State
Under the Microscope: Meggan Gray tests South
Mississippi's water Thursday, July 14th 2016, 3:36 am CDT
By Meggan Gray
BILOXI, MS (WLOX) - According to the Environmental Protection Agency, even low levels of exposure to lead can be harmful, especially for children.
But under the Safe Drinking Water Act, all states and municipalities are required to test water supplies to ensure it is safe for everyone to use.
http://www.wlox.com/story/32402101/under-the-microscope
Drainage projects paying off in Southaven By ROBERT LEE LONG
Investing money into drainage projects is paying big dividends to city taxpayers and residents in flood-prone areas, according to Southaven city officials.
http://www.desototimes.com/news/drainage-projects-paying-off-in-southaven/article_efa98680-47b7-11e6-9952-0b50613f782b.html
National
How to avoid deadly flesh-eating bacteria
MELBOURNE, Fla. — Warm waters and one case of a potentially deadly flesh destroying bacteria in Brevard County have prompted Florida health officials to urge the public to avoid exposure to the rare bacterial infection.
Brevard's warning came two days after state health officials in Volusia County similarly urged residents and tourists to take precautions to prevent exposure to Vibrio vulnificus, a potentially deadly saltwater bacteria that has killed four people so far this year in Florida.
http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/environment/2016/07/13/take-precautions-prevent-deadly-bacteria-infection/87032260/
Watchdog faults Energy Department over whistleblower retaliation
By Timothy Cama - 07/14/16 04:17 PM EDT
The Department of Energy (DOE) needs to do more to crack down on whistleblower retaliation by the contractor companies that run its facilities, a watchdog report concluded.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found Thursday that the department relies heavily on contractors’ self-assessments of their compliance with whistleblower rules, and rarely orders independent reviews.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/287797-watchdog-faults-doe-on-whistleblower-retaliation
Cleaning Up Brownfield Sites Benefits Environment, Nearby Property Values
Editor’s note: The following guest post was written by Laura Taylor, an NC State professor of agricultural and resource economics who directs the university’s Center for Environmental and Resource Economic Policy, and was first published on the London School of Economics United States Policy and Politics blog. It is based on ‘Disentangling property value impacts of environmental contamination from locally undesirable land uses: Implications for measuring post-cleanup stigma’ in the Journal of Urban Economics.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates over 450,000 properties are environmentally contaminated to such a degree that reuse or redevelopment of the property is likely to be hindered. Although the vast majority of these so-called “brownfields” are privately owned commercial and industrial properties, cleanup costs are often borne partially or wholly by the public sector.
https://news.ncsu.edu/2016/07/taylor-brownfield-site-cleanup/
Robbie Wilbur
Communications Director
Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality
Post Office Box 2261
Jackson, Mississippi 39225
rwilbur@mdeq.ms.gov
601-961-5277 (office)
601-421-5699 (cell)
@MDEQ
