State
MDEQ upholds permits for Costco
Madison County Journal
JACKSON — After a nearly four-hour review hearing regarding a previous decision by a Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality board, officials unanimously confirmed their original decision to issue permits for the Renaissance Phase III project which includes a Costco off Highland Colony Parkway. http://www.onlinemadison.com/Content/Default/News/Article/MDEQ-upholds-permits-for-Costco/-3/592/38854
Biloxi oyster reef closes due to excessive rainfall
Sun Herald
BILOXI
An oyster reef that was recently opened after about 40 years has been closed.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/counties/harrison-county/article113642324.html
Extended hours given for 4-acre dirt mining operation near Flora
Madison County Journal
Madison County supervisors on Monday expanded dirt excavation hours for a mining operation at 1331 Livingston Vernon Road near Flora for an ongoing home construction project.
ENERGY SAVING COMPETITION AT NAVAL CONSTRUCTION BATTALION CENTER
WXXV
Two buildings on the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport are shedding light on energy conservation through a friendly competition.
http://www.wxxv25.com/2016/11/09/energy-saving-competition-naval-construction-battalion-center/
Train derailment in Crenshaw
WTVA
CRENSHAW, Miss. (WTVA) -- A train has derailed in Crenshaw.
http://www.wtva.com/news/Train_derailment_in_Crenshaw.html
Bear Pen pond gets a cleaning
Bolivar Commercial
The pond at Bear Pen Park recently got a good cleaning
The Cleveland Park Commission and the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks drained the five-acre, seven-foot deep pond to clean the bottom and to replace the fish that living there.
http://www.bolivarcommercial.com/newsx/item/5211-bear-pen-pond-gets-a-cleaning
New leadership coming to state budget office
Sun Herald
The Madison County administrator will be the new director of the Legislative Budget Office.
A joint press release from House Speaker Philip Gunn and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves said Tony Greer’s first day in the office that helps lawmakers write the state budget will be Nov. 21. He replaces longtime director Debbie Rubisoff, who is retiring.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/article113706159.html
Regional
Deep South reels from drought
LA Times
An unusual haze, much thicker than traffic smog, hung over Atlanta on Wednesday.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-deep-south-drought-20161109-story.html
Wildfires create smokey haze across southern states, prompting health warning
AP
ATLANTA – Wildfires burning across the South have created a smoky haze over metro Atlanta and prompted a public health advisory in Kentucky — and the forests are expected to continue burning for days as flaming leaves fall to the ground and spread the fire, authorities said Wednesday.
National
On Energy and Climate, Donald Trump to Chart a New Course
The president-elect could try to roll back regulations on emissions, hydraulic fracturing
WSJ
On energy and environment issues, President-elect Donald Trump appears likely to spend the next four years working to unravel the expansive agenda President Barack Obama has cultivated.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/on-energy-and-climate-donald-trump-to-chart-a-new-course-1478711336
Court to hear Obama admin’s appeal in fracking rule case
The Hill
A federal appeals court has scheduled a January session to consider the Obama administration’s request to reinstate its regulation on hydraulic fracturing on public lands.
EPA issues highly-restricted label for new dicamba formulation
Agency provides two-year registration for Xtendimax herbicide with Vapor Grip Technology
Delta Farm Press
U.S. cotton and soybean farmers will be allowed to use the new Xtendimax with Vapor Grip Technology formulation of dicamba to help control glyphosate and PPO-resistant weeds in their crops in 2017.
http://deltafarmpress.com/soybeans/epa-issues-highly-restricted-label-new-dicamba-formulation
New Use Rules for 57 Chemicals, Many Nanotubes, Issued by EPA
Bloomberg
New use rules for 57 chemicals, including many nanotubes and some perfluorinated compounds, were issued Nov. 9 by the Environmental Protection Agency.
http://www.bna.com/new-rules-57-n57982082562/
Paper Please: California voters approve plastic bag ban
AP
SAN FRANCISCO
California's ban on single-use plastic carryout bags will stay in effect after voters narrowly approved the policy.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/business/article113852138.html
Press Releases
EPA Celebrates the Release of the EJ 2020 Action Agenda with Partners in North Charleston, S.C.
Contact Information: Davina Marraccini, 404-562-8293 (direct), 404-562-8400 (main), marraccini.davina@epa.gov
ATLANTA – Today, representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) highlighted the release of the Environmental Justice 2020 Action Agenda (EJ 2020) at an event in North Charleston, S.C. The Chicora Neighborhood Council, the Union Heights Neighborhood Council, the Low Country Alliance for Model Communities (LAMC) and the Metanoia Community Development Corporation announced an agreement with Palmetto Railways to mitigate against potential impacts from the construction of the Navy Base Intermodal Facility at the former Charleston Navy Base. The agreement reflects the type of collaborative environmental justice efforts EPA Region 4 would like to showcase in communities throughout the Southeast over the next four years and beyond as part of its environmental justice strategic plan.
During the event, EPA also recognized two LAMC representatives, Herbert J. Fraser-Rahim and Omar Muhammad, who participated in the inaugural class of EPA Region 4’s EJ Academy. The EJ Academy is a rigorous 9-month leadership development program designed to cultivate skills participants can use to identify and address environmental challenges in their communities. Skills that Fraser-Rahim and Muhammad applied in negotiating the monumental $4 million dollar agreement for the construction of the Navy Base Intermodal Facility.
“Vibrant stakeholder engagement and partnerships are the backbone of EJ 2020 and essential to achieving meaningful outcomes for overburdened communities,” said Denise Tennessee, Director of EPA Region 4’s Office of Environmental Justice and Sustainability. “The agreement announced today is a win-win for community engagement, for the citizens in the State of South Carolina, and for all communities throughout the Southeast that face similar challenges.”
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.
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.
EJ 2020 is available at: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/ej-2020-action-agenda
To read more, visit: https://blog.epa.gov/blog/2016/10/ej-2020-the-next-generation-of-environmental-justice-at-epa/
