State
Mississippi Phosphates site raises environmental concerns WLOX
Duck population overpowering Jackson Co. neighborhood
WLOX
The weather has always been an unpredictable element of agriculture, but climate change is expected to make matters significantly worse. Determining how much worse has historically been a challenge. A new study, however, says climate-induced drought could hit several of the world's major corn producing regions all at once.
http://www.deltafarmpress.com/corn/corn-could-be-victim-climate-change America’s Waterways: A Vicious Cycle of Inefficiency Delays lead to lower demand which leads to higher costs
WSJ
For American producers who rely on the nation’s waterways to export and distribute billions of tons of grains, coal and chemicals each year, aging locks systems on rivers and the frequent delays they cause cost more than just time.
https://www.wsj.com/graphics/americas-waterways-a-vicious-cycle-of-inefficiency/ Keene hires goats to trim grass at landfill Dubbing them its new lawn mowers, the public works department in Keene said it had brought in 30 goats in June to munch on the grass and shrubs at the fenced-in landfill.
NBC 5
Jackson – The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks is continuing its partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Foundation for Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, Wildlife Mississippi, the National Wild Turkey Federation, Mississippi Forestry Commission and others to provide cost-share for prescribed burning on private lands. Since its inception in 2011, the “Fire on the Forty” program has provided cost-share funding for prescribed burning on more than 55,000 acres in North and South Mississippi.
Prescribed fire is a very important tool for forest and wildlife management, but many private landowners are reluctant to use it because of cost and liability concerns. As part of the “Fire on the Forty” initiative, the partnership will reimburse burning projects in selected focal counties up to 50 percent of costs for implementing and performing a prescribed burn. These focal counties include Monroe, Lowndes, Noxubee, and Prentiss in North Mississippi and Amite, Pike, Walthall, Jefferson Davis, Covington, Marion, Lamar, Pearl River, and Forest in South Mississippi. For more information or to view a map of focal areas visit
www.mdwfp.com/fireontheforty.
Landowners must submit an application for entry into the program prior to October 6, 2017 to be considered for this year’s funding. All applications will be competitively ranked based on potential habitat benefits for wildlife. Funding for the “Fire on the Forty” initiative is provided by the U.S, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Mississippi Forestry Commission, and the National Wild Turkey Federation.
For more information regarding the “Fire on the Forty” program, including project application forms, visit
www.mdwfp.com/fireontheforty, contact John Gruchy at
johng@mdwfp.state.ms.us, or call us at (601) 432-2199. Follow us on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/mdwfp or on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/MDWFPonline.
New EPA Tool Helps Communities Access More Than $10 Billion in Water Infrastructure Financing New EPA tool gives communities access to information and financing opportunities that will help improve water quality and protect public health 07/26/2017
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching the
Water Finance Clearinghouse, a web‐based portal to help communities make informed financing decisions for their drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure needs. The Clearinghouse provides communities with a searchable database with more than $10 billion in water funding sources and over 550 resources to support local water infrastructure projects. It consolidates and expands upon existing EPA-supported databases to create a one-stop-shop for all community water finance needs. The Water Finance Clearinghouse was developed by
EPA’s Water Infrastructure and Resiliency Finance Center, an information and assistance center that provides financing information to help local decision makers make informed decisions for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure to reach their public health and environmental goals.
“Every day, Americans depend on water infrastructure to ensure that their drinking water is safe and that local waterways stay clean,” said
EPA’s Office of Water’s Deputy Assistant Administrator D. Lee Forsgren. “Investing in water infrastructure sustains local economies by creating jobs, protecting public health, and increasing quality of life. EPA’s Clearinghouse is a vital portal that helps connect communities with the information and tools they need to finance much needed water infrastructure improvement projects.”
Many communities around the country have aging or inadequate water infrastructure: each year approximately 240,000 main breaks occur while elsewhere billions of gallons of raw sewage are discharged into local surface waters from aging conveyance systems. Communities increasingly need efficient access to up-to-date water finance information to rehabilitate or replace their water infrastructure. EPA’s new Water Finance Clearinghouse meets this need.
The Water Finance Clearinghouse gives local decision makers an opportunity to search for available funding sources for water infrastructure as well as resources (such as reports, webpages, and webinars) on financing mechanisms and approaches that can help communities access capital to meet their water infrastructure needs. State, federal, local, and foundation funding sources and resources on public-private partnerships, asset management practices, revenue models, and affordability approaches are included in the Clearinghouse.
The Water Finance Clearinghouse is updated in real-time, following a crowdsourcing model. States, federal agencies, and other water sector stakeholders have the ability to suggest edits and new resources or funding options at any time through the Contributor Portal. Stakeholders can use this interactive feature to manage how their programs and initiatives are displayed in the Clearinghouse.
EPA webinars on how to use the Clearinghouse are scheduled for:
- July 27
- July 31
- August 3
- August 14
- August 18
- August 24
- August 31
All webinars will be held 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Eastern. You can register for a webinar at:
https://register.gotowebinar.com/rt/4533646364837520386 More information on the Clearinghouse:
https://www.epa.gov/waterfinancecenter/water-finance-clearinghouse https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/new-epa-tool-helps-communities-access-more-10-billion-water-infrastructure-financing The Gulf of Mexico Alliance needs pictures. 
