State
Waste Pro Aims to Double Size of Mississippi Landfill
Waste360
Waste Pro is hoping to begin an expansion of Kemper County (Miss.) Landfill this year, which would double the size of the site and add 20 years to its life.
http://www.waste360.com/landfill-operations/waste-pro-aims-double-size-mississippi-landfill
Houston man killed in Jackson accident
Daily Journal
A Houston man died in an 18-wheeler accident in Jackson on Tuesday.
https://djournal.com/news/houston-man-killed-jackson-accident/
1 dead after 18-wheeler accident on I-55 South at Fortification Street bridge
WJTV
JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) — Authorities are investigating a fatal accident that happened on I-55 South at the Fortification bridge.
http://wjtv.com/2017/01/17/18-wheeler-accident-on-i-55-south-at-fortification-street-exit/
Utility regulators seek funding for Kemper staffing, travel
Mississippi Today
When it comes to evaluating Mississippi Power Co.’s Kemper County energy facility, state utility regulators say they need funding help for outside experts, travel for inspections and staff pay raises.
http://mississippitoday.org/2017/01/17/utility-regulators-seek-funding-for-kemper-staffing-travel/
Wood pellet plant could still be in George County's future
WLOX
GEORGE COUNTY, MS (WLOX) -An industry that promised more than 100 jobs in 2015 is yet to be seen in George County. But, that might be about to change.
http://www.wlox.com/story/34280848/wood-pellet-plant-could-still-be-in-george-countys-future
GOV. PHIL BRYANT URGES LAWMAKERS TO "DO PEOPLE'S WORK" IN STATE OF STATE ADDRESS
MPB
Governor Phil Bryant is urging legislators to remain conservative in spending state dollars. It's one of the issues he talked about during his State of the State Address. Bryant borrowed phrases from President-elect Donald Trump to make his point.
Oil Spill
Bryant: BP money should be spent on Coast
Sun Herald
Gov. Phil Bryant on Tuesday said money from the BP disaster settlement should be spent on the Mississippi Coast.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article127115804.html
National
Records show Trump EPA pick crusading for industry donors
AP
WASHINGTON
When President-elect Donald Trump's choice to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency first took office as Oklahoma's attorney general, he disbanded the unit responsible for protecting the state's natural resources.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/national-politics/article127163714.html
Can the EPA’s main antagonist become its next leader?
Washington Post
Scott Pruitt, the Oklahoma attorney general who has spent the past six years in office battling the Environmental Protection Agency, will get his chance Wednesday morning to convince lawmakers on Capitol Hill that he is qualified to run the agency.
EPA nominee has long sought to scale back the federal government
Washington Post
In the spring of 2010, Republican Scott Pruitt announced his candidacy for Oklahoma attorney general with a simple promise: He would fight the federal government at every turn.
Scott Pruitt, Trump’s pick for the EPA, has been Obama’s worst nightmare
Washington Post
The last six years of President Obama's domestic agenda can pretty much be summed up like this: Obama proposes something new to Congress, and it says no. He tries to go around Congress by implementing rules via his administration, only to get sued by Republican attorneys general. Wash, rinse, repeat.
GOP environment chairman plans ‘wholesale change’ at EPA
The Hill
The top senator overseeing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning a “wholesale change” at the agency under President-elect Donald Trump and a Republican Congress.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/314534-gop-chairman-plans-wholesale-change-at-epa
Interior pick walks fine line on climate, highlights conservation
The Hill
Rep. Ryan Zinke, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be the next secretary of Interior, used his confirmation hearing Tuesday to repeatedly highlight his record on conservation, while walking a fine line on the hot-button issue of climate change.
Obama admin injects another $500M into global climate fund
The Hill
The Obama administration has made a second $500 million payment into an international climate change adaptation fund, the State Department announced Tuesday.
TVA Board Vacancies Raise Possibility of Coal-Policy Shift
Environmental groups worry Trump appointees will slow authority’s move away from the fossil fuel
WSJ
President-elect Donald Trump is poised to bring in new leadership to the Tennessee Valley Authority, prompting concerns that the nation’s largest public power company could be in for a strategy shift.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/tva-board-vacancies-raise-possibility-of-coal-policy-shift-1484670034
No Clear Strategy for Challenging EPA Vehicle Standards
Bloomberg
The automotive industry’s options may be limited if it plans to challenge the Environmental Protection Agency’s affirmation of its greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars and trucks, according to advocates and industry representatives.
https://www.bna.com/no-clear-strategy-n73014449895/
EPA Proposes Strategy to Identify, Review Commercial Chemicals
Bloomberg
The Environmental Protection Agency released three proposed rules that would establish its first-ever, comprehensive regulatory strategy to evaluate—and regulate, if needed—chemicals in commerce.
https://www.bna.com/epa-proposes-strategy-n73014449894/
Opinion
Scott Pruitt’s Chick-fil-EPA
Allow us to clean up the facts about liberal tales of chicken waste.
WSJ
Liberals are waxing apocalyptic to stop Scott Pruitt’s confirmation to run the Environmental Protection Agency. But what they really fear is a restoration of the cooperative federalism he’s championed as Oklahoma Attorney General.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/scott-pruitts-chick-fil-epa-1484699489
Scott Pruitt wants to switch direction for federal environmental policy. That may be hard to do.
Washington Post
Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, will appear Wednesday before the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee for his nomination hearing. Pruitt is more deeply skeptical of the agency’s mission than any EPA administrator in a generation.
