State
Landslide leads to emergency sewer repair
Vicksburg Post
A landslide on the south bank of Hatcher Bayou, near the city’s wastewater treatment plant, has forced the Board of Mayor and Aldermen to declare an emergency and repair a 16-inch sewer line damaged in the slide.
http://www.vicksburgpost.com/2016/10/26/landslide-leads-to-emergency-sewer-repair/
CAO says Gulfport is spending to save money on 20-year-old lawsuit
Sun Herald
GULFPORT
Chief Administrative Officer John Kelly hopes to save taxpayers millions by appealing the latest ruling in a lawsuit the city filed in 1996 to take over Dedeaux Utility Co. after an annexation.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/counties/harrison-county/article110718827.html
Oil Spill
Class-action attorneys awarded $555.2 million for work in BP lawsuits
Times-Picayune
A federal judge has ordered that attorneys representing private individuals and companies who entered into economic and medical claims settlements with BPstemming from the Deepwater Horizon disaster are entitled to be paid $555.2 million to cover their legal fees and remaining court costs.
Regional
Haslam Defends Philosophy Of Working With — Not Punishing — Tennessee's Water Polluters
NPR
Tennessee's waterways are being kept clean — despite recent criticism from the Environmental Protection Agency.
That's Gov. Bill Haslam's claim, anyway.
National
House GOP alleges political interference in EPA water rule
The Hill
The Obama administration’s controversial Clean Water Rule was the result of a politically influenced regulatory process that ignored sound science and public comments, House Republicans charge.
Study: Coal ash not culprit for cancer-causing contaminant
AP
A cancer-causing heavy metal found in water wells near coal ash pits and other industrial sites is much more widespread and naturally occurring than previously thought, university researchers said Wednesday.
EPA eyes changes to lead regulations for drinking water
The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is outlining its plans to overhaul its regulations on lead contamination in drinking water, hoping to avoid another crisis like that in Flint, Mich.
Chicago just shut down hundreds of public drinking fountains because of lead in the water
Washington Post
City officials have shut down hundreds of public drinking fountains in Chicago after tests detected excessive levels of lead in the water — another example of how the potentially harmful metal remains a threat in homes, schools and other settings around the country.
NY judge orders Exxon to comply with climate subpoena
The Hill
A state judge in New York on Wednesday ordered ExxonMobil Corp. and an auditing firm to comply with a state investigation into the company’s climate science.
Government’s Push for Solar Power on Federal Lands Stirs Concerns
Environmentalists, renewable-energy firms raise doubts over plan to streamline permitting process
WSJ
SAGUACHE, Colo.—Over Key lime pie at The Oasis, one of this tiny town’s two restaurants, officials from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and local leaders grappled recently with a big problem: the failure to attract solar energy companies to the San Luis Valley, whose elevation of over 7,000 feet should make for prime solar potential.
Big Oil Companies Reap Windfall From Ethanol Rules
Some refiners stand to rake in $1 billion by selling fuel credits, while others must spend millions to comply
WSJ
Environmental regulations designed to boost the amount of ethanol blended into the U.S. gasoline supply have inadvertently become a multibillion-dollar windfall for some of the world’s biggest oil companies.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/big-oil-companies-reap-windfall-from-ethanol-rules-1477564201
EPA Releases $613M Plan for GE to Clean up Housatonic River
AP
The federal Environmental Protection Agency has released its final decision on an estimated $613 million plan for General Electric to remove toxic chemicals from a stretch of the Housatonic River in Massachusetts.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/epa-releases-613m-plan-ge-clean-housatonic-river-43071757
New regs for Thursday: Transgender, whales, oil and gas
The Hill
Oil and gas: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving forward with new guidelines for controlling oil and gas emissions.
http://thehill.com/regulation/302857-new-regs-for-thursday-transgender-whales-oil-and-gas
Opinion
Not Just Another Stinky Fish
By RICHARD SCHIFFMAN
NY Times
Branford, Conn. — In a bay near this coastal town, the sea was boiling with hundreds of herring-size shiners leaping to flee a marauding squad of bluefish. “These waters are coming back,” Bren Smith yelled above the shrieking din, as sea gulls plunged near our boat, scooping up fish. Mr. Smith grows seaweed and shellfish in Long Island Sound, and he says he’s seen a lot more action out here recently.
Press Releases
The Gulf of Mexico Program is soliciting nominations for the biannual Gulf Guardian Awards.
The Gulf Guardian Awards were created in 2000 to recognize environmental excellence towards achieving and preserving healthy and resilient coasts in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. The Gulf Guardian Awards recognize efforts within the 31 States that comprise the Gulf of Mexico watershed. The Awards also include Bi-national efforts and recognize successful cooperative projects between the U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean. The Awards are presented on a Bi-annual basis. The official categories for nomination are: Business/Industry, Environmental Justice/Cultural Diversity, Civic and Nonprofit Organizations, Youth Environmental Education, Individual, Partnerships and Bi-national. First, Second and Third place winners are awarded and presented at a special ceremony.
For background information and to obtain a copy of the Gulf Guardian Awards application, please click on the following link https://www.epa.gov/gulfofmexico/now-accepting-nominations-2017-gulf-guardian-awards.
