State
Damage assessments continue as cleanup begins
Hattiesburg American
The damage inflicted on Forrest County by Saturday's EF3 tornado became clearer Sunday.
According Mississippi Emergency Management Agency officials, the county had reported four fatalities, 56 injuries and 428 homes damaged as of Sunday afternoon.
271 reports needed for Delta Voluntary Metering Program
Delta producers are being reminded of Feb. 1 deadline for submitting flow meter reports for Voluntary Metering Program.
Delta Farm Press
No project is ever complete until the paperwork is done, and that includes the reporting of water use by producers participating in the Voluntary Metering Program in the 19 Delta and part-Delta counties in Mississippi.
http://www.wlox.com/story/34316473/traffic-moving-slowly-on-i-10-at-msal-line
Positive audit for the Utility Authority
Picayune Item
Pearl River County’s Utility Authority received a positive audit during their meeting on Thursday.
http://www.picayuneitem.com/2017/01/positive-audit-for-the-utility-authority/
Deer, turkey tagging bill introduced in Legislature
Clarion Ledger
If a bill introduced in the Legislature passes, hunters will soon be tagging deer and turkeys. House Bill 1028, authored by Rep. Ken Morgan, R-Morgantown, calls for the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks to implement mandatory tagging of deer and turkey harvests.
Governor would control health, mental health agencies under two new bills
Mississippi Today
Bills introduced in the House and Senate this week would give the governor the reins of two of the biggest agencies in the state, a move some Democrats say could bring unnecessary political influence to agency business.
Oil Spill
WLOX News This Week: Senator Brice Wiggins
Video
http://www.wlox.com/clip/13046403/wlox-news-this-week-senator-brice-wiggins
Santa Rosa delegation on oil spill funds: 'It's our money'
Santa Rosa Press Gazette
MILTON - Santa Rosa County Commission Chairman Rob Williamson and Milton Mayor Wesley Meiss want to ensure Santa Rosa County gets its fair share of BP oil spill funds through Triumph Gulf Coast.
http://www.srpressgazette.com/news/20170120/santa-rosa-delegation-on-oil-spill-funds-its-our-money
Regional
Environmentalists to EPA: Reject Fla.'s water toxins rule
Florida Today
Three nonprofit environmental groups are calling on the federal government to toss out Florida's new water toxins rule as too weak, enlisting a North Carolina water pollution expert to help make their case.
Court reinstates EPA rule to allow pumping dirty water unchecked
Miami Herald
South Florida water managers can keep moving dirty water from farms and suburbs into the Everglades and Lake Okeechobee without obtaining federal pollution permits, a divided U.S. appeals court ruled this week in New York.
http://www.bradenton.com/news/state/florida/article127634374.html
Louisiana DEQ chief doesn't see roll back in air quality standards under Trump
The Advocate
State environmental officials say they don't expect to roll back certain air quality regulations under the Donald Trump administration.
National
Trump Administration Aims to Reverse Obama’s Climate Agenda
Anticipated actions would come on top of other commitments to repeal environmental regulations issued over past eight years
WSJ
WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is looking to take action within days to reverse former President Barack Obama’s climate agenda and show its commitment to promoting fossil-fuel infrastructure, according to people familiar with the plan.
White House climate change webpage disappears after Trump's inauguration
The Hill
Less than an hour after President Trump took the oath of office on Friday, the White House’s webpage on climate change disappeared from the Executive Branch's main site, the latest sign that the new administration will divert resources – and attention – from the issue.
Trump expected to roll back Obama climate initiatives despite easing of ‘hoax’ rhetoric
McClatchy
WASHINGTON
Rick Perry once described the science of climate change as a “contrived, phony mess.” Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama asserted, wrongly, that there’s been “almost no increase” in temperatures over the last 19 years. Scott Pruitt said, “The debate is far from settled.”
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/white-house/article127943504.html
No Honeymoon for Trump EPA as Court Dates, Deadlines Loom
Bloomberg
The Environmental Protection Agency will not enjoy an extended honeymoon period as President-elect Donald Trump assumes the presidency, with a slew of court dates and regulatory deadlines facing the incoming administration in its first six months.
https://www.bna.com/no-honeymoon-trump-n73014450071/
California Aims for 40% Reduction in Greenhouse Gases by 2030
Aggressive plan also calls for calls for adding 4.2 million zero-emissions vehicles
WSJ
SAN FRANCISCO—California on Friday released a blueprint for meeting an aggressive climate-change goal: a 40% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030, compared with 1990 levels.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/california-aims-for-40-reduction-in-greenhouse-gases-by-2030-1484966197
Brimming Toxic Pit Nears Critical Level After Bird Deaths
AP
It was an unusual and unfortunate confluence of events: A larger-than-normal number of geese was making a later-than-normal migration over Montana when a snowstorm blew in at the wrong time and sent them soaring to the wrong place.
The throngs of white birds splashed down in a 50 billion-gallon toxic stew that is part of the nation's largest Superfund site. At least 3,000 died.
