State
Grenada residents still worried about toxic chemicals
WTVA
GRENADA, Miss. (WTVA)-- Officials with the Environmental Protection Agency are expected to speak with the Grenada City Council Tuesday night.
http://www.wtva.com/story/34384003/grenada-residents-still-worried-about-toxic-chemicals
Environmental cleanup continues in Ocean Springs shopping center
WLOX
OCEAN SPRINGS, MS (WLOX) -An environmental cleanup in Ocean Springs is linked to a decades-old pollution problem with a former dry cleaning business.
http://www.wlox.com/story/34380713/environmental-cleanup-continues-in-ocean-springs-shopping-center
Petal: Rebuilding, debris removal, and more
WDAM
PETAL, MS (WDAM) -Just a little over a week after the deadly EF-3 tornado ripped through the Pine Belt, families impacted in Petal are still digging through damage and clearing their properties.
http://www.wdam.com/story/34382495/petal-rebuilding-debris-removal-and-more
Put away the buffet: Bear population growing, roaming in Mississippi
Sun Herald
Folks along Florida’s Western Panhandle are alarmed over a black bear that injured a man and his dog, but we’ve got plenty of bears right here on the Mississippi Coast, too.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/article129638104.html
Marshall Fisher named DPS commissioner
Clarion Ledger
Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Marshall Fisher will take the reins of the state Department of Public Safety Wednesday.
Oil Spill
Oh where, oh where did those BP bills go?
Sun Herald
None of the bills that would route most of the BP economic damages settlement money to the Coast have made it out of committee with a little over a day until the deadline.
Regional
New maps show Southeast streams teeming with life
Chattanooga Times Free Press
Scientists have long known the streams, rivers and lakes of the Southeast to be teeming with aquatic biodiversity.
Price spikes for jumbo shrimp blamed on Gulf of Mexico dead zone
Times-Picayune
Every spring and summer when the low-oxygen dead zone forms off Louisiana's coastline, the price of jumbo shrimp briefly spikes, affecting Gulf of Mexicofishers, consumers and seafood markets, according to a new study published Monday (Jan. 30) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. And the price for smaller shrimp generally falls.
National
Trump administration lifts temporary freeze on EPA grants
Washington Post
The Trump administration has lifted a temporary freeze on billions of dollars of grants from the Environmental Protection Agency, saying the programs will continue as planned.
Pruitt Colleagues Say He Will Bring Collaboration, Efficiency to EPA
Bloomberg
A mission-driven public servant with tunnel vision on upholding the laws on the books.
That’s the ethos of the likely next Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, according to a range of public and tribal officials who have worked under and alongside him over recent years.
https://www.bna.com/pruitt-colleagues-say-n57982083047/
Senate begins moving Trump's energy, environment team
The Hill
ZINKE, PERRY TO GET COMMITTEE VOTES: The Senate Energy and Natural Resources will vote on two Trump administration nominees on Tuesday, pushing ahead the confirmation process for President Trump's energy and environment team.
Trump will 'definitely' pull out of Paris climate deal, ex-aide says
The Hill
President Trump will “definitely” pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement, with some action possible within days, according to a former top aide.
Another alarm for scientists: Trump’s pick to guide NOAA transition
McClatchy
WASHINGTON
President Donald Trump is taking aim at one of the federal government’s main agencies for climate change research – the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – and NOAA employees are girding for drastic changes in how they conduct science and report it to the public.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article129716269.html
McConnell pushes for action on ‘harmful’ coal-mining rule
The Hill
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) pledged Monday to undo a coal-mining rule issued in the closing days of the Obama administration.
Texas Pipeline, Highway Remain Shut After Rupture
S-1 Pipeline ruptured Monday afternoon by road construction crews, spraying oil several stories into air
WSJ
A major crude oil pipeline owned by Enterprise Products Partners and Enbridge Inc. remained shut Tuesday after road construction crews ruptured it northeast of Dallas, causing a gusher that sprayed oil all over a highway.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/texas-pipeline-highway-remain-shut-after-rupture-1485869626
Press Releases
Gov. Bryant Names Marshall Fisher as
Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner
JACKSON—Governor Phil Bryant has named Marshall L. Fisher as Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety (DPS). Fisher replaces Albert Santa Cruz, who is retiring on January 31, 2017, after 43 years of service to the state. Fisher will vacate his position as Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) Commissioner on the same date and assume his position at DPS on February 1, 2017. Fisher’s MDOC Chief of Staff, Pelicia Hall, will be acting Commissioner of MDOC until a permanent replacement for Fisher is named.
“Marshall has a long and distinguished career as a law enforcement officer, and I’m pleased that he has accepted the position to lead the Mississippi Department of Public Safety,” Gov. Bryant said. “His experience at the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and the Mississippi Department of Corrections will serve him well, and I know he will do an outstanding job leading the men and women who keep us safe each day.”
“Governor Bryant has honored me today with the opportunity to lead the state's top law enforcement agency,” Fisher said. “It is my intent to set a high bar for professionalism and transparency. The citizens of this great state support those who protect and serve. I will preserve their confidence.”
Most recently, Fisher has served as the Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner since January 2015. He also served as executive director of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics from 2005-2014. Additionally, Fisher has served as state director for the Mississippi Gulf Coast High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. Throughout his career, he has coordinated joint operations involving DEA, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, Mississippi Highway Patrol, and numerous other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
He is retired from the Drug Enforcement Administration, where he was assigned as Agent in Charge of Mississippi DEA operations. During his tenure with the DEA, Fisher was assigned to field offices in Texas, Kansas, Kentucky and DEA Headquarters, where he served as section chief in the Office of Domestic Operations to Europe, Asia, Africa and Canada.
Fisher started his career in law enforcement as a police officer in Texas and as a parole agent in Louisiana.
He is a U.S. Navy veteran and a graduate of the University of Memphis. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice.
He and his wife, Thelma, have two sons, Grady and Shane, both of whom work in federal law enforcement.
Fisher’s appointment must be confirmed by the Mississippi Senate.
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