State
Hattiesburg receives $3M in settlement
Hattiesburg American
The city of Hattiesburg will receive approximately $3 million in a settlement resolving certain legal claims relating to groundwater contamination from the former Hercules/Ashland plant on West Seventh Street.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2016/08/09/hattiesburg-receives-settlement/88440042/
Hattiesburg's settlement amount with Hercules revealed
WDAM
HATTIESBURG, MS (WDAM) -The city of Hattiesburg’s confidential settlement in a 2013 lawsuit against Hercules, Inc. and Ashland, Inc. has been unveiled.
http://www.wdam.com/story/32713200/hattiesburgs-settlement-amount-with-hercules-revealed
Hernando among local communities receiving EPA funds
Memphis Business Journal
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the recipients of its 2016 Brownfield Grants, and several Mid-South communities were on the list.
Miss. Power announces delay, additional cost for Kemper County plant
AP
JACKSON, Mississippi — Mississippi Power Co. says it will take at least another month to put into operation the power plant it's building in Kemper County.
Longtime Ingalls employee Jim McIngvale named Director of Communications/Public Affairs
Mississippi Press
PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- Ingalls Shipbuilding announced Monday that Jim McIngvale -- a 39-year employee of the Pascagoula shipyard -- has been named Director of Communications and Public Affairs.
Oil Spill
Gulf State Park lodge second phase, Hilton agreement approved
Al.com
The committee overseeing the Gulf State Park project on Friday approved the second construction phase of the new lodge and conference center on the Alabama coast, as well as a franchise agreement with Hilton Hotels.
http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2016/08/gulf_state_park_lodge_second_p.html
National
Researchers find unsafe levels of industrial chemicals in drinking water of 6 million Americans
Washington Post
Drinking water supplies serving more than six million Americans contain unsafe levels of a widely used class of industrial chemicals linked to potentially serious health problems, according to a new study from Harvard University researchers.
Petitions on Mercury Rule Startup Provisions Rejected by EPA
Bloomberg
The Environmental Protection Agency won't alter toxic emissions control requirements for power plants during periods of startup under its Mercury and Air Toxics Standards in response to requests from environmental and industry organizations.
http://www.bna.com/petitions-mercury-rule-n73014446000/
Chevron Wins Ruling Blocking Enforcement of $9.5 Billion Ecuador Judgment
Appeals court affirms 2014 decision finding judgment won by lawyer Steven Donziger was obtained through fraud and corruption
WSJ
A federal appeals court in Manhattan upheld a decision preventing Ecuadorean plaintiffs from enforcing a multibillion-dollar award against Chevron Corp., a significant win for the oil giant in a legal dispute that has lasted decades.
Researchers ask public for old photos of Lake Tahoe algae
AP
INCLINE VILLAGE, NEV.
With all their modern scientific equipment and state-of-the-art computer models, researchers trying to better understand the effect of algae growth in Lake Tahoe are searching for new tools to aid in their mission – old photo albums.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article94504242.html
More feds are working from home. But no one has figured out whether that’s really a good thing.
Washington Post
About half of federal employees — 1 million people — are now eligible to work from home, either full time or a few days a week. A little more than a quarter of them actually do.
Press Releases
New Waste Tracking Feature Helps Building Managers Save Money and Support a Healthy Environment
Building managers can now track energy, water, greenhouse gas emissions and waste together in Energy Star’s Portfolio Manager
CONTACT: Enesta Jones, 202-564-7873, 202-564-4355, jones.enesta@epa.gov
ATLANTA – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled today a waste and materials tracking feature in its Energy Star Portfolio Manager, which is a free benchmarking and tracking tool for commercial building owners and managers. Reducing waste and reusing materials more productively through sustainable materials management over their entire lifecycles conserves resources, helps communities remain economically competitive and supports a healthy environment.
EPA’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager is already used to measure energy, water and greenhouse gas metrics in more than 450,000 U.S. buildings, representing over 40 percent of U.S. commercial space, as well as in more than 10,000 buildings in Canada. Now owners and managers using Portfolio Manager will be able to benchmark 29 types of waste across four different management metrics alongside their existing sustainability management indicators. Types of waste include building materials, glass, paper, plastics, and trash.
Currently, U.S. commercial buildings and manufacturing activities are responsible for as much as 45 percent of the 150 million tons of waste in the United States that ends up in incinerators or landfills each year. The transportation, decomposition, and burning of this waste generates greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants.
The addition of waste tracking is the culmination of a year-long collaboration between EPA’s Energy Star and Sustainable Materials Management programs and members of the industry to identify key performance metrics for waste and materials management.
To learn more or register for a free webinar on the new waste tracking feature: www.energystar.gov/trackwaste
To learn more about sustainable materials management: www.epa.gov/smm
