State
Pollution fears persist in Pascagoula neighborhood
WLOX
PASCAGOULA, MS (WLOX) -
Some of the people who live in the Cherokee Forest area of Pascagoula are living in fear. They're not afraid of crime, but for their health.
http://www.wlox.com/story/34828726/pollution-fears-persist-in-pascagoula-neighborhood Mississippi chicken operators keeping watchful eye on Alabama bird flu cases
Commercial Dispatch
Reports of avian influenza, or bird flu, in Tennessee and Alabama -- including a case in nearby Pickens County -- are something Mississippi chicken growers should be keeping a watchful eye on, said Tom Tabler, a professor of Poultry Science for the Mississippi State University Extension Service.
http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=57105 Even One Infected Chicken Could Have a Global Impact Yahoo
LAUREL, Miss., March 23, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- With the USDA's confirmation of Avian Influenza in southern Tennessee, Alabama, and now Kentucky, the virus has struck the United States for the fourth year in a row. Since the first reported case in 2014, over 40 million chickens and turkeys have died or been euthanized across 15 states in the U.S. Until recently, the last highly pathogenic bird flu was found in a commercial turkey flock in Indiana in January 2016.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/even-one-infected-chicken-could-181200990.html Oil Spill
Danger: State warns boaters to stay away from Round Island Sun Herald
PASCAGOULA
Just days into his tenure as EPA chief, Administrator Scott Pruitt was at President Donald Trump’s side as the president signed an executive order repealing the Waters of the U.S. rule. In an exclusive interview with the American Farm Bureau, Pruitt said the WOTUS repeal is ushering in a new era at EPA, one in which states have primacy and private property owners have certainty.
http://www.fb.org/news/epa-chief-agency-will-be-states-partner-in-addressing-environmental-issues Trump administration approves Keystone XL pipeline CNN
California air quality officials have approved what are widely considered to be the most rigorous and comprehensive regulations in the country for controlling methane emissions, a move that helps cement the state’s status as a standard-bearer for environmental protection.
http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/California-passes-nation-s-toughest-methane-11024492.php Engineers Warn of ‘Significant Risk’ if California’s Oroville Dam Isn’t Fixed Thousands were evacuated in February as spillway threatened to fail WSJ
Shipping containers full of coal ash from China, Poland and India have come into the U.S. through the Port of Virginia as foreign companies find a market for the same industrial waste that America's utilities are struggling to dispose of.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/coal-ash-world-importing-46327391 A Seinfeld plot come to life: Man pleads guilty in bottle and can deposit scam McClatchy
Seinfeld fans will recognize this plan hatched by this Indiana man, who pleaded guilty to returning more than 10,000 out of state non-refundable beverage cans and bottles.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article140484098.html Opinion
The Trump administration wants to kill the popular Energy Star program because it combats climate change
By Aseem Prakash and Nives Dolšak March 23
Washington Post
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina swept away more than 18 acres of wetland in Bayou Caddy near Waveland, Miss. In the aftermath of the destruction, several studies concluded that the area was the most susceptible coastline in the country to be hit by another severe storm.
“There were a whole bunch of studies done after [Hurricane] Katrina because the two of the largest storm surges in U.S. history (Hurricane Camille in 1969 and Katrina in 2005) hit right there in Waveland,” said Susan Rees, coastal resiliency program manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District (USACE). “Based on those studies, [it was] found that this area of the coastline was three times more likely to get hit by a severe storm than any other point in the continental U.S.”
Even without another severe storm hitting the area, the Bayou Caddy wetlands would have continued to erode due to a high wave energy concentration that is focused at that point. The erosion would have eventually led to a net loss of tidal marsh, estuarine habitat and productive fisheries.
To prevent that from happening, the Federal government authorized the USACE to execute the Bayou Caddy Ecosystem Restoration Project. The project aims to aid in the immediate recovery of the wetlands, and enhance the resiliency of the coast against future storms.
“Without those 18 acres, the other 3,000 acres of the wetlands became more vulnerable to erosion, because you lost the tip of the spear,” explained Rees. “So the first thing we had to do was restore the wetlands that were lost.”
Construction on the wetlands began in 2009 and was finished by 2013. After restoring the wetlands, USACE shifted their focus to shoreline stabilization.
“They put in a rock, rubble-mound breakwater along the northwest section of the coast because that is where the wave energy is most intense,” said Joe Black, civil engineer for the USACE. “That gave us enough protection to utilize a living shoreline for the rest of the site.”
The living shoreline will consist of five, 300-foot rows of marine-grade bioengineered concrete wave attenuation devices (WAD). According to Black, the WADs will provide enough protection to dissipate wave energy, but will still allow water to flush in and out of the ecosystem.
Construction for the entire project is expected to wrap up by the end of March. Upon completion, the project will not only improve the resiliency of the coast, it will also help the ecosystem in the wetlands flourish.
“In addition to the breakwater structure that you want, you also have an ecological benefit with an increased fish habitat,” Rees said. “[The WADS] are made out of a special concrete the oysters will ultimately attach to and once they become attached, they will serve as a food source for other fish.”
As construction on the project comes to a close, Black reflected on the value of using living shorelines in USACE projects.
“It’s not something that has been done a lot, [but] it’s something that I hope to see more of moving forward,” said Black. “Traditional rock and concrete bulkheads can have environmental impacts. So we are really hoping to achieve the protection we want [with this project], while still maintaining the environment.”
The USACE will continue to monitor the site through 2022 to ensure the project is working as designed.
http://www.sam.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Stories/Article/1128522/construction-on-ecosystem-restoration-project-nears-completion/ 
