State
Estimate reduced for sewage leak
Daily Leader
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality says more than twothirds of the estimated 6 million gallons of stormwaterdiluted sewage that they believed leaked into the Bogue Chitto River from a breach in the levee at the Brookhaven Wastewater Treatment Plant’s storage lagoon Friday was actually contained on site.
http://www.dailyleader.com/2016/09/20/estimate-reduced-for-sewage-leak/
River sewage spill revised downward
Enterprise-Journal
Posted: Tuesday, September 20, 2016 2:00 pm
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality said Monday that less sewage than originally thought had spilled into the Bogue Chitto River following a levee breach at Brookhaven’s wastewater treatment plant on Friday.
http://www.enterprise-journal.com/news/article_af2c7c6c-7f51-11e6-b101-f361bed04ae2.html
Mississippi agency: Bogue Chitto sewage spill smaller than 1st announced
AP
A Mississippi agency says a sewage spill in the southern part of the state was significantly smaller than officials originally announced.
Bogue Chitto sewage spill hurting local businesses
WLBT
MCCOMB, MS (Mississippi News Now) -The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality began testing the Bogue Chitto River Tuesday after a 1.3 million gallon sewage spill. People whose livelihoods depend on the river say the all-clear can't come fast enough.
http://www.msnewsnow.com/story/33142644/bogue-chitto-sewage-spill-hurting-local-businesses
Tiny fish, big protection: Pearl darter could be 'threatened' species
AP
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing "threatened" status for the Pearl darter, a 2½-inch-long fish once found in 16 Louisiana parishes and Mississippi counties but now found in less than half of its historic range. The fish is named for the Pearl River, the border between St. Tammany and Washington parishes on one side and Pearl River and Hancock counties on the other, but hasn't been found in that watershed for more than 40 years.
http://www.nola.com/pets/index.ssf/2016/09/little_fish_big_protection_pea.html#incart_river_index
DMR: August rain killed up to half of Mississippi's oyster crop
WLOX
BILOXI, MS (WLOX) -Oyster fishermen in Mississippi, can't catch a break. Following a year plagued by red tide and river flooding, the early sampling this summer looked promising. But a mid-August "mortality event" on the reefs, changed that optimistic forecast.
http://www.wlox.com/story/33139398/dmr-august-rain-killed-up-to-half-of-mississippis-oyster-crop
GRANT TO COMBAT EROSION AND DRAINAGE IN OCEAN SPRINGS
WXXV
The City of Ocean Springs has been battling erosion and drainage issues on Simon Boulevard.
http://www.wxxv25.com/2016/09/20/grant-combat-erosion-drainage-ocean-springs/
Oil Spill
| MDEQ and DMR advise fisherman, residents to avoid construction area |
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MDMR) are advising fishermen and local residents to avoid fishing, crabbing, and shrimping activities in and around the construction area of the Hancock County Marsh Living Shoreline project from now until the end of 2016.
http://www.seacoastecho.com/article_10184.shtml#.V-J_z_nx6Uk
MISSISSIPPI EDITION: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19TH
MPB
USDA COMMITS MONEY TO HELP GULF STATES RECOVERY FROM OIL SPILL
A $328 million plan is in place to help landowners recover from the effects of the 2010 BP Oil Spill. The plan was announced yesterday by USDA Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Robert Bonnie in Mississippi. http://www.mpbonline.org/blogs/mississippiedition/mississippi-edition-tuesday-september-20th/
"Deepwater Horizon" movie: separating fact from fiction
WWL
NEW ORLEANS -- Like most big-budget docudramas, the newly released film “Deepwater Horizon” takes some liberties with the facts in the name of big-budget thrills.
http://www.wwltv.com/entertainment/deepwater-horizon-movie-separating-fact-from-fiction/322172349
Regional
Pipeline Will Soon Reopen, Carrying Gasoline to 5 States
AP
Gasoline should begin flowing again Wednesday — through a temporary bypass on a critical pipeline — after a major leak in Alabama forced a shutdown that led to surging fuel prices and scattered gas shortages across the South, a company official said Tuesday.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/alabama-governor-praises-pipeline-companys-response-leak-42213788
EPA waives clean gasoline rules after Alabama pipeline spill
Charlotte Observer
WASHINGTON
The Environmental Protection Agency has lifted the federal requirement for cleaner-burning gasoline in 11 states and the District of Columbia in response to a pipeline rupture in Alabama last week that’s caused fuel shortages in much of the Southeastern U.S.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/nation-world/national/article102984612.html
Fla. Working To Reduce Pollution In Natural Areas
WUFT
Florida officials are working toward improving the air quality in some of Florida’s wilderness areas.
http://www.wuft.org/news/2016/09/21/fla-working-to-reduce-pollution-in-natural-areas/
After 2 1/2 years, St. Tammany Parish fracking saga abruptly ends
Times-Picayune
In April 2014, when word got out that a company wanted to drill an oil well in St. Tammany and employ the controversial hydraulic fracturing process, the term"fracking" was foreign to many in the parish. But it quickly became a household word.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2016/09/st_tammany_fracking_saga_comes.html
National
GOP chairman: White House ‘running rogue’ on water rule
The Hill
A Senate chairman is accusing the Obama administration of “going rogue” and enforcing major pieces of a water pollution regulation despite a court hold.
Emails reveal collusion between EPA and green groups on crafting climate change rules
Washington Times
A newly released cache of government emails offers more evidence of behind-the-scenes collusion between the Environmental Protection Agency and environmental groups in crafting greenhouse gas regulations, including an effort by one lobbyist to enlist the EPA in fundraising.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/sep/20/emails-reveal-collusion-between-epa-and-green-grou/
SEC Probes Exxon Over Accounting for Climate Change
Probe also examines company’s practice of not writing down the value of oil and gas reserves
WSJ
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating how Exxon Mobil Corp.values its assets in a world of increasing climate-change regulations, a probe that could have far-reaching consequences for the oil and gas industry.
New report finds 'Erin Brockovich' chemical in US drinking water
CNN
Dangerous levels of chromium-6 are contaminating tap water consumed by hundreds of millions of Americans, according to a national report released Tuesday.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/20/health/chromium-6-in-drinking-water/index.html
Whole Foods to pay EPA $3.5M over hazardous waste
The Hill
Grocery giant Whole Foods will pay $3.5 million to settle a federal complaint over the company’s hazardous waste handling policies.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/296901-whole-foods-to-pay-35m-to-settle-epa-complaint
Can killer robots save ocean ecosystems?
CNN
Few predators can match the devastating impact of the lionfish.
Since arriving in US waters in the 1980s, these fearsome creatures have left a trail of destruction along the Atlantic Coast, from Rhode Island to Venezuela.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/18/world/lionfish-robot-killer/?iid=ob_homepage_deskrecommended_pool
Opinion
Why you should have your voice heard on BP, Kemper
Sun Herald
Now is the time for the people of South Mississippi to get involved.
At 6 p.m. Thursday at the Lyman Community Center, 13742 U.S. 49 in Gulfport, the people of South Mississippi will get the first of three chances to weigh in again on how the BP settlement for economic damages should be spent.
http://www.sunherald.com/opinion/editorials/article103014842.html
Press Releases
Southern Miss to Host Climate Change Panel Discussion
HATTIESBURG, MS (WDAM) -
The following is a news release from The University of Southern Mississippi
The Office of Sustainability at The University of Southern Mississippi is sponsoring a panel discussion regarding climate change on Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 6:30 p.m. in the Thad Cochran Center on the Hattiesburg campus. The event is free and open to the public.
Panelists will include Dr. Mark Puckett, Chair of the Department of Geography and Geology; Mark Klinedinst, Professor Emeritus of Economics; and Will Watson and Bill Curtis of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby. The discussion will focus on climate change from scientific, economic, political, and social perspectives.
“This event is an important opportunity for members of our community to come together and discuss not only our changing climate, but how it will affect us physically, socially and economically,” said Christina Foreman, Sustainability Coordinator at Southern Miss.
http://www.wdam.com/story/33135237/southern-miss-to-host-climate-change-panel-discussion
Oyster season to open Oct. 3
BILOXI, Miss. – The state Commission on Marine Resources voted unanimously Tuesday to open oyster season beginning at legal sunrise Monday, Oct. 3.
The reefs in the western portion of the Mississippi Sound will be open to tonging and dredging. The daily sack limit is 25 for dredgers and 15 for tongers.
MDMR scientists estimate nearly 80,000 sacks of oysters survived a series of mortality events in August in the western Sound. Commissioners voted to establish a harvest quota not to exceed 35 percent, nearly 28,000, for this year’s oyster season.
Commissioners also voted unanimously to place a moratorium on license sales for oyster harvesting, which became effective with the vote. The moratorium applies to recreational and commercial licenses.
License sales are limited to those fishermen who purchased a commercial or recreational oyster license from March of 2015 through April of 2016. Also, if the commercial vessel were damaged or lost, the license can be transferred to the new vessel.
The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources is dedicated to enhancing, protecting and conserving marine interests of the state by managing all marine life, public trust wetlands, adjacent uplands and waterfront areas to provide for the optimal commercial, recreational, educational and economic uses of these resources consistent with environmental concerns and social changes. Visit the DMR online at dmr.ms.gov.
EPA Awards $4.8 million to Six Universities to Research Water Quality Benefits
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced funding to six universities to work with local communities to better understand the economic value of water quality.
“Clean water is a cornerstone of a healthy community. Many communities face challenging decisions about investing in the protection of water resources,” said Thomas Burke, EPA science advisory and deputy assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “These grants will help measure the costs and benefits of improving water quality, an important step toward protecting the environment and human health.”
Chemical and microbial contaminants continue to reduce the quality of our water – and often at a rate that outpaces water quality improvements from regulatory actions. The research grants announced today will help communities and experts conduct benefit-cost analyses for actions that protect our waterways.
This research will also provide a critical link between water quality science and the monetary value of the services that healthy waterways provide, including recreational uses.
The grants are being awarded to the following institutions:
- Clark University, Worcester, Mass. will estimate water quality benefits throughout river systems in the Northeast.
- Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H. will create a framework for linking the health of small streams to water quality indicators and ecosystem services that people recognize and fundamentally value.
- University of Connecticut, Storrs, Conn., will quantify the value of changes in water quality, both in terms of the value to the environment and their value to the economy.
- North Carolina State University at Raleigh, Raleigh, N.C., will develop and demonstrate methods for valuing the benefits of water quality in wadeable streams in Southeast watersheds where the surrounding area is undergoing increased urban development.
- Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich. will estimate value caused by changes in nutrients to the freshwater systems in Michigan.
- Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa will quantify the value water quality improvements in Midwestern ecosystems.
More information about the grants announced today: https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipients.display/rfa_id/583/records_per_page/ALL
More information about water research grants: www.epa.gov/research-grants/water-research-grants
