State
Debris fire gets out of control, burns 7 acres near Purvis
Hattiesburg American
A debris fire that got out of control Wednesday burned around 7 acres on Bill Andrews Road near U.S. 11 outside Purvis.
Annual Sardis Lake Clean-Up Day set for Saturday
Oxford Eagle
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Vicksburg District and Mugshots of Oxford are partnering to clean up one of the area’s most prominent lakes: Sardis.
AQUACULTURE CLASS AT OCEAN SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL
WXXV
Ocean Springs High School is home to one of the states only aquaculture programs. Today, students in their second year of taking the course are diving into deeper waters and taking on more challenges.
They smuggled deer to Forrest County, feds say. But that wasn’t the only problem.
Sun Herald
White-tailed deer smuggled from Pennsylvania to a Forrest County ranch came from a herd that tested positive for chronic wasting disease, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Hattiesburg.
State Government
Legislative Democrats to host budget hearing in Tupelo
Daily Journal
JACKSON – House Democrats will host a hearing at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Link Center in Tupelo to provide information concerning their belief that “massive corporate tax cuts” are impacting the state budget and services for Mississippians.
Regional
SEWAGE SPILLS ADD TO MISERY IN HURRICANE-BATTERED FLORIDA
AP
Widespread power outages in hurricane-battered Florida are causing another headache: sewage overflows.
Trees at Reelfoot Lake damaged by drifting herbicide dicamba, state analysis shows
Commercial Appeal
In a further testament to the damage wrought by drifting herbicides in recent months, laboratory tests showed that trees at Reelfoot Lake have been harmed by dicamba, a weed-killer that's been the focus of complaints, lawsuits and investigations throughout the Mid-South.
National
Trump officials eying replacement for key Obama climate rule
The Hill
The Trump administration is planning to pursue a less ambitious, more industry friendly climate change rule for coal-fired power plants as it works to scrap the one written under former President Barack Obama.
EPA to Review Rules on Coal Ash, a Power Plant Byproduct
Regulators accept request from utility companies that were faced with possibly closing dozens of coal-ash dumps nationwide
WSJ
WASHINGTON—Federal regulators will reconsider Obama -era rules governing waste from coal-fired power plants, accepting a request from utility companies that were faced with possibly closing dozens of coal-ash dumps nationwide.
EPA to reconsider Obama-era coal ash disposal rule
The Hill
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulators will reconsider portions of an Obama administration rule regulating coal ash, a byproduct of fossil fuel-fired power plants.
Valero Houston Plant Underestimated Harvey Benzene Leak
Environmental advocates say state should have done more to assess safety of situation sooner
WSJ
The chemical plant that released a cloud of a carcinogenic chemical amid Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath in Houston’s Manchester neighborhood in August emitted far more of the chemical than it had previously disclosed, environmental regulators said Thursday.
Dems threaten to delay EPA nominee’s confirmation
The Hill
Two Senate Democrats are threatening to delay a confirmation vote for a key Trump administration Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) nominee.
29 regional EPA employees leave amid national wave of buyouts
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Staffing at the regional headquarters of the Environmental Protection Agency was cut by 29 positions this month, amid a nationwide round of early retirement buyouts aimed at shrinking an agency fixed in the political crosshairs of President Donald Trump’s administration.
U.S. House passes $1.2 trillion measure to fund government
Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a $1.2 trillion bill to fund most government activities in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, knowing the Senate will disagree with many controversial elements and force a negotiation that could stretch into December.
Press releases
EPA to Reconsider Certain Coal Ash Rule Provisions
09/14/2017
Contact Information:
WASHINGTON -- The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has granted two petitions to reconsider substantive provisions of the final rule regulating coal combustion residuals (CCR) as nonhazardous waste under subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
“In light of EPA’s new statutory authority, it is important that we give the existing rule a hard look and consider improvements that may help states tailor their permit programs to the needs of their states, in a way that provides greater regulatory certainty, while also ensuring that human health and the environment remain protected,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.
In granting the petitions, EPA determined that it was appropriate, and in the public’s interest to reconsider specific provisions of the final CCR rule based in part on the authority provided through the Water Infrastructure for Improvements to the Nation (WIIN) Act. EPA is not committing to changing any part of the rule, or agreeing with the merits of the petition – the Agency is simply granting petitions to reconsider specific provisions. Should EPA decide to revise specific provisions of the final CCR rule, it will go through notice and comment period.
The petition from the Utility Solid Waste Activities Group (USWAG) was submitted May 12, 2017, and seeks reconsideration of 11 specific provisions of the final CCR rule, including provisions prohibiting the use of alternative points of compliance for ground water contamination, regulating inactive surface impoundments, and defining what activities constitute beneficial use of CCR. The petition from AES Puerto Rico LLP was submitted May 31, 2017, and seeks reconsideration of certain on-site storage practices.
The current rule went into effect on October 19, 2015 and regulates how CCR generated from electric utilities and independent power producers is managed and disposed of in surface impoundments and landfills. The rule also defines what constitutes beneficial use of CCR; and, therefore, is excluded from the rule’s requirements.
In December 2016, the WIIN Act was enacted into law. Section 2301 of the WIIN Act provides authority for states to operate permit programs under subtitle D of RCRA, as long as the EPA determines that the state’s requirements are as protective as the standards in the 2015 final rule or successor regulations. Should EPA decide to revise specific provisions of the final CCR rule, it will go through a notice and comment process.
