State
Oyster fishermen working short pre-holiday season
WLOX
PASS CHRISTIAN, MS (WLOX) -Just a day after the Biloxi Bay reefs shut down again, oyster fishermen returned to Pass Christian on Thursday morning. That's because a five-day pre-holiday oyster season opened at sunrise in the western waters of the Mississippi Sound.
http://www.wlox.com/story/33739328/oyster-fishermen-working-short-pre-holiday-season
Overturned 18-wheeler shuts down flyover ramp into Jackson
WLBT
JACKSON, MS (Mississippi News Now) -A wreck has shut down the flyover ramp into Jackson.
http://www.msnewsnow.com/story/33742977/overturned-18-wheeler-shuts-down-flyover-ramp-into-jackson
Tupelo continues effort to provide utilities to annexed areas
Daily Journal
TUPELO – Efforts continue to ensure local residents annexed into the city limits in 2012 receive updated municipal utility services.
https://djournal.com/news/tupelo-continues-effort-provide-utilities-annexed-areas/
Philadelphia Utilities water well fails, possible rate increase
WTOK
PHILADELPHIA, Miss. (WTOK) - One of the main wells that supplies water to Philadelphia failed earlier this year, but customers didn't notice. That's because the city usually runs off four wells that pump water to the plant where it's cleaned and sent out to customers.
Oil Spill
RESTORATION GRANTS
WXXV
Governor Phil Bryant announced two grants for nearly $3 million on the Coast were approved by the Restore Council.
http://www.wxxv25.com/2016/11/17/restoration-grants/
RESTORE ACT FUNDING FOR CENTER OF HOPE GULFPORT
WXXV
After some major setbacks the governor’s office steps in with BP money to help move forward construction of the Salvation Army’s Center of Hope. http://www.wxxv25.com/2016/11/17/restore-act-funding-center-hope-gulfport/
BP spill eroded more land than waves or storm surge, study says
Times-Picayune
Barataria Bay wetlands that were coated with oil by the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010 eroded more in the first two years than those affected only by storm surge from Hurricane Isaac in 2012, according to a study published Thursday (Nov. 17) in the American Geophysical Union's Geophysical Research Letters.
Regional
Group says EPA must pressure states to curb pollution in the Mississippi River
McClatchy
WASHINGTON - A new report released Thursday by a coalition of environmental and legal groups calls for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to establish safe and viable water pollution limits for phosphorus and nitrogen along the Mississippi River.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/article115412973.html
National
EPA Aims to Finish Climate Rules; Decisions Fall to Trump
Bloomberg
The Obama administration aims to cement its greenhouse gas regulations in the time remaining, but some of the largest greenhouse gas decisions will slide to President-elect Donald Trump, according to the updatedfederal regulatory agenda.
http://www.bna.com/epa-aims-finish-n57982082934/
New EPA Reporting Mandates Coming for Dispersant Chemicals
Bloomberg
The Environmental Protection Agency is planning on enacting new reporting requirements for companies that work with a type of industrial surfactant called NPEs.
http://www.bna.com/new-epa-reporting-n57982082932/
Maryland asks EPA to crack down on pollution from Midwest coal plants
Baltimore Sun
Maryland environmental regulators are asking their federal counterparts to crack down on 19 coal plants in five other states whose emissions — carried hundreds of miles by the wind — make the air here unhealthy to breathe on hot summer days.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/green/blog/bs-md-upwind-air-pollution-20161116-story.html
In Canada, a Direct Link Between Fracking and Earthquakes
NY Times
In the debate over fracking of oil and gas wells, opponents often cite the risk that the process can set off nearby earthquakes. But scientists say that in the United States, fracking-induced earthquakes are not common.
Volkswagen to shed 30,000 jobs, cutting costs after scandal
AP
FRANKFURT, GERMANY
Volkswagen announced plans Friday to cut 30,000 jobs in a wide-ranging restructuring of its namesake brand as it tries to recover from a scandal over cars rigged to cheat on diesel emissions tests.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/business/article115594353.html
Press Releases
USGS, NASA Study Finds Widespread Coastal Land Losses from Gulf Oil Spill
A new USGS-NASA study found widespread shoreline loss along heavily oiled areas of Louisiana's coast after the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill and compared the erosion from the spill with coastal changes Hurricane Isaac caused in 2012.
A pattern of dramatic, widespread shoreline loss along Louisiana’s coast caused by the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill has been revealed by a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey and National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Researchers used NASA’s annual mapping to analyze shoreline loss across most of upper Barataria Bay, located on the western side of the Mississippi River Delta. The study looked at shoreline imagery taken a year before the oil spill and then at images taken during a 2.5 year span after the spill. Scientists also compared shoreline losses from storm-induced erosion with losses linked to shoreline oiling.
The team found that although storm-induced erosion occurred at isolated shoreline sections, the pre-spill shoreline from 2009 to 2010 was largely stable. But, in the first year after the spill, from 2010 to 2011, the erosion pattern changed dramatically, with widespread erosion occurring throughout the bay. Erosion rates were highest along shorelines documented with heavy to moderate oiling, and were lower along shorelines that experienced low oiling.
In the second post-spill year, from 2011 to 2012, the higher loss rates extended to areas that experienced less oiling. Some of the shorelines studied received treatment to reverse or stop environmental damage from the spill, but researchers found no measurable difference in their erosion compared to non-treated shorelines.
In August 2012, 26-months after the post-spill period, Hurricane Isaac directly impacted Barataria Bay and erosion rates captured within the four-month period after the hurricane were the highest measured by the team. Researchers found this erosion was largely contained to the same isolated shoreline sections where erosion had occurred in the dominantly stable period before the spill occurred. While Hurricane Isaac did cause more severe erosion to occur at a few locations, the land loss from the oiling affected a much larger geographic area.
"Our study uniquely shows the patterns of shoreline recession seen in Barataria Bay are directly relatable to distinctly different causes," said Amina Rangoonwala, USGS geophysicist and lead author of the study. "There was broadly dispersed erosion due to oiling from the Deepwater Horizon spill and more severe, but localized, erosion from Hurricane Isaac.”
The wetland impacts of the spill documented by the team included both shoreline erosion and wetland fragmentation, a process where small islands are broken into even smaller islands. Land lost in fragmented areas is unlikely to be reestablished because there are no new sediments flowing in to replenish what’s lost to erosion. This creates a higher possibility that natural coastal defenses against flooding will be reduced.
The images used for the study, which were collected during annual surveys and following Hurricane Isaac, were obtained from NASA’s Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar, developed and managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The system operates from a C-20A research aircraft and its polarized radar produced detailed representations of the marsh, which USGS scientists then used to develop a process to analyze the shoreline recession and its causes.
“Through this process, USGS and NASA scientists developed a repeatable, quantitative mapping method that will allow us to monitor shoreline erosion after oil spills in the future,” said study co-author Cathleen Jones of JPL.
The study, “Wetland shoreline recession in the Mississippi River Delta from petroleum oiling and cyclonic storms,” was published in Geophysical Research Letters.
https://www.usgs.gov/news/usgs-nasa-study-finds-widespread-coastal-land-losses-gulf-oil-spill
Southern Miss Receives IHL Approval for Two New STEM Degrees
HATTIESBURG, MS (WDAM) -
The following is a news release from The University of Southern Mississippi
In an effort to expand strong academic programs in high-demand Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields, The University of Southern Mississippi will soon offer two new Bachelor of Science degrees through its College of Science and Technology.
On November 17, the State Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees approved the University’s request to offer a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering and a Bachelor of Science in Ocean Engineering. Pending approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), both programs are on track to launch next fall.
Amid national dialogue about the demand for more STEM graduates, industries in Mississippi have conveyed the need for more engineers, resulting in the University initiating these new degrees to meet critical business and educational needs in south Mississippi.
In support of the state’s ongoing economic development opportunities and Gov. Phil Bryant’s emphasis on the “Blue Economy,” Southern Miss has planned these academic programs with coastal students and business needs in mind.
The implementation of both degree programs will prove significant to both Southern Miss and the state of Mississippi, especially with the Bachelor of Science in Ocean Engineering being the only ocean engineering degree in the state and one of only 10 programs in the nation.
“I am delighted that the IHL Board approved The University of Southern Mississippi’s plans to expand our degree offerings in these critical academic areas through innovative program development,” said Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Steven R. Moser. “As we work to implement this vision, USM will lead the way in providing new educational offerings and enhancing the opportunities available to current and future Mississippians.”
Research has shown that Computer Engineering is in high demand in most industrial sectors, including cyber security, chemical processing, wireless communication and healthcare. In south Mississippi, those sectors also include shipbuilding, manufacturing and farming industries, government, and military labs. USM’s School of Computing will expand its Computer Engineering Technology curriculum to offer a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering.
Ocean Engineering is in high demand across Mississippi’s coastal counties, with specific needs in shipbuilding, maritime industry, offshore exploration, environmental monitoring, port operations, as well as the Department of Defense and other federal agencies. With strong emphasis on the “Blue Economy,” USM’s School of Ocean Science and Technology will expand its curriculum to offer a Bachelor of Science in Ocean Engineering.
“The College of Science and Technology is pleased to be adding both Ocean Engineering and Computer Engineering to our current portfolio of academic programs,” said Dr. David Hayhurst, Dean of the College of Science and Technology. “Clearly, there is significant need throughout the state for graduates who are competent in computer engineering and ocean engineering, which is particularly relevant to southern Mississippi and the Gulf Coast.”
The Ocean Engineering program will be delivered at the Southern Miss Gulf Park Campus in Long Beach, and the Computer Engineering program will be available both in Hattiesburg and at Gulf Park. The pre-engineering components of both programs will also be available at both campuses.
For more information about the Bachelor of Science degrees in Computer Engineering and Ocean Engineering at The University of Southern Mississippi, contact Dr. Douglas S. Masterson, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs in the College of Science and Technology, at 601.266.4880 or douglas.masterson@usm.edu.
