State
DEQ samples near Cherokee Forest are clean, but video shows otherwise
Sun Herald
BY WESLEY MULLER
PASCAGOULA
The air in Pascagoula’s Cherokee Forest neighborhood appears to be clean and healthy, according to the latest results of air sampling by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. But one pollutant the agency didn’t test for was caught by a resident traveling through the air.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/counties/jackson-county/article134735769.html
MDEQ air tests not enough for neighbors living near Bayou Cassotte
WLOX
PASCAGOULA, MS (WLOX) -Air quality has been a concern for citizens living near the Bayou Cassotte Industrial Park for some time.
http://www.wlox.com/story/34601267/mdeq-air-tests-not-enough-for-neighbors-living-near-bayou-cassotte
Hercules works toward settlement with residents
Hattiesburg American
Officials from Hercules/Ashland are in the process of negotiating a settlement with several Hattiesburg residents regarding a complaint filed with the United States District Court in 2014.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/local/2017/02/26/hercules-works-toward-settlement-residents/98447538/
Evacuations canceled after 'dead' hydrogen sulfide line hit in Rankin County
Utility crew hits gas line on Johns-Maton Road
WAPT
RANKIN COUNTY, Miss. —Evacuations were canceled Friday after it was determined that a hydrogen sulfide line hit by a utility company was a "dead line," Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey said.
https://wapt.relaymedia.com/amp/article/hazardous-gas-leak-leads-to-evacuations-in-area-of-rankin-county/8976217
Recycling in City of Natchez continues
Natchez Democrat
NATCHEZ — Although Adams County is ending its curbside recycling program, the City of Natchez is continuing its program and plans to host a meeting in April to discuss the future of recycling in the Miss-Lou. http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/2017/02/27/recycling-in-city-of-natchez-continues/
58th Annual Gem and Mineral Show takes place at the Mississippi Trademart
WLBT
JACKSON, MS (Mississippi News Now) -This weekend was the 58th annual Gem and Mineral Show.
http://www.msnewsnow.com/story/34609606/58th-annual-gem-and-mineral-show-takes-place-at-the-mississippi-trademart
MISSISSIPPI REGION VI SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FAIR
WXXV
One hypothesis that proved correct for anyone who took a visit to the regional science fair in Biloxi this morning was that the students in South Mississippi are pretty sharp.
http://wxxv25.com/2017/02/24/mississippi-region-vi-science-engineering-fair/
'A NEW DAY' IN KEMPER COUNTY
Despite delays, power plant yields economic benefits for area, officials say
Meridian Star
Kemper County officials say taxes derived from Mississippi Power's Kemper Energy Facility has allowed the county to embark on projects never before imagined.
http://www.meridianstar.com/news/local_news/a-new-day-in-kemper-county/article_39f1e5dd-29c5-5072-84eb-4db5315374c8.html
Scenic Rivers releases outdoor events schedule
Enterprise-Journal
Here’s a schedule of upcoming events from Scenic Rivers Development Alliance, is a regional alliance to promote natural resources, recreational activities and events.
http://www.enterprise-journal.com/sports/outdoors/article_e1aa4b38-fbd9-11e6-ab96-4b98d35ba5ab.html
Hart plans county cleanup day
Picayune Item
Pearl River County District I Supervisor Donald Hart is planning a county-wide cleanup day for March 25.
http://www.picayuneitem.com/2017/02/hart-plans-county-cleanup-day/
Cooper Tire ‘Dream Team’ visits Ole Miss
Oxford Eagle
Expanding upon an already solid relationship with the University of Mississippi, the Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. “Dream Team” visited the university’s Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence on Wednesday, Feb. 15.
http://www.oxfordeagle.com/2017/02/26/cooper-tire-dream-team-visits-ole-miss/
Key committee keeps governor’s power bills alive
By Bobby Harrison
Daily Journal Jackson Bureau
JACKSON – Legislation that would give the governor control of more than 60 boards that regulate multiple professions passed a key hurdle Friday morning.
http://djournal.com/news/key-committee-keeps-governors-power-bills-alive/
Oil Spill
Chism cries foul on Senate BP money bill
Commercial Dispatch
A local state representative is raising concerns about a bill that would channel payments from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement to a fund for projects on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=56534
Regional
To rebuild the coast, Louisiana must show its river diversions won’t kill native dolphins
The Advocate
When asked to list the major hurdles facing Louisiana’s 50-year plan to rebuild its coast, state officials have pointed to a menu of truly massive challenges, from rapidly rising seas to finding the money for the $92 billion effort.
http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/environment/article_574a752e-fac8-11e6-979f-371b084310f9.html
Alabama's historic Gee's Bend Ferry going all-electric
AP
MONTGOMERY, ALA.
One of Alabama's best-known boats is going green.
Officials say the Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a more than $1 million grant to convert the diesel-powered Gee's Bend Ferry into a battery-powered electric vessel.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article134953849.html
National
EPA chief calls for 'aggressive' rollback of regulations at CPAC
The Hill
Newly minted Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt on Saturday spoke of an "aggressive" agenda of regulatory rollbacks, criticizing the previous Obama administration for being “so focused on climate change."
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/321188-scott-pruitt-calls-for-aggressive-rollbacks-of-environmental
Aggressive cuts to Obama-era green rules to start soon: EPA head
Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration will begin rolling back Obama-era environmental regulations in an "aggressive way" as soon as next week, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency said on Saturday - adding he understood why some Americans want to see his agency eliminated completely.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-epa-idUSKBN1640S9
Trump to ask for major cuts to EPA, increased spending for military
NY Times
WASHINGTON — President Trump will instruct federal agencies on Monday to assemble a budget for the coming fiscal year that includes sharp increases in Defense Department spending and drastic enough cuts to domestic agencies that he can keep his promise to leave Social Security and Medicare alone, according to four senior administration officials.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2017/02/26/trump-ask-for-major-cuts-epa-increased-spending-for-military/bRLCI3ye7Ym0F4SNUNXo4H/story.html
New EPA chief delays mining rule after industry objects
AP
BILLINGS, Mont. — The Trump administration has delayed consideration of a proposal to require companies to prove they have the financial wherewithal to clean up polluted mining sites after a pushback from industry groups and Western-state Republicans.
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/new-epa-chief-delays-mining-rule-after-industry-objects/article_c1543555-38f3-52f1-8e13-e5abf3f71c77.html
Permits, Flint, Burnt Scalp Among E-Mail Complaints EPA Neglected
Bloomberg
Complaints requesting EPA help on issues from drinking water safety to alleged illegal oil dumps waited more than a year for the agency to read them.
https://www.bna.com/permits-flint-burnt-n57982084397/
EPA chief picking conservative lawyer for top policy job
Axios
New EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is picking an ally from his fights against EPA rules to head the agency's Office of Policy, a person familiar with the decision tells Axios.
https://www.axios.com/epa-chief-taps-conservative-movement-lawyer-for-top-policy-job-2283075088.html
Week ahead: Confirmation votes lined up for Energy, Interior picks
The Hill
The Senate is set to resume work on confirming President Trump's Cabinet nominees in the coming week, including two in the energy and environment sphere.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/321070-week-ahead-confirmation-votes-lined-up-for-energy-interior-picks
Poison vapor evacuations increase as old chemical threats resurface
Mlive
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- It was a Thursday night, May 19, 2016, when Seeds of Promise got a very unsettling call from the Kent County Health Department. The building where the Grand Rapids nonprofit operates was being infiltrated with poisonous gas seeping in through cracks in the foundation.
http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/02/michigan_vapor_intrusion_deq.html
New regs for Monday: Food, water, education
The Hill
Water: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declined to issue new safe drinking water rules.
The EPA was considering a petition to “prohibit the purposeful addition of fluoridation chemicals to U.S. water supplies,” which it received in November, but said Friday it is declining the request.
http://thehill.com/regulation/320990-new-regs-for-monday-food-water-education
Opinion
The Carbon Tax Chimera
The Shultz-Baker proposal sounds better than it would work.
WSJ
The climate may change but one thing that never does is the use of climate change as a political wedge against Republicans. Also never changing is the call from some Republicans to neutralize the issue by handing more economic power to the federal government through a tax on carbon. The risk is that Donald Trump takes up the idea, which would hurt the economy with little benefit to the environment.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-carbon-tax-chimera-1487979109
Press Releases
Calculating Chemical Exposures During the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response and Clean-up
By Charlie PlainFebruary 24, 2017
When the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, more than 50,000 clean-up workers responded to the disaster. Many were exposed to chemicals released into the air from crude oil, burning of the oil, and dispersants used to break up the oil. Until recently, estimating their exposure has been difficult, mainly because the air samplers worn by many workers lacked the sensitivity to detect some chemicals and because measurements for particular chemicals were not available for all groups of workers. To address this knowledge gap, researchers at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health have developed a new statistical method for calculating the workers’ chemical exposures.
A study of the new method was published in the Annals of Work Exposures and Health. The work is a component of the GuLF STUDY being conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences investigating potential adverse health effects among the oil spill response and clean-up workers.
“It’s really important for us to know what the exposures were for workers who carried out specific jobs or tasks during the response and clean-up effort,” says lead author and biostatistics doctoral student Carrie Groth. “Our method allows us to estimate exposures in scenarios where our measurements indicated that the exposures were below the lowest level the laboratory could determine (known as a limit of detection (LOD)) but where we have measurements on related chemicals that can be used to inform the exposure of the chemical of interest. Furthermore, we can also predict exposures when measurements for particular chemicals are unavailable for some workers.”
During the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the incident area spanned several states — including 1,100 miles of coastline — so it wasn’t possible to monitor all workers or environments and every kind of chemical that the workers may have encountered.
In many instances, however, pieces of the exposure puzzle are known, such as measurements for some chemicals and the presence of similar chemicals. This model uses linear relationships between two chemicals among some workers to better inform exposure to the chemical of interest while accounting for measurements below the LOD. This relationship can then be used to predict exposure for cases where chemical measurements were not taken for other workers.
The method is particularly valuable for estimating “censored chemicals,” which are the chemicals that were likely present, but at levels too low to be detected by the laboratory method (below the LOD). Quantifying censored chemicals is important because low levels could still have as yet unknown or synergistic health effects.
“Environmental health scientists and industrial hygienists can use this new approach because it allows them to work with multiple-chemical scenarios in a new way to more accurately account for levels that are too low for detection with current technology,” says Groth.
As part of the GuLF STUDY, Groth and her co-researchers now plan to use the method to provide exposure estimates for workers enrolled in the cohort study whose exposures varied based on the time period that they were involved in the response and clean-up effort, the geographical location of their work, their tasks, and other work characteristics.
http://www.sph.umn.edu/news/calculating-chemical-exposures-deepwater-horizon-oil-spill-response-clean/
