State
Seventh Avenue ditch project awaits environmental clearance
Commercial Dispatch
September 19, 2016 11:25:38 AM
Alex Holloway
A major ditch project related to the former Kerr-McGee plant should be underway by the end of the month.
http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=52950
Sewage leak will have no long term effect on Bogue Chitto River
WLBT
BROOKHAVEN, MS (Mississippi News Now) -A levee breach at the City of Brookhaven's waste water treatment plant on Friday spilled six million gallons of sewage.
http://www.msnewsnow.com/story/33132290/update-sewage-leak-in-bogue-chitto-river
DEQ lets nature take course with Bogue Chitto spill
Enterprise-Journal
Posted: Monday, September 19, 2016 2:00 pm
Officials are depending on the flow of the Bogue Chitto River and its tributaries to dilute a 6 million gallon sewage spill that took place Friday in Brookhaven.
http://www.enterprise-journal.com/news/article_b8d67214-7e88-11e6-87db-ab2f7b20ea0f.html
LDH issues water advisory for Bogue Chitto River
WWL
The Louisiana Department of Health issues a recreational water advisory for the Bogue Chitto River in St. Tammany Parish after a levee breach at the Brookhaven, Mississippi sewage plant released six million gallons of storm water diluted sewage.
http://www.wwl.com/LDH-issues-water-advisory-for-Bogue-Chitto-River/22881274
REGULATORS TO CONSIDER EXPANDED TURTLE DEVICE REQUIREMENTS
MPB
A third of Mississippi shrimp boats may need to install additional devices to protect turtles. As MPB's Evelina Burnett reports, federal regulators are looking at whether the devices are necessary.
Supervisors reject gravel pit proposal
DeSoto Times-Tribune
Bolstered by a pile of facts and stats from Lewisburg area residents opposed to a gravel pit, the DeSoto Board of Supervisors in a 4-0 vote buried the proposal of Standard Construction for a mining operation on a 192-acre tract at 9641 Woolsey Road, near the Evening Shade and Lewisburg Farms subdivisions.
Don't want your power bill to go up? Here's how to comment
Sun Herald
Customers of Mississippi Power typically have 60 days to ask questions before a rate hike, but when it comes to the Kemper County energy facility, the Mississippi Public Service Commissioners decided that's not long enough.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/business/article102816377.html
Rural water systems take on PSC
WLBT
Rural water systems say the Mississippi Public Service Commission overstepped its authority when it required a 60-day delay in utility deposits for domestic violence victims.
http://www.msnewsnow.com/story/33133896/rural-water-systems-take-on-psc
Oil Spill
You can tell lawmakers how to spend BP money
Sun Herald
Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves on Monday revealed the locations of town hall meetings to talk about how to spend $750 million in Deepwater Horizon oil disaster money.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/article102719107.html
USDA Gulf restoration strategy starts inland with wooded areas
WLOX
HANCOCK COUNTY, MS (WLOX) -Restoring the Gulf by helping inland property owners improve the conditions of wooded areas was the focus of an announcement in Hancock County on Monday. The announcement was held on Jim Currie's property.
http://www.wlox.com/story/33133648/usda-gulf-restoration-strategy-starts-inland-with-wooded-areas
USDA announced $328 million for Gulf coastal conservation work
The Advocate
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a three-year, $328 million restoration strategy for Gulf of Mexico coastal parishes and counties Monday in response to damage from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.
Gulf Coast farm, forest conservation to receive $328 million
Times-Picayune
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday (Sept. 19) it will make $328 million available through 2018 to help agricultural producers with conservation improvements on 3.2 million acres of agricultural and forestry land in Louisiana and other Gulf Coast states. The program is an expansion of USDA efforts that began in 2010 to address environmental effects of the BP oil disaster.
Alabama Selling Bonds Backed by Deepwater Horizon Settlement
Bloomberg
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil-rig disaster, featured in a major-motion picture opening next week, may soon help Alabama rebuild its reserves, pay Medicaid expenses and fund road projects.
Regional
With some gas stations dry across the South, pipeline works to send more fuel
AP
ATLANTA – Gas prices spiked and drivers found "out of service" bags covering pumps as the gas shortage in the South rolled into the work week, raising fears that the scattered disruptions could become more widespread.
Tennessee environmental chief draws praise, criticism
The Tennessean
When Bill Haslam picked a Nashville attorney for the top job of stewarding Tennessee's environment, the governor said he wanted someone who could strike a balance between industry interests and environmental protection.
National
EPA updates rule on 'exceptional' ozone pollution
The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is updating its regulation for accounting for "exceptional" events that increase ozone pollution.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/296660-epa-updates-rule-on-exceptional-ozone-pollution
California governor signs new 'super pollutant' bill into law
The Hill
California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) has signed into law new standards for "super pollutants" like black carbon and methane.
Scientists published climate research under fake names; then they were caught
Washington Post
The scientists briefly known as Den Volokin and Lark ReLlez believed they had found something big. It was not data wrung from a clever experiment or a lucky field observation. Instead, the pair had constructed a model, a mathematical argument, for calculating the average surface temperature of a rocky planet.
http://www.nola.com/science/index.ssf/2016/09/scientists_published_climate_r.html#incart_river_index
Mining town emerging from Superfund cleanup with optimism
AP
IDAHO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — For decades, a creek in the mountains west of Denver sometimes ran yellow from toxic waste gurgling out of abandoned mines — a painfully familiar story in the picturesque wreckage of Colorado's 1859 gold rush.
Press Releases
| USDA Unveils New $328 Million Restoration Strategy for Gulf-area Agricultural Lands |
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| Three-Year Plan Guides Investments on Working Lands, Complements work by RESTORE Council and other Partners |
| CARRIERE, Miss., Sept. 19, 2016 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Robert Bonnie today announced a new three-year, $328 million restoration strategy to improve water quality and help coastal ecosystems heal following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The strategy will guide how USDA will steer conservation efforts on private lands in priority areas of the Gulf of Mexico region. As Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, or RESTORE Council, USDA will work in partnership with the five Gulf States, other federal agencies, and landowners to explore opportunities for how the funding announced today can complement RESTORE Council and other funding from the settlement of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Bonnie announced the strategy today from a working forest near Carriere, Mississippi where the landowner has worked with USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to adopt a variety of conservation practices to improve water quality downstream. "We're working side-by-side with farmers, ranchers and forest landowners to improve their operations while taking care of natural resources in the region," Bonnie said. "With most of the land in the region privately owned, working lands on the Gulf Coast are pivotal to the region's recovery." As part of NRCS' Gulf of Mexico Initiative (GoMI), this three-year plan strategically directs existing and anticipated Farm Bill funds for technical and financial assistance through a variety of Farm Bill conservation programs to key coastal counties where they can have the best returns. From now through 2018, NRCS will help agricultural producers plan and implement conservation improvements to 3.2 million acres in priority areas, which ultimately result in cleaner water and healthier ecosystems. Assistance is provided through a number of Farm Bill programs, including the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP). This targeted strategy focuses on improving and increasing water, restoring coastal ecosystems and leveraging local, state and federal partnerships in more than 200 Gulf-area counties and parishes. Improving Water Quality and Conserving Water Through an array of voluntary conservation programs, this Gulf of Mexico strategy will provide financial and technical assistance to producers, helping them adopt a number of conservation practices to clean and conserve water, such as managing for nutrients, using no-till, planting cover crops, installing grade stabilization structures and water control structures. These practices trap and control pollutants like sediment and nutrients, reduce erosion and improve use of water. NRCS plans to continue these efforts, especially in priority watersheds, such as the Fish River in Alabama and Indian Bayou in Louisiana. Through implementing this strategy, modeling from USDA's Conservation Effects Assessment Project shows voluntary conservation efforts will reduce runoff of 11 tons of sediment and 2.65 million pounds of nutrients. In coastal Mississippi, targeted efforts led to Orphan Creek's removal from the list of impaired streams, and in Louisiana, two watersheds, Big Creek and East Fork Big Creek, are on track for delisting. Restoring Coastal Ecosystems Through a variety programs integral to this Gulf of Mexico Initiative, NRCS works with Gulf producers to restore and enhance ecosystems, such as using prescribed burning, establishing trees and shrubs, managing wetland and upland habitats for wildlife. The Gulf region is home to longleaf pine forests and other unique ecosystems, and producers using these practices are restoring and enhancing them. Nearly 70 percent of continental United States is privately owned, making conservation efforts on farms, ranches and forests crucial to many species. The strategy builds on the agency's successful Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative (MBHI), which was launched just after the oil spill and helped producers create 470,000 acres of alternative habitat for birds migrating south. This effort tremendously benefited birds, demonstrated by research by Mississippi State University that found lands with conservation practices had more birds and biodiversity. Partnerships The strategy accounts for USDA's leadership role as Chair of the RESTORE Council and Trustee of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment, and the USDA commitment to supporting their comprehensive Gulf restoration strategies by leveraging investments through GoMI and other Farm Bill programs. It also builds on USDA's existing $100M partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) announced in 2014. In addition, NRCS and NFWF each plan to invest an additional $5 million in the five Gulf States over the next five years as part of an ongoing agreement between the two groups. Coordinating the investments of these multiple funding streams in support of existing watershed scale strategies will yield measurable outcomes for improving the health of Gulf Coast ecosystems and the communities that depend on them, and support a more vibrant agricultural sector. More Information In total, NRCS has worked side-by-side with producers in the five Gulf States to put conservation practices on more than 84 million acres from 2010, the year of the spill, to 2015. Much of this work occurred in the priority areas targeted by this strategy. Download the GoMI restoration strategy. For more information, contact your local USDA service center or visit nrcs.usda.gov/gulf. # EPA Encourages Homeowners and Communities to Maintain Septic Systems during SepticSmart Week WASHINGTON —Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency -- in conjunction with federal, state and local government and private sector partners -- is kicking off its fourth annual SepticSmart Week to encourage American homeowners and communities to properly maintain their septic systems. More than 26 million homes in the United States -- one in five households -- depend on septic systems to treat wastewater. If not maintained, failing septic systems can contaminate groundwater and harm the environment by releasing bacteria, viruses and household hazardous waste to local waterways. Proper septic system maintenance protects public health and the environment and saves the homeowner money through avoided costly repairs. "By taking small steps to maintain septic systems, homeowners not only protect our nation's public health and keep our water clean, but also save money and protect their property values," said Joel Beauvais, Deputy Assistant Administrator for EPA's Office of Water. Simple tips for homeowners:
EPA's SepticSmart program educates homeowners about proper septic system care and maintenance all year long. In addition, it serves as an online resource for industry practitioners, local governments and community organizations, providing access to tools to educate clients and residents. For information on SepticSmart Week or tips on how to properly maintain your septic system, visit www.epa.gov/septicsmart. |
