State
Inmates work to keep roads clean
Mississippi Today
Year-round along the shoulders of Mississippi's roads, women and men in striped pants can be seen bent-low, filling bags with the bits and pieces drivers leave behind: cigarette butts, water bottles, receipts and more.
http://mississippitoday.org/2016/07/25/inmates-work-to-keep-roads-clean/
Big fish carcasses found floating near Cat Island, fisherman reports
Sun Herald
GULFPORT
Kyle Johnson was fishing with Troy Helwig on Saturday when they came upon more than a dozen large fish floating in the tide line about a mile south of Cat Island.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/counties/harrison-county/article91750632.html
Oil Spill
BP Suffers Third Straight Quarterly Loss
Analysts had expected better results; share price declines
WSJ
LONDON—BP PLC on Tuesday said a two-year oil price slump and the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill were exacting a punishing toll, sending the company to its third straight quarterly loss.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/bp-posts-replacement-cost-of-2-25-billion-for-second-quarter-1469515264
National
EPA Advances Plans to Limit Carbon Emissions from Aircraft
Agency releases scientific assessment concluding plane exhaust endangers public health, welfare
WSJ
WASHINGTON—The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday advanced plans to limit carbon emissions from aircraft, one of a string of actions President Barack Obama is pursuing in his climate agenda that affects large swaths of the U.S. economy.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/epa-advances-plans-to-limit-carbon-emissions-from-aircraft-1469458800
White House takes aim at a fast-growing source of emissions: airplanes
Washington Post
The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday took a key step toward limiting pollution caused by the nation’s fleet of commercial aircraft, part of a broader push in the Obama administration’s waning months to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
EPA Wants to Fix Flawed Ozone Implementation Rule
Bloomberg
The Environmental Protection Agency wants an opportunity to address legal flaws in a regulation governing implementation of the 2008 ozone standards of 75 parts per billion ( South Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist. v. EPA, D.C. Cir., No. 15-1115, motion filed 7/21/16 ).
http://www.bna.com/epa-wants-fix-n73014445242/
First Decisions on New Chemicals Made Under Amended TSCA
Bloomberg
The Environmental Protection Agency issued its first regulatorydecisions July 22 for new chemicals using the criteria of the amended Toxic Substances Control Act.
http://www.bna.com/first-decisions-new-n73014445243/
Press releases
EPA Determines that Aircraft Emissions Contribute to Climate Change Endangering Public Health and the Environment
(WASHINGTON) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today finalized a determination under the Clean Air Act that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from certain types of aircraft engines contribute to the pollution that causes climate change and endangers Americans’ health and the environment. The findings are for carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), all of which contribute to GHG pollution that represents the largest driver of human-caused climate change. These particular GHGs come primarily from engines used on large commercial jets.
“Addressing pollution from aircraft is an important element of U.S. efforts to address climate change. Aircraft are the third largest contributor to GHG emissions in the U.S. transportation sector, and these emissions are expected to increase in the future,” said Janet McCabe, EPA’s Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation. “EPA has already set effective GHG standards for cars and trucks and any future aircraft engine standards will also provide important climate and public health benefits.”
The agency is not issuing emissions standards for aircraft engines in this action. The final endangerment and contribution findings for aircraft engine GHG emissions are an important step that EPA must take prior to adopting domestic GHG engine standards. EPA anticipates that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will formally adopt its environmental committee’s February 2016 agreement on international aircraft CO2 standards in March 2017. EPA anticipates moving forward on standards that would be at least as stringent as ICAO’s standards.
The rulemaking process for aircraft GHG emissions will provide opportunities for industry, NGOs and other interested parties to provide their input through public review and comment.
In 2009, EPA issued similar findings regarding GHG emissions from new cars and light trucks. The agency determined that those vehicles contribute to GHG pollution that threatens Americans' health and welfare by leading to long-lasting changes in our climate that can have a range of negative effects today and in the future. Since then, the science on human-induced climate change has strengthened, further supporting today’s final determination.
Today’s findings support the goals of the President’s Climate Action Plan to reduce emissions from large sources of carbon pollution. U.S. aircraft emit roughly 12 percent of GHG emissions from the U.S. transportation sector and 29 percent of GHG emissions from all aircraft globally. Under the Clean Air Act, EPA consults with the Federal Aviation Administration as it develops aircraft engine emissions standards. By law, any standards EPA sets must not cause a significant increase in noise or adversely affect safety.
Today’s findings do not apply to small piston-engine planes (the type of plane often used for recreational purposes), or to military aircraft.
For more information on the final aircraft endangerment and cause or contribute findings, visit http://epa.gov/otaq/aviation.htm.
MISS. SENATORS ASK INTERIOR DEPT. TO DROP PROPOSED OFFSHORE RULE
Interior Dept. Fails to Show Offshore Activities Negatively Affect Onshore Air Quality, 17 Senators Assert
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) today said the lack of evidence that offshore energy production adversely affects onshore air quality should prompt the withdrawal of a proposed new federal rule on offshore activities.
Cochran and Wicker are among 17 Senators who have signed a letter asking Interior Secretary Sally Jewel to withdraw the “Air Quality Control, Reporting, and Compliance” rule proposed by Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).
“This rulemaking amounts to creating a solution for a problem that doesn’t exist. The administration’s eagerness to impose new regulations before the end of the year should not undermine facts and basic fairness to states that produce offshore energy,” said Cochran, who serves on the Senate appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Interior Department.
“This proposed rule is unnecessary,” Wicker said. “The agency has already proved that this regulation would not make a significant impact on making inland air cleaner. This is a solution in search of a problem. It is clear that regulatory action is not scientifically justified.”
The letter highlights the fact that BOEM has failed to determine that offshore activities violate National Ambient Air Quality Standards in coastal areas. The letter points out that the agency’s own National Environmental Policy Act review, as well as required Clean Air Act State Implementation Plans, have found that offshore emission sources do not contribute significantly to onshore air quality.
The Senators also criticized BOEM for advancing the proposed rule before two ongoing studies, costing $4.0 million, have been concluded. These studies could be completed in 2017.
“Unless and until such studies are completed, peer reviewed, and assessed, it is impossible for BOEM to put forth a credible cost benefit analysis. Moreover, the affected entities cannot be reasonably expected to take adequate stock of or fully inform BOEM regarding the regulation,” the letter said. “Therefore, we ask the Department to withdraw this rule or at a minimum table this proposed rulemaking until the results of its own studies are completed to determine whether or not any regulatory action is scientifically justified.”
The letter, authored by Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.), was also signed by Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Michael Rounds (R-S.D.), Jeff Session (R-Ala.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), John Thune (R-S.D.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), and David Vitter (R-La.).
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