty motel, desperate for someone, anyone, to check in. Hardly anyone ever does, not since the once-booming natural gas industry pulled up stakes amid a prolonged, severe slump in energy prices.
Opinion
CCA is telling fish tales about Omega Protein
Sun Herald
FORUM BY KENNY HEBERT JR., OMEGA PROTEIN
On April 2, the Sun Herald published an op-ed from the spokesman of the Coastal Conservation Association -- Mississippi, F.J. Eicke ("A most important fish raises need for public scrutiny"), that was filled with more holes than a fisherman's net. Sadly, time and time again, Mr. Eicke has demonstrated dismissiveness toward sustainable fisheries and the hardworking men and women of Mississippi's commercial fishing industry.
Press Releases
Apr 19 2016
Agency Proposes Cuts to Radon Program in Favor of Climate Change Rule
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today questioned Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy about the agency’s proposal to cut $8 million from the State Indoor Radon Grant Program, effectively shutting it down. At the same time, the agency is requesting $235 million in funding for its so-called “Clean Power Plan.”
Analysis from EPA shows that radon causes an estimated 21,000 lung cancer deaths annually in the United States. By contrast, the agency indicates that the power plan rule would avoid 6,600 premature deaths annually by 2030.
“The core mission of EPA is to protect human health and the environment,” Wicker said. “Taking money away from efforts to combat known threats such as indoor radon would be inefficient, when there are some 21,000 lung cancer deaths attributed to radon each year. It appears the agency is ignoring real environmental threats in favor of climate change and unknown benefits.”
Wicker’s comments were made during a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing to examine EPA’s FY 2017 budget request.
The Supreme Court recently issued a stay on the Administration’s Clean Power Plan pending further judicial review. Administrator McCarthy is on record saying that the Supreme Court’s action does not prevent the agency from continuing to work on the rule.
Last November, Wicker voted in support of two measures aimed at blocking implementation of EPA’s costly rule. Specifically, the bills would have reversed the Administration’s restrictive regulations for new and existing coal-fired power plants. Under the “Congressional Review Act” (CRA), Congress can overturn actions by a federal agency following the formal publication and submission of a rule to Congress.
Although state compliance with the “Clean Power Plan” is not required until 2022, EPA set a September 2016 deadline for states to submit a plan to comply with the rule. The U.S. Court of Appeals is not likely to issue a ruling on the legality of the rules until months after it hears oral arguments, which begin on June 2, 2016.
Secretary Jewell Offers Vision for Next 100 Years of Conservation in America
WASHINGTON – In remarks at the National Geographic Society and released early on Medium, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today laid out a vision for actions the nation can take to build upon America’s rich conservation legacy and pass on healthy public lands and waters to the next generation.
The Secretary delivered the remarks during National Park Week to help mark the 100th birthday of the National Park Service. During the speech, Jewell called for a “course correction” for conservation that includes inspiring all Americans from all backgrounds to connect with public lands; implementing smart, landscape-level planning to support healthy ecosystems and sustainable development; and greater investments in national parks and public lands to prepare for the next century of conservation.
During her remarks, Jewell also announced that the federal government will undertake a first-of-its-kind study to analyze the impact outdoor recreation has on the nation’s economy. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis feasibility study will present detailed and defensible data on the importance of outdoor recreation as a distinct component of the economy that can help inform decision making and management of public lands and waters.
“By producing credible data on the tangible economic benefits of public lands, we can help the public and Members of Congress better understand the benefits of investing in them,” Jewell said. “Industry estimates show that consumer spending for outdoor recreation is greater than household utilities and pharmaceuticals combined – and yet the federal government has never fully recognized or quantified these benefits. This project is the start of a multi-year effort to count these contributions in a comprehensive and impartial way.”
