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AG Sues Over TCE Contamination
North Mississippi Herald
WATER VALLEY – The first in what is expected to be a flurry of lawsuits against EnPro Industries, Inc., Goodrich Corporation and Oldco, LLC regarding the decades old contamination at the former Colt Industries/Holley Carburetor site in Water Valley was filed last Friday in Yalobusha County Circuit Court.
http://yalnews.com/contentitem/421565/1175/ag-sues-over-tce-contamination
NAS-Meridian neighbors learn about well testing
Meridian Star
A new wastewater treatment plant will be built in Rankin County
WLBT
If you are planning to hit the beach, there are two sections of water in the Mississippi Sound that you want to avoid. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality issued water contact advisories Thursday for Gulfport Central Beach from Alfonso Drive east to Arkansas Avenue and Pass Christian West Beach from Fort Henry Avenue east to Elliot Street.
http://www.wlox.com/story/35147207/mdeq-dont-swim-in-these-waters
ENVIRONMENTAL APPRECIATION DINNER AT PELICAN LANDING
WXXV
Rumors that began swirling last week that residents are in danger of losing their flood-insurance coverage are not exactly true.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/counties/hancock-county/article144546864.html
Toyota announces visitor center addition, education grants
Daily Journal
Bird flu surveillance zones lifted in western Kentucky
AP
The Trump administration's hiring freeze meant more than 350 positions at the Environmental Protection Agency were left unfilled, newly released agency documents show, including more than 100 scientists in specialties like environmental science, life science, and physical science.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/13/politics/epa-hiring-freeze/
Pruitt says reports of employee rebellion at EPA a result of changing ideology
Washington Times
“It [the Paris Accord] was an America second, third, or fourth kind of approach. China and India had no obligations under the agreement until 2030.”
— Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, interview on “Fox and Friends,” April 13, 2017
During an appearance on Fox and Friends, the EPA administrator denounced the Paris Accord, the global agreement on curbing climate change, as a “bad deal for America.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/04/14/epa-administrator-scott-pruitts-claim-that-china-and-india-have-no-obligations-until-2030-under-the-paris-accord/?utm_term=.ab0b78316695
Poisons Are Us
NY Times
Timothy Egan
When you bite into a piece of fruit, it should be a mindless pleasure. Sure, that steroidal-looking strawberry with a toothpaste-white interior doesn’t seem right to begin with. But you shouldn’t have to think about childhood brain development when layering it over your cereal.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/14/opinion/poisons-are-us.html?_r=0
Press Releases
EPA ADMINISTRATOR PRUITT STATEMENT ON OMB GUIDANCE ON REORGANIZING THE GOVERNMENT
04/13/2017
Contact Information:
U.S. EPA Media Relations (press@epa.gov)
- - EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt released the following statement today, in support of the Office of Management and Budget's new guidance on implementing President Trump's plans for reorganizing the federal government and reducing the government workforce:
"EPA is returning to its core statutory mission, and focusing on greater value and results. EPA will partner with the states and tribes to ensure a thoughtful approach is used to maximize resources to protect our air, land, and water. And, we will work with EPA staff to effectively use every taxpayer dollar we are entrusted."
To submit ideas for reducing the government workforce, please visit: https://www.whitehouse.gov/reorganizing-the-executive-branch
EPA to Reconsider ELG Rule
EPA takes another action to implement President Trump’s vision
04/13/2017
Contact Information:
WASHINGTON – EPA announced the agency’s decision to review and reconsider the final rule that amends the effluent limitations guidelines and standards for the steam electric power generating category under the Clean Water Act (ELG Rule), which has been estimated to cost $480 million per year and has a reported average cost of $1.2 billion per year during the first five years of compliance.
“This action is another example of EPA implementing President Trump’s vision of being good stewards of our natural resources, while not developing regulations that hurt our economy and kill jobs,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.
EPA issued an administrative stay to delay the compliance deadlines for the ELG Rule during the pendency of the ongoing litigation challenging the rule in order to give the agency the opportunity to consider and review the rule. EPA will also be sending a letter to the petitioners who requested reconsideration of the rule, to notify them that the rule has been administratively stayed and is under review.
“Some of our nation’s largest job producers have objected to this rule, saying the requirements set by the Obama administration are not economically or technologically feasible within the proscribed timeframe. It is in the public’s best interest to reconsider the rule and assess the wide-ranging and sweeping objections that the agency received,” said Administrator Pruitt.
USGS Estimates 304 Trillion Cubic Feet of Natural Gas in the Bossier and Haynesville Formations of the U.S. Gulf Coast
USGS
The Bossier and Haynesville Formations of the onshore and State waters portion of the U.S. Gulf Coast contain estimated means of 4.0 billion barrels of oil, 304.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 1.9 billion barrels of natural gas liquids, according to updated assessments by the U.S. Geological Survey. These estimates, the largest continuous natural gas assessment USGS has yet conducted, include petroleum in both conventional and continuous accumulations, and consist of undiscovered, technically recoverable resources.
The Bossier and Haynesville Formations lie within the Gulf Coast Basin, which extends from the Texas-Mexico border in the west to the Florida Panhandle in the east. The Bossier Formation is estimated to contain means of 2.9 billion barrels of oil, 108.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 1.0 billion barrels of natural gas liquids, while the Haynesville Formation is estimated to contain a mean of 1.1 billion barrels of oil, 195.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 0.9 billion barrels of natural gas liquids.
“As the USGS revisits many of the oil and gas basins of the United States, we continually find that technological revolutions of the past few years have truly been a game-changer in the amount of resources that are now technically recoverable," said Walter Guidroz, Program Coordinator of the USGS Energy Resources Program. "Changes in technology and industry practices, combined with an increased understanding of the regional geologic framework, can have a significant effect on what resources become technically recoverable. These changes are why the USGS remains committed to performing the most up-to-date assessments of these vital resources throughout the United States and the world.”
Prior to this report, the USGS assessed the Bossier and Haynesville Formations in a 2010 assessment of Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks of the Gulf Coast. At that time, the Bossier was estimated to contain a mean of 9.0 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, while the Haynesville was estimated to contain 61.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
“It’s amazing what a little more knowledge can yield,” said USGS scientist Stan Paxton, lead author of the assessment. “Since the 2010 assessment, we’ve gotten updated geologic maps, expanded production history and have a greater understanding of how these reservoirs evolved. All of that leads to a better geological model and therefore a more robust assessment.”
The Bossier and Haynesville Formations have long been known to contain oil and gas, but it wasn’t until 2008 that production of the continuous resources really got underway in East Texas and North Louisiana, the primary production areas for the two formations.
Continuous oil and gas is dispersed throughout a geologic formation rather than existing as discrete, localized occurrences, such as those in conventional accumulations. Because of that, continuous resources commonly require special technical drilling and recovery methods, such as hydraulic fracturing.
USGS assessments are probabilistic and statistic assessments, yielding a range of possible resource amounts. For the Bossier Formation, the assessment ranges from 37.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas to 223.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, with 108.6 trillion cubic feet as the mean. For oil, the assessment ranges from 1.2 billion barrels of oil to 5.1 billion barrels of oil, with 2.9 billion barrels as the mean. For natural gas liquids, the assessment ranges from 424 million barrels to 2.0 billion barrels, with 1.0 billion barrels as the mean.
The Haynesville Formation, meanwhile, ranges from 96.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas to 341 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, with 195.8 trillion cubic feet as the mean. For oil, the assessment ranges from 286 million barrels of oil to 2.5 billion barrels of oil, with 1.1 billion barrels as the mean. For natural gas liquids, the assessment ranges from 304 million barrels to 1.7 billion barrels, with 0.9 billion barrels as the mean.
Undiscovered resources are those that are estimated to exist based on geologic knowledge and statistical analysis of known resources, while technically recoverable resources are those that can be produced using currently available technology and industry practices. Whether or not it is profitable to produce these resources has not been evaluated.
The USGS is the only provider of publicly available estimates of undiscovered technically recoverable oil and gas resources of onshore lands and offshore state waters. The USGS assessments of the Bossier and Haynesville Formations were undertaken as part of a nationwide project assessing domestic petroleum basins using standardized methodology and protocol.
The new assessments of the Bossier and Haynesville Formations may be found online. To find out more about USGS energy assessments and other energy research, please visit the USGS Energy Resources Program website, sign up for our Newsletter, and follow us on Twitter.
https://www.usgs.gov/news/usgs-estimates-304-trillion-cubic-feet-natural-gas-bossier-and-haynesville-formations-us-gulf
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