State
GETTING CLOSER
Northside Sun
Ridgeland officials approve site plans for proposed Costco
A major hurdle was cleared last week for developers hoping to bring a
Costco to Ridgeland.
…The board approved plans, despite the fact that the project had not been
cleared by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ).
http://northsidesun.com/front-page-slideshow-news/getting-closer
Outgoing leader would adhere to AG opinion
By Bobby Harrison
Daily Journal Jackson Bureau
JACKSON – Kevin Upchurch, the outgoing state fiscal officer, said this week
if he was still in office on July 1 he would adhere to the official
opinions of the Attorney General's office, meaning the state would have
less revenue than originally thought for the upcoming budget year.
http://djournal.com/news/outgoing-leader-adhere-ag-opinion/
MS ATTORNEY GENERAL GIVES OPINION ON SWEEPING SPECIAL FUNDS FOR BUDGET
MPB
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood is speaking out on a new law that
will take some special funds from state agencies to help fund the state
budget. MPB's Mark Rigsby reports.
http://www.mpbonline.org/blogs/news/2016/06/17/ms-attorney-general-gives-opinion-on-sweeping-special-funds-for-budget/
State budget battle still brewing past the legislative session
WLBT
JACKSON, MS (Mississippi News Now) -The state budget is approved, but some
agency heads say the state's could spend a decade trying to correct some
controversial changes.
http://www.msnewsnow.com/story/32243159/state-budget-battle-still-brewing-past-the-legislative-session
Oil Spill
This out-of-state firm splashed competition for aquarium contract
Sun Herald
GULFPORT -- The Gulfport Redevelopment Commission plans to hire a Baton
Rouge firm to market The Mississippi Aquarium, slated to for a downtown
space across from Jones Park.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/counties/harrison-county/article84209632.html
Infinity Possum Walk Adds Tram Tours
Picayune Item
http://www.picayuneitem.com/2016/06/infinitys-possum-walk-adds-tram-tours/
National
EPA proposes climate rule incentives despite court hold
The Hill
The Obama administration is moving ahead with an incentive program for its
contentious climate change rule, despite the Supreme Court's action halting
the regulation.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/283776-epa-proposes-climate-rule-incentives-despite-court-hold
Environmental Groups Change Tune on Nuclear Power
Focus on climate change has raised profile of reactors, now viewed as
reliable, carbon-free source of energy
WSJ
Some of the nation's most influential environmental groups are softening
their longstanding opposition to nuclear power, marking a significant shift
in the antinuclear movement as environmentalists' priority shifts to
climate change.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/environmental-groups-change-tune-on-nuclear-power-1466100644
Opinion
MEET SOME MORE POLITICALLY CONNECTED MINORITY CONTRACTORS
Northside Sun
BY WYATT EMMERICH
Last week, I wrote about the private contract with IMS to manage the
special one percent sales tax to fund improvements to Jackson's
infrastructure. It is a deal fraught with waste and cronyism, involving
payoffs to "minority firms" with little real operating experience.
As bad as that deal is, the AECOM deal to manage the city's $400 million
EPA consent decree is even worse.
http://northsidesun.com/front-page-slideshow-news-columns/meet-some-more-politically-connected-minority-contractors#sthash.LwyRzwlb.dpbs
Press Releases
EPA Proposes Additional Details on the Clean Energy Incentive Program
Voluntary program will benefit communities by providing incentives for
renewable energy and energy efficiency
CONTACT: Enesta Jones, 202-564-7873, 202-564-4355, jones.enesta@epa.gov
(ATLANTA) – After extensive engagement with community groups and other
stakeholders, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing
additional details for public comment about the optional Clean Energy
Incentive Program (CEIP), which was included in the final Clean Power Plan.
The CEIP was designed to help states and tribes meet their goals under the
plan by encouraging early investments in zero-emitting renewable energy
generation, and by removing barriers to investment in energy efficiency in
low-income communities. Today's proposal will help guide states and tribes
that choose to participate in the program when the Clean Power Plan becomes
effective.
"For nearly a year we have collaborated with communities and other
stakeholders, listening closely to ideas about how to design a range of
elements of the CEIP. Today's proposal keeps that conversation moving
forward," said Janet McCabe, acting assistant administrator for EPA's
Office of Air and Radiation. "Taking these steps will help cut carbon
pollution by encouraging investment in renewable energy and energy
efficiency, which will help give our kids and grandkids a healthier and
safer future."
The proposal provides a key opportunity for stakeholders to comment on
several program design elements including: clarifications about project
eligibility including expanding eligibility to solar energy project in
low-income communities, providing states with the flexibility to choose one
or more existing definitions of low-income community, and how CEIP
incentives should be made available to eligible renewable energy and energy
efficiency project providers.
The proposal is informed by an extensive outreach and engagement process to
gather early input from stakeholders and the public on how best to design a
number of features of the CEIP, including stakeholder listening sessions
and a non-regulatory docket that gathered more than 5,000 comments. EPA's
engagement with the public on this proposal will continue with a 60-day
public comment period, webinars and a public hearing on August 3, 2016, in
Chicago.
In 2015, President Obama and EPA finalized the Clean Power Plan – the
first-ever national limits on reducing carbon pollution from existing power
plants. In February 2016, the Supreme Court stayed the Clean Power Plan.
While the courts review the plan, and during the stay, no state is required
to comply with the Clean Power Plan. Many states and tribes have indicated
that they plan to move forward voluntarily in cutting carbon pollution from
power plants and have asked the agency to continue providing support and
developing tools that may support those efforts, including the CEIP.
EPA is responding to these requests and is following through on our
commitment to provide states with additional information on the CEIP,
consistent with the stay. This work will provide states with additional
clarity, which will help them make timely decisions regarding options for
plan development when the stay is lifted.
Additional information on the proposal:
http://www.epa.gov/cleanpowerplan/clean-energy-incentive-program
NRCS and USFS Partner for the
Upper Black Creek Watershed Initiative
Jackson, Miss. – The United States Department of Agriculture/
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is continuing to
accept applications for the Upper Black Creek Watershed Initiative
through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).
NRCS and the United States Forest Service (USFS) are partnering
to improve the health and resiliency of forest ecosystems where public
and private lands meet. The deadline for accepting applications
for this initiative is Friday, July 15, 2016.
The Upper Black Creek Watershed Initiative project is part of the
Joint Landscape Restoration partnership in Mississippi to help mitigate
wildfire threats to communities and landowners. The project also
works to improve wildlife habitat for at-risk species and protect
water quality and supply throughout the area.
Some of the most popular conservation practices are tree planting,
forest site preparation, prescribed burning, grazing land practices
and herbaceous weed control. Forest landowners can receive financial
assistance with forest management plan development.
The Mississippi counties that are eligible include all or parts of the
following counties: Jefferson Davis, Marion, Lamar, Forrest, Perry,
Pearl River, Stone, George and Jackson.
"NRCS is proud to partner with the USFS to provide financial
assistance to eligible landowners and operators to address the
resource concerns in the Upper Black Creek Watershed,"
stated Kurt Readus, state conservationist for Mississippi.
Landowners and producers interested in participating in the
Upper Black Creek Watershed Initiative may apply at their
local USDA Service Center / NRCS office. NRCS financial
assistance programs offer a continuous sign-up; however,
applications for the Upper Black Creek Initiative must be received
by July 15, 2016 to be considered for funding.
For additional information on the 2016 Upper Black Creek
Watershed program, visit the Mississippi NRCS website:
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/ms/programs/financial/?cid=nrcs142p2_017159
or go by your local NRCS office.
USDA Helps Restore, Manage Longleaf Pine Forests
on Private Lands
Jackson, Miss. – The United States Department of Agriculture/Natural
Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS) will have funding available to aid forest
managers
working to restore Longleaf Pine in Mississippi. The NRCS is partnering
with the
United States Forest Service (USFS) to improve the health and resiliency of
the
forest ecosystems where public and private lands meet.
The deadline for accepting applications is Friday, July 15, 2016.
Longleaf forests once dominated the coastal plains of the Southeastern
United States.
During the past two centuries, development, timbering and fire suppression
reduced
the ecosystem's range by almost 97 percent. Coordinated conservation
efforts, led
by the USDA and other conservation partners, are helping this unique
ecosystem
make a slow recovery.
Longleaf Pine forests benefit both wildlife and land managers. There are 29
threatened and endangered species that depend on these Longleaf Pine
forests
for survival. Two specific species are found in Mississippi, the gopher
tortoise
and black pine snake.
NRCS provides technical and financial assistance through the Longleaf Pine
Initiative
to help landowners and land managers with timber stand improvement through
practices such as tree planting, prescribed burning and invasive species
control.
"USDA is committed to working with foresters and land managers to help
restore
and expand this critical ecosystem," stated Kurt Readus, NRCS state
conservationist
in Mississippi. "Longleaf pine forests provide vital habitat to a variety
of species as
well as valuable timber products."
The NRCS' Longleaf Pine Initiative (LLPI) has helped restore more than
240,000
acres of longleaf forests nationally. Landowners, producers and foresters
interested
in participating in the Longleaf Pine Initiative may apply at their local
USDA service center/
NRCS office. NRCS financial-assistance programs offer a continuous
sign-up; however,
applications received by July 15, 2016, will be considered for funding in
this ranking period.
#
EPA: $1 Million Available for Tribes to Clean Up Diesel Engines
CONTACT: Jason McDonald, 404-562-9203 (direct), 404-462-8400,
mcdonald.jason@epa.gov
(ATLANTA) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced the
availability of $1 million in grant funding for tribal applicants to
establish clean diesel projects. Under this grant competition, applicants
may request up to $800,000 in federal funding.
EPA anticipates awarding up to five tribal assistance agreements, and
projects may include replacing, upgrading or retrofitting school buses,
transit buses, heavy-duty diesel trucks, marine engines, locomotives,
energy production generators or other diesel engines. Proposals from tribal
applicants must be received by August 23, 2016.
This competition is part of the Diesel Emission Reduction (DERA) program,
which funds projects to clean up the nation's legacy fleet of diesel
engines. Older diesel engines emit air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides
and particulate matter. These pollutants are linked to a range of serious
health problems including asthma, lung and heart disease, other respiratory
ailments, and premature death.
Since 2008, DERA grants have significantly improved air quality and
provided critical health benefits by reducing hundreds of thousands of tons
of air pollution and saving millions of gallons of fuel. This is the
third tribes-only competition for clean diesel funding. In 2014, EPA
awarded over $925,000 to three tribes in Washington State to replace older
marine engines with newer, more efficient ones, and in 2015 over $1.5M was
awarded to six tribes in EPA Regions 6, 9, and 10 for engine repowers and
replacement, and truck stop electrification to reduce truck idling.
The Tribal Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program gives priority to
projects which achieve significant reductions in diesel emissions and
exposure in areas designated as having poor air quality and areas which
receive a disproportionate quantity of air pollution from diesel fleets.
Further, priority for funding may be given to projects which address the
needs and concerns of local communities, those that use partnerships to
leverage additional resources and expertise to advance the goals of the
project, and those which can demonstrate the ability to promote and
continue efforts to reduce emissions after the project has ended.
For more information on the Tribal Request for Proposals and related
documents, visit
https://www.epa.gov/cleandiesel/clean-diesel-tribal-grants#rfp
https://www.epa.gov/cleandiesel/clean-diesel-tribal-grants#rfp.
For more information on the National Clean Diesel campaign, visit
www.epa.gov/cleandiesel.
