State
Mississippi gets $2.9 million to clean up contaminated sites AP
JACKSON, MISS.
Federal officials are awarding $2.9 million to Mississippi to clean up pollution from contaminated sites.
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality says the nine brownfield grants are the most Mississippi has ever received from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/state/mississippi/article154206969.html MDEQ recognizes Cooper Tire for environmental stewardship Daily Journal
Do have hazardous materials including unwanted paint, old batteries or fluorescent light bulbs at home that you don’t know how to dispose of properly? If so, you’re in luck.
The Warren County Supervisors and Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality will be sponsoring the 20th annual Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day Saturday, June 10, from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. at Warren Central High School.
http://www.vicksburgpost.com/2017/06/02/annual-hazardous-waste-collection-day-set-for-june-10/ Rural residents in Lamar County better utilizing white goods drop-off than city dwellers Hattiesburg American
The growth of wild hog populations has reached an almost epidemic level in some areas. In Mississippi, they are suspected to be in every county. Hunters find their food plots destroyed, farmers lose crops and levees are threatened by the invasive swine. According to the Mississippi State University Extension Service, wild hogs cause roughly $1.5 billion in damage in the United States annually.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/2017/06/02/hog-eradication-goes-high-tech/357738001/ ‘Commercial guys can fish 365 days a year, but the rec guys can only fish three days.’ Sun Herald
BILOXI
Metro Atlanta’s air quality improves despite population growth
AJC
President Trump announced the U.S. will withdraw from the Paris climate agreement on Thursday, to the horror of green elites world-wide. If the decision shows he is more mindful of American economic interests than they are, the other virtue of pulling out is to expose the fraudulence of this Potemkin village.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-bids-paris-adieu-1496358860 Health Department has right leader for tough times Sun Herald
We like state Health Officer Dr. Mary Currier’s approach.
She could have announced, “The sky is falling,” after her department’s budget was cut to $24.6 million for the fiscal year that begins July 1. That is a cut from the $36 million budgeted for the current year, which subsequently was cut to $31 million by Gov. Phil Bryant after the state’s revenue fell below expectations.
http://www.sunherald.com/opinion/editorials/article153989964.html Press Releases
Gov. Phil Bryant Sets June 5 for Extraordinary Session of the Mississippi Legislature Jackson, Miss. – Gov. Phil Bryant has called a special session of the Mississippi Legislature that will begin at 10 a.m. on Monday, June 5. The session will focus on state appropriations and incorporating best practices that will bolster the state’s ability to maintain a balanced budget and healthy finances.
“The session should last one, perhaps two, days, in order to minimize costs to taxpayers,” Gov. Bryant said.
The call for the special session will include:
The FORTIFY Act:
- Requires a multi-year financial plan from the Legislative Budget Office. Although Mississippi currently formulates such plans, credit rating agencies have consistently favored the codification of these plans into statute.
- Increases the Rainy Day Fund cap from 7.5 percent of current fiscal year appropriations to 10 percent. Many other states have recently increased statutory caps on savings accounts due to volatile revenue trends and the need for more flexibility. Rating agencies will view this as a positive change.
- Revises the distribution of unencumbered cash, which represents a cash balance at the end of the fiscal year, so that more funds will be directed to our savings account and the Capital Expense Fund. This will allow us to save more and borrow less.
- Stops projected cash balances (unencumbered cash) in the prior year from being added to the revenue estimate to formulate the budget. Since revenue estimates, upon which funds are appropriated, are made before the end of the fiscal year, it is impossible to know how much cash balance will carry over to the next fiscal year. This takes some of the guess work out of preparing the budget and allows for the purest estimate of revenue in any given year.
- Eliminates the Budget Contingency Fund. The Budget Contingency Fund is an old account that is no longer used as originally intended. In addition, rating agencies have had complaints about how it has been used in the past.
Clarifications to the Budget Transparency and Simplification Act. This includes several technical amendments to the 2016 legislation that reformed how the state manages special budget funds. This will entail clarifying some of the bill’s language with regard to trust fund accounts and allow for federal funds to be spent on utilities and technology, where appropriate.
Appropriations
- Mississippi Department of Transportation
- Office of the Attorney General
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Media Release
For Immediate Release For More information contact:
Keala J. Hughes, Director of External Affairs & Tribal Relations
Direct: 504-717-7235
Email:
restorecouncil@restorethegulf.gov The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (Council) seeks public comment on the proposed subaward of the Bayou Greenways Planning and Implementation Award (Bayou Greenways Award) to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Under the Bayou Greenways Award, TCEQ will provide a subaward in the amount of $7,085,022 to the Houston Park Board (HPB), a non-profit organization, to conserve approximately 100 acres of land through fee title acquisition from willing sellers. The proposed subaward will contribute to the larger Bayou Greenways Initiative, which has a long‑term goal of preserving and restoring nearly 4,000 acres of riparian buffer corridors along the major waterways (bayous and creeks) running predominantly through Harris County and the City of Houston. These waterways are connected to a region known as the Trinity‑San Jacinto Estuary (Galveston Bay) - the largest watershed in Texas. Through the Bayou Greenways Initiative, HPB has partnered with the City of Houston and the Harris County Flood Control District to preserve, restore and provide public access these important ecological assets in the 4th largest city in the nation.
On June 1, 2017, the Council issued a
30--day Federal Register notice on this proposed funding approval. This notice includes additional information on this proposal, as well as how to submit comments to the Council. The Public is encouraged to review this proposed amendment and provide comment prior to the close of the Federal Register Notice on July 3, 2017.
Learn more about
Initial Funded Priorities List or the
RESTORE Council.
Please send any questions or comments to:
Keala J. Hughes
Director of External Affairs & Tribal Relations
(504) 717-7235
keala.hughes@restorethegulf.gov 
