State
Palazzo among those who would shut down EPA
Sun Herald
Rep. Steven Palazzo, R-4, is one of four Republican congressmen who want to get rid of the EPA.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/politics-government/article131194849.html
County to fund city parks annually after CLRA split
Commercial Dispatch
Illegal dumping
In other business, supervisors agreed to allow Billingsley to move forward in obtaining surveillance cameras to monitor illegal garbage dumping along county roads.
Billingsley said the county could use grant money from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality to purchase a set of cameras.
http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=56094
Litter index reported, cleanup planned
Enterprise-Journal
Pike County supervisors received the results of a litter index Monday along with news about the upcoming Great American Cleanup.
http://www.enterprise-journal.com/news/article_f45e5f9c-ed58-11e6-8f1b-374db03f6d91.html
SCHOOL DISTRICT PARTNERS WITH SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC FOR COST SAVING, ENERGY EFFICIENT INNOVATIONS
WCBI
NETTLETON, MISS. (WCBI) – Students at Nettleton High School use Chromebooks during instruction time. Hopefully, all of the units are powered down after class, but there's no way to tell. But once the campus is outfitted with energy efficient infrastructure, any Chromebook, AC unit or other electronic device can be automatically shut off.
http://www.wcbi.com/school-district-partners-schneider-electric-cost-saving-energy-efficient-innovations/
'Deplorable Conditions' at Bay P.D. Headquarters: Mold forces police, staff to move out
Sea Coast Echo
"Deplorable" conditions at the Bay St. Louis Police Department have led city leaders to temporarily relocate police services to several different locations.
http://www.seacoastecho.com/article_10614.shtml#.WJsrHG_aeUk
Oil Spill
Bill to keep BP money on Coast advances, heads to House
Sun Herald
A bill to create a special fund for BP economic-damages money passed the Mississippi Senate Tuesday and now heads to the House for more work.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article131205254.html
Senate passes bill to direct BP settlement funds to Mississippi coast
Mississippi Press
JACKSON, Mississippi -- The Mississippi Senate unanimously passed a bill Tuesday which would separate BP settlement funds from the state's general fund, with the intent of distributing those funds along the Mississippi coast.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2017/02/senate_passes_bill_to_direct_b.html#incart_river_index
Toxic BP spill oil component disrupts fish hearts, new study says
Times-Picayune
A toxic chemical found in oil has now been identified as the specific substance responsible for disrupting the hearts of fish exposed to crude oil spills, including the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, according to a paper published in the Jan. 31 issue of Nature Scientific Reports. The discovery is setting off alarm bells about the exposure of human beings to the same chemical in air and water.
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2017/02/toxic_bp_spill_oil_component_s.html#incart_river_index
Oil spill experts convene in New Orleans to help align research with future response efforts
The Advocate
Nearly seven years after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, oil spill experts are working from volumes of research toward efforts to prepare for and respond to future accidents.
http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/business/article_1839c0b8-ed82-11e6-b66b-eb60b7ffa6bb.html
BP Needs Oil to Rise to $60 to Break Even
BP posts second consecutive annual loss as Deepwater Horizon disaster continues to weigh on British oil giant
WSJ
LONDON—BP PLC said it needs oil prices to rise to $60 a barrel in order to break even, as the British oil giant ramped up debt levels last year to fund spending, maintain its dividend and cope with costs associated with the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/bp-earnings-fall-for-second-consecutive-year-1486452753
National
The hearing was titled, 'Making EPA great again.' Scientists are afraid the opposite will happen.
Washington Post
A hearing held Tuesday by the House Committee on Science, Space & Technology promised to focus on "Making the Environmental Protection Agency great again" — but its panel of industry-affiliated witnesses and its discussion of possible new legislation had some lawmakers and scientists worried the opposite may occur.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/02/07/the-hearing-was-titled-making-epa-great-again-scientists-are-afraid-the-opposite-will-happen/?utm_term=.c7f51849cdcb
GOP-backed measures seek to rein in science used at EPA
AP
WASHINGTON (AP) — Pondering new restrictions on how the Environmental Protection Agency can use scientific data, congressional Republicans are seeking advice from the chemical and fossil fuel industries.
http://ktar.com/story/1453035/gop-backed-measures-seek-to-rein-in-science-used-at-epa/
Federal scientist cooked climate change books ahead of Obama presentation, whistle blower charges
Fox News
A key Obama administration scientist brushed aside inconvenient data that showed a slowdown in global warming in compiling an alarming 2015 report that coincided with the White House participation in the Paris Climate Conference, a whistle blower is alleging.
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2017/02/07/federal-scientist-cooked-climate-change-books-ahead-obama-presentation-whistle-blower-charges.html
Trump EPA official juggles two jobs in two Washingtons, and it hasn't gone well.
Washington Post
Doug Ericksen is trying to hold down two jobs in two different Washingtons. And it's not going terribly well.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/02/07/two-washingtons-two-day-jobs-and-angry-democrats-back-home-trump-epa-official-juggles-dual-roles/?utm_term=.52f572edab69
Trump Expected to Name Fossil Fuel Lobbyist to Advise on Energy Issues
CCGN's Michael Catanzaro has worked for Republicans and advised Trump's transition team
WSJ
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump is likely to tap a veteran Washington lobbyist to advise on energy issues in the White House, according to multiple people close to the new administration.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-expected-to-name-fossil-fuel-lobbyist-to-advise-on-energy-issues-1486559510
House passes bill to block Obama land planning rule
The Hill
The House passed a resolution Tuesday to undo an Obama administration rule for public lands that opponents say gives the federal government too much power.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/318372-house-passes-bill-to-block-obama-land-planning-rule
Trump Administration Gives Final Approval for Dakota Access Pipeline
Department of Army to issue outstanding easement needed
WSJ
WASHINGTON—The Trump administration has given a final green light to the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline, according to a court filing issued Tuesday, fulfilling a campaign pledge to boost energy projects but infuriating activists fighting the project.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-administration-gives-final-approval-for-dakota-access-pipeline-1486500445
EPA OKs state GOP exemptions for pollutors
Wisconsin State Journal
After years of delays, the federal government approved Wisconsin's plan to give polluters less-costly options for meeting phosphorus standards aimed at reducing unnatural weed and algae growth that has impaired hundreds of lakes and streams, state lawmakers said Tuesday.
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/environment/epa-approves-postponement-of-state-water-pollution-standards/article_e578be6f-3234-5bae-ae25-1dcdc041d8f8.html
Dow, DuPont try more divestments in seeking merger approval
AP
NEW YORK
Dow Chemical and DuPont say they're willing to make more business divestments as a way to nudge European regulators who remain wary of their proposed merger.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/business/article131407664.html
Opinion
A Conservative Answer to Climate Change
Enacting a carbon tax would free up private firms to find the most efficient ways to cut emissions.
By GEORGE P. SHULTZ and JAMES A. BAKER III
WSJ
Thirty years ago, as the atmosphere's protective ozone layer was dwindling at alarming rates, we were serving proudly under President Ronald Reagan. We remember his leading role in negotiating the Montreal Protocol, which continues to protect and restore the delicate ozone layer. Today the world faces a similar challenge: the threat of climate change.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-conservative-answer-to-climate-change-1486512334
Good Luck Killing the EPA
Bloomberg
The new U.S. president and Congress are taking a hard look at environmental rules—none harder than a freshman U.S. representative whose new bill would "terminate the Environmental Protection Agency."
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-08/good-luck-killing-the-epa
