Seven years is a long time and for many Mississippians, the tragic images and headlines surrounding the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill are painful but somewhat distant memories.
http://www.sunherald.com/opinion/other-voices/article147364929.html Press Releases
EPA Kicks Off Website Updates 04/28/2017
Contact Information:
(
press@epa.gov)
WASHINGTON – EPA.gov, the website for the United States Environmental Protection Agency, is undergoing changes that reflect the agency’s new direction under President Donald Trump and Administrator Scott Pruitt. The process, which involves updating language to reflect the approach of new leadership, is intended to ensure that the public can use the website to understand the agency's current efforts. The changes will comply with agency ethics and legal guidance, including the use of proper archiving procedures. For instance, a screenshot of the last administration’s website will remain available from the main page.
“As EPA renews its commitment to human health and clean air, land, and water, our website needs to reflect the views of the leadership of the agency,” said J.P. Freire, Associate Administrator for Public Affairs. “We want to eliminate confusion by removing outdated language first and making room to discuss how we’re protecting the environment and human health by partnering with states and working within the law.”
The first page to be updated is a
page reflecting President Trump’s Executive Order on Energy Independence, which calls for a review of the so-called Clean Power Plan. Language associated with the Clean Power Plan, written by the last administration, is out of date. Similarly, content related to climate and regulation is also being reviewed.
STORM DAMAGE REPORTED TO MEMA PEARL – The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency has received initial damage reports from 19 county emergency management agencies as a result of severe storms Sunday. There is one death and at least two injuries being reported. There are more than 20,000 customers without power.
The counties reporting damages are as follows:
- Adams: Trees and powerlines down, roads closed.
- Attala: Home and church damaged.
- Chickasaw: Trees down.
- Claiborne: Mobile homes damaged.
- Covington: Trees and powerlines down.
- Forrest: Trees and powerlines down, flash flooding.
- Grenada: Trees and powerlines down, flash flooding.
- Hinds: Trees and powerlines down.
- Holmes:One death near Durant. Trees and powerlines down, I-55 southbound closed for tree debris in road.
- Jefferson Davis: One injury from lightning strike.
- Jones: Flash flooding.
- Lowndes: Home damaged, trees down.
- Madison: Trees and powerlines down, old water tower damaged in Flora.
- Montgomery: Trees and powerlines down, damage and power outage in the town of Kilmichael.
- Rankin: One injury. Trees and powerlines down.
- Smith: Oil well fire near Taylorsville, struck by lightning.
- Union: Trees down.
- Warren: Trees and powerlines down.
- Yazoo: Homes damaged, trees and powerlines down.
Damage assessments continue. The National Weather Service forecast calls for additional heavy rainfall through Sunday so citizens are asked to stay alert for the possibility of flash flooding from the saturated ground.
MEMA urges the public to report damages to your local Emergency Management Agency. For a list of contact numbers for your county, visit
www.msema.org/local-ema.
For more information, go to MEMA’s website at www.msema.org or download the MEMA mobile app on your iOS or Android device.
Shrimp season closes west of Gulfport Ship Channel;
Additional waters south of Intracoastal Waterway remain open BILOXI, Miss. – Officials with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources announced Friday, April 28, that beginning May 1, all waters south of the Intracoastal Waterway and west of the Gulfport Ship Channel are closed to shrimping.
The closure takes effect at 6:01 a.m.
Mississippi territorial waters south of the ICW and east of the Gulfport Ship Channel will remain open to shrimping.
A map of these areas is attached.
For more information, call MDMR at 228-374-5000 or the Shrimp Information Hotline at 866-938-7295.
Commercial Red Drum season opens May 1 BILOXI, Miss. – The commercial fishing season for Red Drum
(Sciaenops ocellatus) will open at 12:01 a.m. Monday, May 1, officials with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources said Friday.
The annual total allowable catch for commercial landings is 60,000 pounds. The allowable catch from May 1 through Aug. 31 is 20,000 pounds. If the 20,000-pound limit is reached before Aug. 31, the season will close immediately and reopen on Sept. 1.
If commercial fishermen don’t reach the 20,000-pound limit before Aug. 31, the remaining pounds will be added to the next fishing period for Red Drum, which begins Sept. 1.
