State
Thompson: Groundwater testing will expand in Grenada
Clarion Ledger
WASHINGTON - Environmental Protection Agency officials plan to expand
groundwater testing beyond a neighborhood in Grenada located near a
contaminated former manufacturing site, according to 2nd District U.S. Rep.
Bennie Thompson.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2016/05/27/thompson-says-groundwater-testing-expand-grenada/85041402/
Mississippi cities OK'd for brownfield grants
Clarion Ledger
Greenwood, Hernando, Vicksburg and Yazoo City will receive a combined
$1.525 million in federal grants to do assessments and cleanup to redevelop
sites that have potential environmental issues.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/local/2016/05/28/mississippi-cities-okd-brownfield-grants/85109558/
Jackson Public Works Director Kishia Powell resigns
Clarion Ledger
Kishia Powell has resigned from her position as the Jackson Public Works
director, city officials confirmed Saturday.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/local/2016/05/28/jackson-public-works-director-kishia-powell-resigns/85064934/
Concerns grow over Jackson public works' future
WLBT
JACKSON, MS (Mississippi News Now) -Just days ago, Jackson Public Works
Director Kishia Powell handed the city her resignation. It's a big
responsibility,and in Powell's case, came with a big paycheck: $150,000 a
year.
http://www.msnewsnow.com/story/32097786/concerns-grow-over-jackson-public-works-future
East Mississippi Foothills Land Trust looking for volunteers
WTOK
LAUDERDALE COUNTY, Miss. (WTOK) - Stuckey's Bridge in Lauderdale County
received a facelift this past weekend.
http://www.wtok.com/home/headlines/East-Mississippi-Foothills-Land-Trust-looking-for-volunteers--381309821.html
Helping Keep Waveland Beautiful
Sea Coast Echo
In an effort to improve and beautify their community and environment
hundreds of Waveland residents and Keep Waveland Beautiful volunteers
joined in on a Great American Clean-up project Saturday at MLK park in the
Middle Town Community.
http://www.seacoastecho.com/article_9857.shtml#.V02J-vkguUk
New fishing regs coming to several lakes
Clarion Ledger
Changes in fishing regulation for several lakes were approved by the
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks and will become
effective June 23.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/2016/05/30/new-fishing-regs-coming-several-lakes/85152152/
Bigger bass good for anglers, economy
Clarion Ledger
An injection of new genes into the bass population at Ross Barnett
Reservoir combined with a new regulation is not only good for bass anglers,
it's good for business.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/2016/05/27/bigger-bass-good-anglers-economy/85034516/
Census: Bay St. Louis only city to eclipse pre-Katrina population
Sun Herald
The U.S. Census released population estimates last week for towns, cities
and counties across the nation, including ones that showed Bay St. Louis
was the second-fastest growing city in Mississippi between 2014 and 2015.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/hurricane-katrina/article80551812.html
Miss. rehabilitation agency cutting services
AP
JACKSON - Another Mississippi government agency says that state budget cuts
beginning July 1 are likely to cause service reductions.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2016/05/30/miss-rehabilitation-agency-cutting-services/85169896/
Oil Spill
Uncharted waters: Restoring deep Gulf after BP spill
AP
Far offshore and a mile deep in the dark world below the Gulf of Mexico's
gleaming surface, the catastrophic BP oil spill of 2010 did untold damage
on the ocean floor. But scientists are unsure they can do much to heal
places in the deep that were hurt the most as they undertake what's being
called the largest ecosystem restoration effort ever.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2016/05/30/uncharted-waters-restoring-deep-gulf-after-bp-spill/85153048/
BP claims delays frustrate Long Beach businessman
Sun Herald
Buddy Ray has had a claim against BP for more than three years.
And has heard next to nothing from the people handling the settlement in
the Deepwater Horizon disaster in all that time.
http://www.sunherald.com/latest-news/article80594502.html
Regional
State lifts water-contact health advisory for McKellar Lake
Commercial Appeal
In a sign that contamination from a massive sewage spill this spring has
dissipated, Tennessee environmental regulators have lifted a health
advisory for McKellar Lake in southwest Memphis.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/government/state/state-lifts-water-contact-health-advisory-for-mckellar-lake-3385f0e3-0f59-5d3d-e053-0100007f0d4d-380571371.html
National
Conservation program at center of energy bill fight
The Hill
The long-term fate of a major conservation program could end up being a key
sticking point in negotiations over federal energy policy reform.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/281548-conservation-program-at-center-of-energy-bill-fight
REGIONAL HAZE RULE, CHEMICAL DATA REPORTING AND MORE IN THE WEEK OF MAY 30
Bloomberg
Welcome back from the holiday weekend. With Congress in recess, Washington
is set for a slower week. But federal agencies and interest groups are
keeping business moving.
http://www.bna.com/regional-haze-rule-b57982073187/
New regs for Tuesday: Finance, fuel, efficiency
The Hill
Efficiency: The Department of Energy (DOE) is considering stronger
efficiency rules for water heating equipment.
The department's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy proposed
on Friday new energy conservation standards for commercial water heaters,
hot water supply boilers and unfired hot water storage tanks.
"DOE has tentatively concluded that there is clear and convincing evidence
to support more stringent standards," the agency wrote.
The public has 60 days to comment.
Fuel: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing new renewable
fuel standards.
The renewable fuel standards would address the percent of "cellulosic
biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel"
required to be mixed into gasoline and diesel fuels in 2017 and 2018.
The public has until July 11 to comment.
http://thehill.com/regulation/281501-new-regs-for-tuesday-finance-fuel-efficiency
Opinion
Moak: Be careful refueling your A/C
Clarion Ledger
As the weather heats up here in the South, our air-conditioning units will
be getting busier and busier. The invention of air-conditioning has without
a doubt created fundamental changes in how we live. Since its introduction
in 1902, air-conditioning has not only changed the way we build structures
(and even entire communities); it has also changed the way we interact (or
don't) with our neighbors and how much time we spend outdoors.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/money/personal-finance/consumerwatch/2016/05/29/moak-careful-refueling-your-air-conditioner/84992368/
Sid Salter: US-Vietnam catfish war rages
Clarion Ledger
STARKVILLE — Politics is about nothing if not timing, and U.S. Sen. John
McCain, R-Arizona, saw his opportunity and seized upon it while President
Barack Obama was on a state visit to Vietnam in recent days.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/opinion/columnists/2016/05/28/sid-salter-us-vietnam-catfish-war-rages/84975450/
California's Cap-and-Trade Bubble
The carbon-credit market sputters, as it also has in Europe.
WSJ
When carbon cap and trade flopped in Europe, liberals blamed design flaws
and hailed California's embryonic program as a better regulatory model. But
cap and tax is struggling in the Golden State too.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/californias-cap-and-trade-bubble-1464643546
Budgeting law brings layers of questions
By Bobby Harrison
Daily Journal Jackson Bureau
JACKSON – Multiple state officials say they are still working to determine
how the far-reaching Budget Transparency and Simplification Act will impact
the new fiscal year, starting July 1.
http://djournal.com/news/budgeting-law-brings-layers-questions/?platform=hootsuite
Press Releases
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| USDA Announces More Than $8 Million in Payments to Support the Production of Advanced |
| Biofuel |
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|WASHINGTON, May 27, 2016 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that the |
|U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $8.8 million to boost the production|
|of advanced biofuels and sustain jobs at renewable energy facilities in 39 states. USDA|
|continues to lead the way in promotion of advanced biofuel production, from |
|implementing the revised Farm Bill bio-refinery program to the launching of the Green |
|Fleet with the Department of the Navy and developing the Biogas Opportunities Roadmap, |
|which outlines voluntary strategies to overcome barriers to expansion and development |
|of a robust biogas industry within the United States. |
| |
| |
|"Advanced biofuels expand America's energy options and increase our sources of |
|homegrown, renewable energy," Vilsack said. "These payments not only help to spur |
|biofuel production, but also protect the environment and help create jobs by building a|
|renewable energy economy in rural areas." |
| |
| |
|The funding is being provided through USDA's Advanced Biofuel Payment Program, which |
|was established in the 2008 Farm Bill. Payments are made to biofuels producers based on|
|the amount of advanced biofuels produced from renewable biomass, other than corn kernel|
|starch. Examples of eligible feedstocks include crop residue, food and yard waste, |
|vegetable oil, and animal fat. Through this program to date, USDA has made $308 million|
|in payments to 382 producers in 47 states and territories. These payments have produced|
|enough biofuel to provide more than 391 billion kilowatt hours of electric energy. |
| |
| |
|Secretary Vilsack has recognized the biobased economy as one of the pillars that |
|strengthen rural communities. Through the Advanced Biofuel Payment Program and other |
|USDA programs, USDA is working to support the research, investment and infrastructure |
|necessary to build a strong biofuels industry that creates jobs and broadens the range |
|of feedstocks used to produce renewable fuel. Over the course of this Administration, |
|USDA has invested $332 million to accelerate research on renewable energy ranging from |
|genomic research on bioenergy feedstock crops, to development of biofuel conversion |
|processes and costs/benefit estimates of renewable energy production. |
| |
| |
|In January, Secretary Vilsack joined Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus to launch the |
|Great Green Fleet, and witnessed destroyer USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110) being |
|replenished with advanced biofuel made from waste beef fat. Aviation biofuels, like |
|those used by the Navy, are creating new markets for energy created from agricultural |
|waste products. |
| |
| |
|USDA has also supported efforts to build six new biorefineries to produce advanced |
|biofuels in Louisiana, Georgia, Oregon, Nevada, North Carolina, and Iowa, in addition |
|to three existing facilities in New Mexico, Michigan and Florida. |
| |
| |
|Investments in renewable energy and the biobased economy are a leading part of USDA's |
|commitment to mitigating climate change and promoting a clean-energy economy. This |
|month, the Department is examining what a changing climate means to agriculture and how|
|USDA is working to reduce greenhouse gases. For more information, visit Chapter 5 of |
|https://medium.com/usda-results. |
| |
| |
|Quad County Corn Processors Co-Op of Galva, Iowa, is receiving a $2,011 payment to |
|convert more than 39 million gallons of corn kernel fiber into 660,000 gallons of |
|cellulosic ethanol. The company converts the fiber into ethanol and other products |
|using a process developed by its own research team. |
| |
| |
|Scott Petroleum Corporation in Itta Bena, Miss., is receiving a $13,165 payment to |
|produce more than 2.6 million gallons of biodiesel from 3 million gallons of waste, |
|non-food grade corn and catfish oil and poultry fat. The biodiesel is distributed |
|throughout Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. |
| |
| |
|View the complete list of producers receiving payments. |
| |
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|These payments build on USDA's historic investments in rural America over the past |
|seven years. Since 2009, USDA has worked to strengthen and support rural communities |
|and American agriculture, an industry that supports one in 11 U.S. jobs, provides |
|consumers with more than 80 percent of our food, ensures that Americans spend less of |
|their paychecks at the grocery store than most people in other countries, and supports |
|markets for homegrown renewable energy and materials. |
| |
| |
|USDA has developed new markets for rural-made products, including more than 2,500 |
|biobased products through USDA's BioPreferred program since 2009; and has invested $64 |
|billion in infrastructure, housing and community facilities to help improve the quality|
|of life in rural America. |
| |
| |
|Since 2009, USDA's Rural Development agency (@usdaRD) has invested $11 billion to start|
|or expand 103,000 rural businesses; helped 1.1 million rural residents buy homes; |
|funded nearly 7,000 community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care|
|facilities; financed 185,000 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines; and|
|helped bring high-speed Internet access to nearly 6 million rural residents and |
|businesses. For more information, visit www.usda.gov/results. |
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