State
Firecrews battle blaze at Vicksburg's Tyson Chicken Plant
WLBT
WARREN COUNTY, MS (Mississippi News Now) -Fire crews are on the scene of a blaze at a Warren County plant.
http://www.msnewsnow.com/story/34535977/firecrews-battle-blaze-at-vicksburgs-tyson-chicken-plant
The sputtering energy economy: Can it be revved up?
Mississippi Today
Not that long ago, energy was forecast as a cornerstone of Mississippi’s economy.
In his first state-of-the-state speech, newly elected Gov. Phil Bryant called the state “a leader in the energy economy.”
http://mississippitoday.org/2017/02/20/the-sputtering-energy-economy-can-it-be-revved-up/
KEMPER PLANT STILL AT A STANDSTILL
WCBI
KEMPER COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)- There’s no new details with Kemper County Power Plant.
http://www.wcbi.com/video-kemper-plant-still-standstill/
PUTTING A HALT TO ILLEGAL DUMPING
WCBI
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)-People have been throwing trash away in places they’re not supposed to.
http://www.wcbi.com/video-putting-halt-illegal-dumping-2/
COMMUNITY CLEAN-UP DAY
WCBI
ABERDEEN, Miss. (WCBI)- One northeast Mississippi community is getting serious about the age-old slogan “Keep America Beautiful.”
http://www.wcbi.com/video-community-clean-day/
Adams County curbside recyling to end on April 1
Natchez Democrat
NATCHEZ — Adams County Supervisors plan to discontinue curbside recycling effective April 1, but hope to offer residents recycling bins at the two convenience stations.
http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/2017/02/19/adams-county-curbside-recyling-to-end-on-april-1/
Wildwood lagoon now complete
Picayune Item
Residents of the Wildwood Subdivision got a chance to see what their monthly bill is contributing to Thursday afternoon.
http://www.picayuneitem.com/2017/02/wildwood-lagoon-now-complete/
Public works dept. to stay public
Mayor drops privatization of department
Enterprise-Journal
McComb Mayor Whitney Rawlings said this morning that he had decided not to pursue the privatization of the city’s public works department.
http://www.enterprise-journal.com/news/article_9cde6008-f534-11e6-b072-732fed4251e5.html
County may hire consultant for possible courthouse project
Meridian Star
With the possibility of the Lauderdale County Courthouse being moved to the old Village Fair Mall site on 22nd Avenue, county supervisors are looking at hiring a consultant to help with the possible relocation.
The board of supervisors discussed contracting with Jere "Trey" Hess, the director of Brownfield and Economic Development with PPM Consultants, during Thursday's work session.
http://www.meridianstar.com/news/local_news/county-may-hire-consultant-for-possible-courthouse-project/article_1a459ac6-e42e-5806-9117-113d743a1dac.html
Here’s why big bird nests are popping up in Pascagoula
Sun Herald
PASCAGOULA
Osprey like to nest on top of tall poles or in the tops of dead trees along the coastline and up the rivers.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/counties/jackson-county/article133939889.html
Three acres will be a world of change for wildlife rescue center
Sun Herald
HURLEY
Right now it’s wide open spaces, but when Alison Sharpe walks the property, she sees an education center and huge, federally approved flight cages for birds of prey, especially eagles.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/counties/jackson-county/article133615649.html
Should the tagging of deer and turkey be required?
NewsMS
A bill that would require all white-tailed deer and wild turkey to be tagged has passed the state House and is on its way to the Senate.
http://newsms.fm/should-the-tagging-of-deer-and-turkey-be-required/
Oil Spill
Judge OKs $1.24 billion Halliburton, Transocean settlement from Gulf oil spill; lawyers get 10%
Times-Picayune
A federal judge this week approved two settlements involving punitive damages for private claimants in the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Halliburton and Transocean came to terms in June 2016 with a $1.24 billion payout, and U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier made the arrangement official Wednesday (Feb. 15).
http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2017/02/judge_oks_124_billion_hallibur.html#incart_river_index
Regional
Permit for Louisiana's first sediment diversion to take at least two-plus years, but that’s fast
The Advocate
When the news broke that Louisiana would have to wait at least 2½ years to get federal permits for a critical sediment diversion, many people in the coastal restoration community were shocked.
http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/environment/article_7ab8cd1c-f49c-11e6-9325-8317f0b04233.html
Alabama has the biggest dam problem in the U.S.
Montgomery Advertiser
Ursula Powers walked by her kitchen window when she saw "a wall of water" surge through the trees.
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/local/community/2017/02/17/alabama-has-biggest-dam-problem-us/97945728/
Alabama releases red snapper statistics
AP
Alabama wildlife officials say the federal government is still overestimating the amount of red snapper caught in the Gulf of Mexico.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/state/mississippi/article133701989.html
National
Scott Pruitt Confirmed as EPA Chief by the Senate
Move could lead to a rollback of Obama-era climate and environmental regulations
WSJ
WASHINGTON—The Senate confirmed Scott Pruitt on Friday to be President Donald Trump’s administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, a move that kicks off in earnest Mr. Trump’s push to roll back Obama-era climate and environmental regulations.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/senate-set-to-confirm-scott-pruitt-as-epa-chief-1487348089
Scott Pruitt, longtime adversary of EPA, confirmed to lead the agency
Washington Post
Scott Pruitt woke up Friday morning as Oklahoma’s attorney general, a post he had used for six years to repeatedly sue the Environmental Protection Agency for its efforts to regulate mercury, smog and other forms of pollution. By day’s end, he had been sworn in as the agency’s new leader, setting off a struggle over what the EPA will become in the Trump era.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/02/17/scott-pruitt-long-time-adversary-of-epa-confirmed-to-lead-the-agency/?utm_term=.6972a7275b6c
Pruitt confirmation sets stage for Trump EPA assault
The Hill
With his pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in place, the stage is set for President Trump to begin his long-promised overhaul of the agency.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/320176-pruitt-confirmation-sets-stage-for-trump-epa-assault
How The EPA Became A Victim Of Its Own Success
NPR
The Environmental Protection Agency has a pretty simple mission in principle: to protect human health and the environment. It's a popular purpose too. Nearly three out of four U.S. adults believe the country "should do whatever it takes to protect the environment," according to a 2016 survey by the Pew Research Center.
Political support for the EPA, though, is less effusive.
http://www.npr.org/2017/02/17/515748401/how-the-epa-became-a-victim-of-its-own-success
New U.S. environmental agency chief to address staff amid fears of cuts
Reuters
The new head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, will address workers at the government body for the first time on Tuesday amid widespread expectations he intends to cut staff, budgets and climate change programs.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-epa-idUSKBN1601Q3
Mich. DEQ chief: ‘Vapor intrusion’ poses health threat
Detroit News
Lansing — A “significant public health threat” is brewing in Michigan because of chemical vapors that percolate up from the ground of former industrial or commercial sites and can leak into nearby homes, Department of Environmental Quality Director Heidi Grether said.
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/02/16/mich-deq-chief-vapor-intrusion-poses-health-threat/98020512/
Thousands of spills at US oil and gas fracking sites
BBC
They found that there had been 6,600 releases from these fracked wells over a ten-year period in four states.
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-39032748
Pa. links natural gas fracking with series of tiny quakes
AP
Pennsylvania environmental regulators have found a likely correlation between a natural gas company's fracking operation and a series of tiny earthquakes in western Pennsylvania last year.
http://www.fox29.com/news/236723982-story
Scientists, environmental activists protest in Boston against threat to science
AP
BOSTON – Hundreds of scientists, environmental advocates and their supporters held a rally in Boston on Sunday to protest what they see as increasing threats to science and research in the U.S.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/02/20/scientists-environmental-activists-protest-in-boston-against-threat-to-science.html
Wet winter has improved Colorado River basin's water forecast, but the drought endures
LA Times
California is not the only place in the West confronting startling amounts of rain and snow.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-colorado-river-20170217-story.html
Food industry leaders: 'Sell by' date labels contributing to food waste
KSFY
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KSFY) -- How much stock do you put into that ‘sell-by’ label or ‘best by’ date at the grocery store?
http://www.wtok.com/content/news?article=414204633
Opinion
Scott Pruitt’s Back-to-Basics Agenda for the EPA
The new administrator plans to follow his statutory mandate—clean air and water—and to respect states’ rights.
WSJ
By KIMBERLEY A. STRASSEL
Republican presidents tend to nominate one of two types of administrator to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. The first is the centrist—think Christie Todd Whitman (2001-03)—who might be equally at home in a Democratic administration. The other is the fierce conservative—think Anne Gorsuch (1981-83)—who views the agency in a hostile light.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/scott-pruitts-back-to-basics-agenda-for-the-epa-1487375872
The rebellion at the EPA is far from over
NY Post
Despite an unprecedented revolt by the agency’s employees, Scott Pruitt was confirmed Friday to head the Environmental Protection Agency. But that’ll hardly be the end of the rebellion.
http://nypost.com/2017/02/17/the-rebellion-at-the-epa-is-far-from-over/
Nashville's 'quiet revolution' to fight climate change
The Tennessean
Something historic is underfoot in Metro Nashville, and it would be a shame if it got lost in the news stampede coming out of Washington. To people who care about climate change, or to people who simply live on planet Earth, a small committee of environmentally conscious people may have just sparked a quiet revolution.
http://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/2017/02/19/nashvilles-quiet-revolution-fight-climate-change/98126500/
BILL CRAWFORD: Of shortfalls, cuts, contrasting oversight, reverse repealers
Daily Journal
Our Legislature faces deteriorating finances as they move to fund state government for next fiscal year.
http://djournal.com/opinion/bill-crawford-shortfalls-cuts-contrasting-oversight-reverse-repealers/
Press Releases
Scott Pruitt Confirmed and Sworn in as EPA Administrator
WASHINGTON--Today, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt was confirmed and sworn in as the 14th administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Administrator Pruitt believes promoting and protecting a strong and healthy environment is one of the lifeblood priorities of the government, and EPA is a vital part of that mission.
Pruitt became a national leader through a career of advocating to keep power in the hands of hardworking Americans. He has a proven record of working with industry, farmers, ranchers, landowners, small business owners and others to protect our natural resources.
As a dedicated civil servant, Pruitt created policies that serve the people. He strongly believes environmental law, policy, and progress are all based on cooperation among the states, cooperation between the states and EPA, and cooperation between regulators and the public.
As Administrator, Mr. Pruitt will lead EPA in a way that our future generations inherit a better and healthier environment while advancing America’s economic interests. He is committed to working with the thousands of dedicated public servants at EPA who have devoted their careers to helping realize this shared vision, while faithfully administering environmental laws.
Most recently, Administrator Pruitt served as the Attorney General for Oklahoma. He worked with his Democratic counterpart in Arkansas to reach agreement to study the water quality of the Illinois River that crosses between the two states and has been enjoyed by generations of Oklahomans and Arkansans. The Statement of Joint Principles provided for a best science study using EPA-approved methods, with both states agreeing, for the first time, to be bound by the outcome.
During his tenure as Oklahoma’s Attorney General, Mr. Pruitt led an historic water rights settlement between the State of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City and the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations that preserved the ecosystems of scenic lakes and rivers on native lands. The agreement, which required Congressional approval, was signed into law on December 2016.
The Law provides a framework that fosters intergovernmental collaboration on significant water resource concerns while protecting existing water rights and affirming the State’s role in water rights permitting and administration. Water settlement cases can be lengthy, costly, divisive and disruptive, however under Pruitt’s forward thinking leadership the process was hailed by all parties as one of commitment, hard work, perseverance and cooperation.
As Attorney General for Oklahoma, he also led the State’s legal challenges against property rights intrusion while protecting Oklahoma’s natural resources and environment.
Administrator Pruitt is recognized as a national leader in the cause to restore the proper balance between the states and federal government, and established common sense regulations that are fair and provide relief where needed. Before being elected attorney general, he served eight years in the Oklahoma State Senate where he was a leading voice for fiscal responsibility.
After earning his Bachelor’s Degree from Georgetown College and graduating from the University of Tulsa law school, Pruitt went into private legal practice, specializing in Constitutional Law.
In addition to his life as a civil servant, Administrator Pruitt is a successful entrepreneur. As a co-owner and managing general partner of Oklahoma City’s Triple-A minor league baseball affiliate, the Oklahoma City RedHawks, Mr. Pruitt took over the team’s marketing operations and helped the team become one of the league’s leaders in attendance and merchandise sales.
Scott Pruitt is, first and foremost, a family man. Scott and Marlyn, his wife of 27 years, proudly raised their daughter, McKenna, and son, Cade, in Tulsa. Scott has made it a priority to pass on to his children the same principled, family values with which he was raised.
To see Administrator Pruitt’s biography, visit: https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/epas-administrator
