State
MDEQ issues fourth water-contact advisory
Sun Herald
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality issued a water-contact advisory Saturday for Gulfport Central Beach, also known as Station 10.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/article101149997.html
KEESLER CLEANS THE BEACH
WXXV
Biloxi and Keesler Air Force Base have teamed up to beautify the city.
Today, two groups of airmen from the 81st Training Wing volunteered to help Biloxi's Public Works Office clean up the medians in areas on Highway 90.
http://www.wxxv25.com/2016/09/09/keesler-cleans-beach/
Utility district to oppose annexation in Rawls Springs
Hattiesburg American
Plans for Hattiesburg's proposed annexation are about to face more opposition, as a Hattiesburg attorney plans to file a motion to oppose the city's expansion into parts of the Rawls Springs community.
Fishing reopens Sat. at Percy Quin
Ernest Herndon | Enterprise-Journal | Posted: Saturday, September 10, 2016 8:00 am
Four years after Hurricane Isaac forced the closing and draining of Lake Tangipahoa at Percy Quin State Park, the lake will reopen to fishing — first to children on Saturday, then to the general public on Wednesday, Sept. 21.
http://www.enterprise-journal.com/news/article_3af7c706-77dc-11e6-b871-579919c7995f.html
Kemper County Energy Facility
MPB
Video
http://www.mpbonline.org/issue/
Breeding duck population remains high in Mississippi
Sun Herald
Mississippi waterfowl hunters should see a solid number of ducks this season.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Canadian Wildlife Service recently released results of waterfowl breeding population and habitat surveys conducted on the duck breeding grounds in the northern United States and Canadian provinces. They discovered a 2 percent decrease from their previous survey.
http://www.sunherald.com/sports/outdoors/article101130332.html
MSU Deer Lab: Don't shoot this buck
Clarion Ledger
If you hunt near the Big Black River in Madison or Yazoo counties, the Mississippi State University Deer Lab is asking you to look closely before you shoot a buck.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/2016/09/09/msu-deer-lab-dont-shoot-buck/90011452/
Rare dinosaur fossil found in New Albany
WTVA
NEW ALBANY, Miss. (WTVA) -- What began as a dig for prehistoric marine fossils ended with an unexpected discovery.
http://www.wtva.com/news/local/392804491.html
Former MEMA head's claim he was unaware questioned
Clarion Ledger
Questions surround Robert Latham's claims he knew little as state emergency management director about problems with a program to fortify Coast homes that could leave taxpayers on the hook for $30 million.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2016/09/11/latham-mema-retrofit/90001992/
Oil Spill
Gilich seeing his dream of super high-speed internet realized
Sun Herald
Biloxi Mayor Andrew "FoFo" Gilich made ultra-fast internet one of his campaign pledges last year and on Friday he was joined by other Coast mayors to say the idea is starting to move from dream to reality.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/article100846232.html
Political wounds from Alabama's BP battle could re-emerge in future disasters
Al.com
A month after an EF-4 twister struck Enterprise High School on March 1, 2006, killing nine, the Legislature went to work quickly.
http://www.al.com/news/mobile/index.ssf/2016/09/political_wounds_from_alabamas.html
Regional
Oil leak from broken pipeline disrupts $36 million BP spill restoration project
Times-Picayune
Much of 5,300 gallons of oil spilled Monday (Sept. 5) when an excavating marsh buggy cut through a pipeline in southern Barataria Bay has apparently ended up on Chenier Ronquille, a barrier island that is being restored with $36 million paid by BP to restore natural resources damaged by the company's 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, according to photos released by an environmental group on Friday.
200 oiled birds spotted after Bay Long crude spill, Coast Guard reports
Times-Picayune
The U.S. Coast Guard issued an update on Sunday (Sept. 11) on the 5,250-gallon spill of crude oil discovered Monday (Sept. 5) in Bay Long, part of Barataria Bay. The Coast Guard reported that "approximately 200 birds have been observed as oiled to varying degrees in the Cheniere Ronquille Barrier Island and East Grand Terre Island areas."
Atlanta to pay $76K for water quality violations
AJC
The Atlanta City Council has approved paying $76,000 in stipulated penalties arising from alleged environmental violations at five Department of Watershed Management sites in November and December 2015.
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/atlanta-to-pay-76k-for-water-quality-violations/nsTwW/
National
EPA Ozone Standards Could Be Issue in Funding Negotiations
Bloomberg
The Environmental Protection Agency's revised ozone air quality standards could be the target of a rider on whatever spending package Congress will attempt to move later this year, advocates on both sides predicted.
http://www.bna.com/epa-ozone-standards-n73014447406/
VW Engineer Pleads Guilty in Emissions-Cheating Scandal
James Liang enters plea in Detroit federal court to conspiracy, agrees to cooperate in further investigations
WSJ
A Volkswagen engineer pleaded guilty to helping the auto maker's admitted efforts to cheat on emissions tests, becoming the first person criminally convicted in the U.S. in a wide-ranging scandal that has cost the German giant billions of dollars.
Press releases
EPA Inducts Second Class of the Environmental Justice Academy
Participants hail from Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee
Contact Information: Davina Marraccini, 404-562-8293 (direct), 404-562-8400 (main), marraccini.davina@epa.gov
ATLANTA – Today, representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) inducted 17 participants to the second class of the Environmental Justice (EJ) Academy. The EJ Academy is a rigorous, in-depth leadership development program where participants meet monthly for nine months. This year's class includes Fellows from seven Southeastern states, including Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, and one from Maryland.
"Participants should feel honored to have been selected through a highly competitive process," said Anne Heard, EPA's Acting Regional Administrator for the Southeast during a special program at Atlanta Metropolitan College in Atlanta, Ga. to kick-off the 2016/17 program. "The EJ Academy will equip Fellows with skills to take back and become champions for environmental justice. There are high expectations for all participants to make a visible difference in their communities upon completion of the program."
The following individuals were selected for this year's class, by state:
Alabama
- Tina Bennett, Oliver Robinson Foundation, Birmingham, Ala.
- Karen Jones, Jacob's Ladder, Triana, Ala.
Georgia
- Michael Black, Georgia EJ Alliance and Neighborhood Planning Unit (NPU)-M, Decatur, Ga.
- Charlette Clark, Georgia EJ Alliance, Kennesaw, Ga.
- Angelica Cox, Ben Hill community, Atlanta, Ga.
- Chandra Farley, Southface and Open Architecture Collaborative, Atlanta Ga.
- Yeou-Rong Jih, City of Atlanta Mayor's Office of Sustainability, Atlanta, Ga.
- Keena Johnson, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Alpharetta, Ga.
- Deion Love, USDA Forest Service and NAACP Emory University Chapter, Atlanta, Ga.
- Jamel Thompson, Urban Detox Universal, Inc., Jonesboro, Ga.
Kentucky
- David James, Louisville Metro Council, Louisville, Ky.
Maryland
- Jacqueline Norris, Prince George's County, Mount Rainier, Md.
Mississippi
- Marvin Perry, Airport Circle, Grenada, Miss.
North Carolina
- Veronica Bitting, North Carolina Technical Assistance Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project, Raleigh, N.C.
- Ernest Jr. Mooring, Town of Navassa, Navassa, N.C.
South Carolina
- Marvin Smalls, Low Country Alliance for Model Communities, Hanahan, S.C.
Tennessee
- William Hampton, Memphis and Shelby County Lead Safe Collaborative Inform the People, Memphis, Tenn.
EPA launched the EJ Academy in September 2015 to cultivate skills participants can use to identify and address environmental challenges in their communities. This year, Atlanta Metropolitan State College became a co-sponsor of the Academy and will host class sessions on its campus throughout the nine-month program.
The EJ Academy will teach participants:
- How to leverage human, social, intellectual, technical, legal, and financial resources to make long-term progress in a community;
- How to use consensus-building processes and skills to help ensure successful collaboration and negotiations;
- How to increase capacity to address communities' environmental and/or public health issues; and
- A basic understanding of environmental justice and environmental regulations
As a result of participating in the EJ Academy, graduates will receive the following benefits:
- Complete a community portfolio, which may assist in securing funding, describing community resources and challenges and establishing credibility amongst stakeholders;
- Complete an action plan to guide organizational activities;
- Identify and secure potential partners to assist communities with addressing their challenges;
- Interact directly with technical experts from EPA and other organizations;
- Network with regional community leaders to establish mutually beneficial relationships;
- Be matched with nearby academic institutions in EPA's College/Underserved Community Partnership Program (CUPP) to provide ongoing technical assistance; and
- Receive individualized feedback, guidance, and assistance from experts.
The EJ Academy training program is primarily based on EPA's Collaborative Problem-Solving (CPS) Model, a seven-step process for bringing about positive change and community revitalization by having community leaders, community members, and their stakeholders working together. Each module focuses on one element of the CPS Model and includes a combination of lectures by subject-matter experts, in-class exercises, and homework assignments.
