State
Empty rail car source of Pascagoula chemical leak
WLOX
PASCAGOULA, MS (WLOX) -Roads near Highway 90 and Highway 63 in Pascagoula opened this morning. Police removed barricades at 3:15 a.m. after experts determined a chemical leak no longer posed a threat.
HYDRAULIC OIL SPILL IN GULFPORT NEIGHBORHOOD
WXXV
More than 50 gallons of hydraulic oil was spilled throughout Meadowbrook neighborhood in Gulfport this afternoon.
Threefoot still on track to open late next year
Meridian Star
Although slightly behind schedule, the 16-story Threefoot Building in Meridian should be up and running as a Courtyard by Marriott hotel by the end of next year.
...Tray Hairston of Butler Snow LLP, who represents MDH, said an environmental consultant next week will take samples from inside the building to determine “the amount of asbestos, lead-based paint and/or hydraulic oils ... inside the building.”
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality should have the results of those tests ready some time next month, he said.
Gulfport mayor expresses concern over possible HCUA legal action
WLOX
Just hours before Harrison County Utility Authority holds another discussion over Gulfport’s plan to hire its own garbage collector, a new letter seems to create a new mess for everyone on the board.
Crews work on Spillway Road landslide
WJTV
Wet weather led to the landslide on Spillway Road by the Reservoir. Now crews are working to reconstruct the area.
River cleanup to halt Barnett spillway fishing
Clarion Ledger
Fishing and other recreational use of the Barnett Reservoir spillway is scheduled to temporarily stop next month as volunteers work to remove trash and debris from the Pearl River.
MS Science Fest set for September 23
WJTV
The 2017 Mississippi Science Fest is set for next month.
The Mississippi Agriculture & Forestry Museum, the Mississippi Children’s Museum, MDWF’S Mississippi Museum of Natural Science and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum are partnering up for the September 23rd event.
Tropical Storm Harvey is on track to hit Texas. But is the Coast at risk?
Sun Herald
Tropical Depression Harvey has been upgraded to Tropical Storm Harvey as it is gaining strength in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. This is the second time the storm has gained tropical storm strength.
Most Mississippi Government Travel Money Is Spent In-State
AP
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi government agencies are spending most of their travel money in-state rather than out-of-state.
Watchdog questions state government travel
Clarion Ledger
Mississippi's legislative watchdog agency has issued a report on state government travel that notes the state spends more on average than surrounding states and recommends closer tracking and searching for savings.
Which state agencies had the highest travel costs?
Clarion Ledger
Video
Regional
EPA taps Alabama business lobbyist to lead Southeast region
AP
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A business lobbyist and ex-environmental regulator has been tapped as the new regional administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection office that oversees eight Southeastern states.
Gas pipeline firms must pay for some canal erosion, federal judge rules
Times-Picayune
Natural gas pipeline companies must repair some of the erosion that has occurred since 1953 along their pipeline canals on 20,000 acres of wetlands owned by New Orleans-based Vintage Assets Inc. in the Breton Sound basin in Plaquemines Parish, or compensate the landowner for the damages, a federal judge in New Orleans ruled Tuesday (Aug. 22).
NC politicians probe unregulated chemical in water supply
AP
RALEIGH, N.C.
North Carolina legislators began grappling Wednesday with a growing environmental and health alarm about an unregulated and little-studied chemical compound its maker released for years into a river supplying drinking water to hundreds of thousands of people
National
Millions in Brownfields Funds Unused, Inspector General Says
Bloomberg
Confusion, inconsistency and a lack of direction from the EPA kept investors away from about $11 million in potential brownfields cleanup funding, according to the agency’s inspector general.
Northeast states propose 30 percent greenhouse gas cut
The Hill
A coalition of nine northeastern states are proposing to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent under an existing interstate cap-and-trade program.
Federal Electricity Study Hints at Future Support for Coal
NY Times
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Wednesday released a major report urging actions to protect the “reliability and resilience” of the nation’s electric grid, a move that could lay the groundwork for future support of America’s ailing coal and nuclear industries.
Trump slow to deliver on promised energy overhaul
Houston Chronicle
WASHINGTON – Steve Milloy, a regular on Fox News and publisher of the blog JunkScience.com, has long railed against a culture within the U.S. government of pseudo-scientific research and overregulation that has held back America's energy industries.
Opinion
THE CHIEF ENGINEER’S LEGACY
Northside Sun
The Mississippi Levee Board (MLB) was created right after the Civil War to build and maintain levees in the Mississippi Delta. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) took over levee building in 1927. But the MLB, located in Greenville, still maintains them. It has had some famous chief engineers in its storied history.
