State
Hattiesburg council to vote on engineering firm
Hattiesburg American
Hattiesburg City Council members will decide Tuesday whether to bring in a professional firm to oversee the city's water and sewer system.
'Trash' talk dominates Lamar supervisors' meeting
Hattiesburg American
Lamar County supervisors were trash talking during their meeting Monday — they were full of complaints about various county trash-related matters.
Aldermen consider sewer rate increase
Daily Corinthian
Corinth aldermen are currently studying options to balance debt tied to sewer system infrastructure improvements and a decline in revenue from sewer service.
Jackson preps Smith Park renovation, chops trees down
Clarion Ledger
Tree stumps along the outer rim of Smith Park caught some Jackson residents off guard Monday morning.
National
Appeals court to hear challenge to EPA ozone rule
The Hill
A federal appeals court has scheduled a February session to hear oral arguments in an industry coalition’s challenge to the Obama administration’s 2015 rule limiting ground-level ozone pollution.
More Time, Links to States Sought Under EPA Energy Incentives
Bloomberg
A federal plan to spur new renewable energy and energy efficiency programs in support of carbon dioxide reductions from the power sector will require more time and methods to link with existing state programs, state officials said.
http://www.bna.com/time-links-states-n57982082424/
Rare rift in green energy movement over Obama leasing rule
The Hill
An Obama administration attempt to overhaul management of renewable energy on public land is pitting the wind and solar power industries against conservationists.
UN report: Human footprint 'increasingly visible' in climate
AP
MARRAKECH, MOROCCO
Hot and wild and with an "increasingly visible human footprint" — that's how the U.N. weather agency sums up the global climate in the past five years.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/nation-world/article113229838.html
Illinois sues automaker Volkswagen over diesel emissions
AP
CHICAGO
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has sued German automaker Volkswagen over the environmental impact of emissions cheating scandal revealed last year.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/business/article113218023.html
Regulators say menhaden, a key ocean fish, in good shape
AP
PORTLAND, MAINE
Interstate fishing regulators say prospects are good for menhaden, a fish that is critical to the health of the ocean.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/state/mississippi/article113065858.html
No more sewage dumping in Puget Sound, new Ecology rule proposes
Seattle Times
Puget Sound would no longer be a toilet for vessels dumping raw or partially treated sewage overboard under a regulation proposed by the state Department of Ecology.