State
Residents won't see refunds for water, sewer bills
Hattiesburg American
Officials from the City of Hattiesburg will not be allowed to issue refunds to citizens who paid higher water and sewer rates in anticipation of a new wastewater treatment system for the city.
CITY GETS STATE LOAN FOR CONSENT WORK
Northside Sun
THU, 10/27/2016 - 11:17AM BY ANTHONY WARREN
The city of Jackson is taking on $3 million more in debt to cover another round of consent decree work.
http://northsidesun.com/news/city-gets-state-loan-consent-work
A second swimming warning issued for the Mississippi Sound
WLOX
SOUTH MISSISSIPPI (WLOX) -The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality issued another water contact advisory Thursday afternoon for Gulfport Central Beach from Alfonso Drive east to Arkansas Avenue.
http://www.wlox.com/story/33499981/a-second-swimming-warning-issued-for-the-mississippi-sound
Hundreds of students encounter wildlife during walk in wetlands
WLOX
JACKSON COUNTY, MS (WLOX) -Hundreds of students from Pascagoula and Gautier enjoyed their first close encounter with wildlife Friday. They came face to face with live snakes. Many bravely allowed the reptiles to slither up their arms.
http://www.wlox.com/story/33501674/hundreds-of-students-encounter-wildlife-during-walk-in-wetlands
Ewwww! Why is my water brown?
Sun Herald
KILN
Some folks were none too happy when they turned on their taps and brown water poured out.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/counties/hancock-county/article110791312.html
Got a question about the Kemper plant? Here’s how to ask
Sun Herald
Mississippi Power customers who want to get on the website to ask questions about the costs and prudency of the Kemper energy plant should be ready to be overwhelmed.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/business/article110893072.html
Oil Spill
Three turtles released into wild, rescued after BP oil spill
WWL
GULFPORT, Miss. -- A boat ride a few miles out into the Mississippi Sound Thursday morning was a return home for three juvenile Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.
BP fine-funded science center seeks comments on research plan
Times-Picayune
A new science center funded with BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill fine money announced Thursday that it is looking for public feedback on its draft plan for research that will support Louisiana's coastal master plan.
Regional
First burn of Clean Burning Igniter scheduled Friday
KTBS
CAMP MINDEN, La. -A team of seven personnel from the Army’s 797th Ordnance Company and 79th Ordnance Battalion from Fort Hood, Texas, will conduct the first of three burns to destroy the Clean Burning Ignitor (CBI) Friday between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the Louisiana National Guard’s Camp Minden in Minden, military officials announced today in a news release.
http://www.ktbs.com/story/33497676/first-burn-of-clean-burning-igniter-scheduled-friday
Deep South drought kills crops, threatens herds, dries lakes
AP
ATLANTA
Six months into a deepening drought, the weather is killing crops, threatening cattle and sinking lakes to their lowest levels in years across much of the South.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/nation-world/article111011097.html
National
Proposal Could Complicate Air Permitting Process, States Say
Bloomberg
An Environmental Protection Agency proposal intended to allow for the more efficient processing of Clean Air Act permit review requests could actually lengthen the process and make it more resource-intensive, according to several state environmental agencies.
http://www.bna.com/proposal-complicate-air-n57982079264/
Oil lobby: Use natural gas to comply with climate rule
The Hill
The oil lobby is pushing states to comply with the Obama administration’s climate change rule using policies friendly to natural gas consumption.
Replacing All Lead Water Pipes Under EPA Consideration
Bloomberg
EPA wants to get the lead out. All of it.Replacing lead service lines in their entirety is among the regulatory options the Environmental Protection Agency is mulling as part of its upcoming revisions to the lead and copper rule.
http://www.bna.com/replacing-lead-water-n57982079210/
Anadarko Forges Deal on Use of City Wastewater in Fracking
Bloomberg
Anadarko Petroleum Corp., has renegotiated the final annual payment it owes the city of Aurora, Colo., as part of a five-year, $9.5 million contract allowing it to use the city’s “used” water to frack oil and natural gas wells.
http://www.bna.com/anadarko-forges-deal-n57982079211/
After Harsh Environmental Justice Reviews, EPA Gets Some Praise
Bloomberg
The Environmental Protection Agency’s environmental justicestrategy, released Oct. 27, showed the agency could be ready to take aggressive steps to help communities overburdened with environmental pollution, some advocates said.
http://www.bna.com/harsh-environmental-justice-n57982079263/
EPA aims to improve environmental protections for minorities
The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set out a five-year plan Thursday to guide how it will ensure that its programs properly protect the health and environment of minority communities.
Regulators raise allowable catch of menhaden
AP
BAR HARBOR, MAINE
Interstate fishing regulators have decided to raise the amount of menhaden that fishermen can catch along the coast by to use as bait more than 6 percent.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/state/mississippi/article110789807.html
Opinion
KEMPER OPERATING COSTS ARE THE FINAL BLOW
Northside Sun
THU, 10/27/2016 - 10:44AM BY
In a state like Mississippi, which limits and regulates power companies, your electric bill is effectively a tax over which you have little control. As a result, it is incumbent upon the Mississippi Public Service Commission (PSC) to act responsibly to protect consumers. We call on the PSC commissioners to do their jobs and shoot down any more rate increases relating to the ill-fated Kemper power plant.
http://northsidesun.com/opinion-editorials/kemper-operating-costs-are-final-blow
Press releases
EPA Awards $150,000 to Hattiesburg, Miss., for Long-Term Stormwater Planning Pilot
Contact Information: Davina Marraccini, 404-562-8293 (direct), 404-562-8400 (main), marraccini.davina@epa.gov
ATLANTA – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced Hattiesburg, Miss., is among five communities selected nationally to receive $150,000 each in technical assistance to develop long-term stormwater management plans. The pilot communities will use a new package of tools EPA developed to help communities plan long-term strategies for managing stormwater pollution. EPA’s tools promote the use of flexible solutions that spur economic growth, stimulate infrastructure investments, and help compliance with environmental requirements.
EPA has released a step-by-step guide to help communities develop long-term stormwater plans, a web-based toolkit for the planning process, and technical assistance for five communities to develop plans as national models. This approach was built on input from states, communities, industry, academia, and nonprofits.
"When communities link the timing and implementation of stormwater projects with broader planning activities, they can reduce costs and support more sustainable local development," says Joel Beauvais, deputy assistant administrator for the Office of Water. “As stormwater increasingly threatens public health and the environment, EPA can help communities integrate stormwater management with broader plans for growing their economies, investing in critical infrastructure and meeting their water quality objectives.”
One of the key priorities for the City of Hattiesburg is the revitalization of Midtown, located just south of the University of Southern Mississippi campus and west of US 49. Little Gordon’s Creek cuts through the center of Midtown and is a tributary to Gordon Creek, which discharges to the Leaf River that is impaired due to fecal coliform and nutrient pollution. The pilot project will help the City improve water quality in the area as Midtown is revitalized.
The other communities selected to initially use the draft guide and receive technical assistance include:
• Burlington, Iowa
• Chester, Pennsylvania
• Rochester, New Hampshire
• Santa Fe, New Mexico
These communities will also be the beta testers for EPA’s web-based toolkit, which will be refined and released more broadly next year.
Each year billions of gallons of runoff laden with trash, nutrients, metals, and other pollutants flow into waterways.
Stormwater runoff is one of the fastest growing sources of pollution across the country and it can overwhelm wastewater systems and overflow sewers. Many cities have utilized green infrastructure as part of a comprehensive, long-term approach to managing stormwater. Communities are finding the benefits from such approaches go well beyond helping to meet regulatory requirements and actually turn hazards into opportunities. Comprehensive, long-term plans can guide smart investments by tying together multiple community objectives like street improvements, outdoor open spaces, greenways or recreation areas, as well as community revitalization.
For more information: https://www.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater-planning
EPA Releases the EJ 2020 Action Agenda, the Agency’s Environmental Justice Strategic Plan for 2016-2020
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today released the Environmental Justice 2020 Action Agenda (EJ 2020), the Agency’s environmental justice strategic plan for 2016 to 2020. EJ 2020 will further integrate environmental justice considerations in all of the Agency’s programs, strengthen EPA’s collaboration with partners, and demonstrate progress on significant national challenges facing minority and low-income communities.
EJ 2020 builds on the foundation established by EPA’s previous strategic plan, Plan EJ 2014, as well as decades of significant environmental justice practice by the Agency, communities, and other environmental justice stakeholders.
“EPA is committed to ensuring every community in the United States has access to clean air, water and land,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “EJ 2020 is a product of listening to people in communities to better understand the challenges they face, and working closely with local leaders to identify solutions together.”
The EJ 2020 Action Agenda has three overarching goals:
- Deepen environmental justice practice within EPA programs to improve the health and environment of overburdened communities.
- Work with partners to expand our positive impact within overburdened communities.
- Demonstrate progress on critical national environmental justice challenges.
Earlier this year, EPA released both the draft framework and final draft of the plan for public comment, and received thousands of comments from stakeholders and communities working on environmental justice. Additionally, Agency staff conducted over one hundred meetings across the country and held four national webinars to discuss the plan and answer stakeholder questions. EPA plans to continue its unprecedented level of dialogue with environmental justice stakeholders and governmental partners as it moves forward to implement the plan in the coming years.
Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. EPA's goal is to provide an environment where all people enjoy the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to the decision-making process to maintain a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work. EPA works with all stakeholders to collaboratively address environmental and public health issues and concerns.
EPA's environmental justice mandate extends to all of the Agency's work, including setting standards, permitting facilities, awarding grants, issuing licenses, regulations and reviewing proposed actions by the federal agencies.
To read EJ 2020, visit https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/ej-2020-action-agenda
https://blog.epa.gov/blog/2016/10/ej-2020-the-next-generation-of-environmental-justice-at-epa/
