State
$2 million grant will aid Gulfport’s water, wastewater improvements
Sun Herald
Gulfport has been awarded a $2 million grant from FEMA for ongoing infrastructure repairs from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/counties/harrison-county/article105152631.html
ENERGY INSTITUTE SAYS COAST COULD ATTRACT OFFSHORE SERVICES JOBS
MPB
The Mississippi Gulf Coast has the opportunity to attract energy-related investment and jobs, particularly through businesses that work with the offshore energy sector. That’s according to the Mississippi Energy Institute, which hosted a Gulf Coast Energy Summit in Biloxi this week. MPB’s Evelina Burnett reports.
http://www.mpbonline.org/blogs/news/2016/09/30/energy/
Scientists: Blue glow in water is no rare phenomenon
WLOX
Beach-goers may notice blue lights on the water if they spent any time on Mississippi Gulf Coast beaches the past few nights. Scientists say there is no reason to be alarmed about the glow.
http://www.wlox.com/story/33298738/scientists-blue-glow-in-water-is-no-rare-phenomenon
DMR recommends changes for speckled trout fishing
WLOX
BILOXI, MS (WLOX) -
Speckled trout fishermen may soon be looking at an increase in minimum length. That is among the recommendations being considered by the Commission on Marine Resources to help rebuild the fishery.
http://www.wlox.com/story/33288514/dmr-recommends-changes-for-speckled-trout-fishing
Ole Miss, Oxford deal with tons of garbage big game weekends
Oxford eagle
When the Ole Miss Rebels play at home in Oxford, thousands of fans flock to the Grove or local bars and restaurants. Many locals also hold watch parties at home.
It can be a ton of fun for Rebel fans, but it also adds up to a ton of garbage. Several tons, actually.
http://www.oxfordeagle.com/2016/10/02/ole-miss-oxford-deal-with-tons-of-garbage-big-game-weekends/
Wounded veterans help area with hog problem
Commercial Dispatch
Under a latticework of stars, a caravan of hunters armed with purpose eased their trucks onto a quiet tract of farmland just north of Starkville city limits Tuesday night.
http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=53255
Hunters band together in Delta dove field
Clarion Ledger
When Mississippi hunters Hank Mathison and Lance Nations went on a recent Belzoni dove hunt, the level of excitement was high. But what happened was something neither had ever imagined.
Rebranded KiOR company settles with SEC
Commercial Dispatch
Mard Inc., formerly known as KiOR Inc., and its former CEO, Fred Cannon, have settled charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding information in the company's initial public offering, according to a report in the Houston Business Journal.
http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=53226
Gov. Bryant believes he’s done cutting budget this year
By Bobby Harrison
Daily Journal Jackson Bureau
JACKSON – Gov. Phil Bryant says he does not anticipate having to make any more budget cuts this year to offset sluggish revenue collections.
https://djournal.com/news/gov-bryant-believes-hes-done-cutting-budget-year/
Oil Spill
Work begins on $50M marsh project
Sea Coast Echo
A joint project between the Mississippi Department of Environment Quality and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources has begun near Heron Bay in Hancock County.
http://www.seacoastecho.com/article_10213.shtml#.V_JSmvnx6Uk
WLOX News This Week: BP Money Bill
Our state is in the midst of a big battle-- Just how to spend the hundreds of millions of dollars from the BP oil spill settlement flowing into our state for the next 17 years. South Mississippi legislators are fighting to keep the money on the coast, But, lawmakers in the rest of the state want to spread that money around Mississippi. Joining us, former Biloxi Mayor Gerald Blessey.
http://www.wlox.com/clip/12774812/wlox-news-this-week-bp-money-bill?autostart=true
BP oil disaster might have hurt Bluefin tuna rebuilding, study says
Times-Picayune
The release of 4 million barrels of oil in the 87 days following the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion in April 2010 occurred just as Atlantic bluefin tuna had returned to the Gulf of Mexico to spawn, and a small but significant percentage of the adult fish and their eggs and larvae were likely exposed to the toxic oil, according to a new study announced Friday (Sept. 30).
Massachusetts court to hear suit against Deepwater Horizon spill activists
Tribune
When Karen Savage and Cherri Foytlin wrote an article about the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill of 2010, they thought it might get a few moments of attention and then fade away.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/ct-deepwater-horizon-spill-lawsuit-20161002-story.html
Regional
Judge OKs deal for man, EPA in dispute over dam
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
A Van Buren County man must pay $200,000 and get the dam he had built on his property certified for safety as part of a consent decree with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, approved in federal court last week.
National
EPA set to begin cleanup of Indiana yards tainted with lead
AP
EAST CHICAGO, Ind. (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to begin removing soil this weekend from northwestern Indiana residential properties contaminated with hazardous levels of lead and arsenic.
http://wane.com/2016/10/01/epa-set-to-begin-cleanup-of-indiana-yards-tainted-with-lead/
BP Monitoring North Sea Oil Spill
“Most appropriate response” is to allow oil to disperse naturally at sea, company says
WSJ
LONDON— BP PLC is monitoring a spill in the North Sea after a technical problem on a remote platform caused a leak and forced the company to shut down production on Sunday.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/bp-monitoring-north-sea-oil-spill-1475497897
Opinion
EPA meetings on safety of weed killer drawing scrutiny
By Carey Gillam, contributor
The Hill
The German company’s intended $66 billion acquisition of Monsanto Co. comes amid growing concern over the future of the company’s top-selling weed killer, a chemical called glyphosate that Monsanto introduced to the world 40 years ago as the active ingredient in its Roundup herbicide. Monsanto reaps billions of dollars annually, roughly a third of its sales, from those products.
BILL CRAWFORD — Should retirees trust legislators to properly handle PERS?
MBJ
If what Mississippi politicians – precisely the Legislature and then-Gov. Kirk Fordice – had agreed to in 1999 had come to fruition, the state would now have a health care trust fund of an estimated $4.79 billion with $232.6 million available to spend this year,” wrote political reporter Bobby Harrison in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Alas, he said, “as of today, the state has no health care trust fund. The Legislature has spent all the funds that would have gone into the trust fund.”
http://msbusiness.com/2016/10/bill-crawford-retirees-trust-legislators-properly-handle-pers/
Press Releases
Southern Coal Corporation to Make System-Wide Upgrades to Reduce Water Pollution from Mining Operations in Appalachia
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) today announced a settlement with Southern Coal Corporation and 26 affiliated mining companies that requires the companies to make comprehensive upgrades to their coal mining and processing operations to prevent discharges of polluted wastewater from their mines in Appalachia. The estimated cost of these measures is $5 million.
The settlement also requires the establishment of a $4.5 million letter of credit and a standby trust that will guarantee sufficient funding for, and a mechanism to accomplish, compliance with the Clean Water Act and the work the companies have agreed to perform under the settlement, should the companies fail to do so. The companies will also pay a $900,000 civil penalty, divided among the federal government and the four state co-plaintiffs, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia.
The settlement resolves alleged violations of state-issued Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits by illegally discharging various pollutants at the companies' mining and processing operations in Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia and violations of the companies’ legal responsibilities to sample the quality of their discharges to rivers and streams. The estimated annual pollutant reductions through implementation of the settlement is approximately five million pounds.
“Discharging pollution from coal mining into waterways is a serious threat to clean water, and that’s why EPA stepped in on behalf of communities across Appalachia,” said Assistant Administrator Cynthia Giles for EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Company-wide compliance programs like the one Southern Coal Corporation will establish are critical to protecting our lakes, rivers and streams and the people who depend on them.”
“This settlement is designed to bring the companies into compliance with the Clean Water Act and requires actions that should prevent future violations,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We appreciate our state partners working with us on the consent decree and for their joint oversight efforts with us in the future.”
Under the settlement, Southern Coal Corporation and its affiliated mining companies must implement a series of measures to ensure compliance and prevent future Clean Water Act violations at their coal mining operations, including:
* Implementing a company-wide, EPA-approved environmental management system.
* Maintaining a centralized data management system to track audit results, violations, water sampling data and compliance efforts.
* Constructing a public website for posting documents such as NPDES permits, discharge monitoring reports, water sampling data, effluent violation information, notices of violations and compliance orders.
* Conducting regular internal and independent third-party environmental audits and outlet inspections and undertaking necessary alterations or maintenance measures.
* Providing training for all employees whose responsibilities include environmental compliance and contractors hired to perform duties required by the consent decree.
* Paying a civil penalty of $900,000.
* Paying escalating stipulated penalties if Clean Water Act permit violations continue to occur.
* Providing for a letter of credit and a standby trust and trustee to ensure that there is sufficient money and a mechanism to achieve compliance with the consent decree and the Clean Water Act, if the companies fail to perform.
The government complaint filed concurrently with the settlement alleged that over the last five years, Southern Coal Corporation mining and processing operations have violated discharge limits for pollutants including iron, total suspended solids, aluminum, pH and manganese in their state-issued permits. The complaint also alleged that Southern Coal Corporation failed to submit complete and timely discharge monitoring reports, made unauthorized discharges and failed to respond to EPA requests for information. EPA discovered the violations through investigations and inspections of several Southern Coal Corporation mining operations, reviewing various information provided by the companies and coordinating with the affected state governments.
Created in 1972 by the Clean Water Act, the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program addresses water pollution by authorizing states, with EPA oversight, to issue permits that set strict limits for the discharge of certain types of pollutants by certain types of entities. The proposed consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court. Information about submitting a public comment is available at: www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees
For more information on this settlement and to read the consent decree, go to:
https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/southern-coal-corporation-global-clean-water-settlement
Op-Ed from MEMA Director Lee Smithson
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) has come under fire recently for its oversight of federal recovery grants by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) within the Office of Homeland Security.
I would like to point out a few things in defense of the Agency.
The OIG has simply made recommendations to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) regarding the audits of several projects, including Coastal Retrofit Mississippi and the rebuilding of Hope Academy in Harrison County. It is important to note that while FEMA concurred with several of the recommendations, it has not de-obligated any of the recovery funds at this point.
The internal audit of the Coastal Retrofit program is ongoing and FEMA has stated it will provide resolution to the two remaining recommendations regarding Hope Academy by January 31, 2017.
The scrutiny MEMA is undergoing were from events that transpired before I took over as Executive Director on February 1, 2016. Since that time I have worked diligently to overhaul the oversight and efficiency of the Agency with regards to both federal and state funds.
This commitment has resulted in several personnel and policy changes. No longer are the six offices in the Agency operating independently of one another, we are now one MEMA. We have instituted checks and balances across MEMA to provide better transparency of all projects and initiatives we manage.
Our Office of Support Services is now fully engaged in the tracking and allocation of every penny that moves through MEMA. It is my directive to make this Agency as efficient and productive as possible. We are doing this in a number of ways:
· Leveraging technology:
o We are instituting the use of virtual training. Our Training Bureau teaches more than 100 classes per year to more than 2,000 students. By teaching virtually, we not only save travel costs, but we utilize our trainers’ workday more effectively.
o Creation of the Virtual Common Operating Picture and Virtual Situation Rooms.
§ Emergency managers, first responders and local officials can now view all state operations and incidents from their computers without having to travel to the State Emergency Operations Center for situation awareness.
· Ensuring effective preparedness, response and recovery for all Mississippians:
o We are one of only three states to now have a full-time Disabilities Integration Advisor.
§ Christy Dunaway works with both state and local agencies to ensure emergency planning, public messaging, shelters, training and recovery centers take into account the needs of all Mississippians, including those with functional and medical needs.
o Our website, www.msema.org offers four language translations, all news conferences include a sign language interpreter, and all videos we create are available with closed captioning.
· Supplementing MEMA staff with Disaster Reservists:
o We now have over 300 disaster reservists registered to assist us when disaster strikes.
o These very well trained and experienced professionals can be called up, when necessary, to provide critical support to every aspect of response and recovery.
o Disaster Reservists will not take the place of the 155 full-time MEMA staffers but be a supplement to make sure nothing, or no one, falls through the cracks in a disaster.
· Fiscal efficiency:
o Our Office of Support Services has already found ways to save more than $150,000 in the next fiscal year by cutting the use of unused equipment and consolidating contractual services to the Agency. We will gain efficiencies without sacrificing our mission to the people of Mississippi.
o We are cross-training staff in every office to increase our capability and provide redundancy throughout the organization to ensure continuous support to our citizens for preparing for, responding to and recovering from any disaster.
o We have a commitment to finding additional resource funding through both public and private sector grants. We now have a full-time grant writer for the first time in the Agency’s history, whose sole job is to seek and apply for eligible grants focused on our mission.
The bottom line is this: MEMA is committed to being great stewards of taxpayer dollars, whether federal or state. We are committed to accountability and transparency. It is my promise to the people of Mississippi that your emergency management agency will always be there to support you, have the respect of everyone who deals with us, and will be the best in the nation. My team and I have made tremendous strides over the first seven months of my tenure. I ask that you continue to watch us closely, and I promise we will make Mississippi proud.
Lee W. Smithson
MEMA Executive Director
