State
Falling water levels raise concerns
Greenwood Commonwealth
Water levels are declining in the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer, and environmental scientists and concerned agencies are working together to investigate and mitigate the problem.
Diamondhead is first city in Hancock County to offer residents curbside recycling
Sea Coast Echo
During a meeting of the Hancock County Solid Waste Authority today, officials approved a contract with Team Waste to provide curbside recycling for Diamondhead, making this city the first in the county to offer the service with no additional fees to residents.
Jackson council approves new Public Works Director
WJTV
JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – The City of Jackson has a new Public Works Director. City council members voted 6-1 on Mayor Chokwe Lumumba’s nominee, Robery Miller.
Friends of Boley to cut a clear path down Hobolochitto Saturday
Picayune Item
Pearl River County residents are invited to participate in a back to basics cleanup event by the Friends of Boley.
Water concern problems revisited: Major changes made
WTOK
LAUDERDALE COUNTY, Miss (WTOK) - What a difference a few years and a lot of work have made. Four years ago some Newscenter 11 viewers shared with us their concerns about the quality of their water. It was described as "brown, rusty," or just plain "dirty".
MSU project brings clean water to 7,000 Zambians
Commercial Dispatch
For the past five years, Dennis Truax has been taking students to a small province in the southern African county of Zambia each summer to drill and assemble water wells.
Gov. Bryant gets second stint chairing energy board
Clarion Ledger
Gov. Phil Bryant has been named to a second term as chairman of the Southern States Energy Board.
Oil Spill
Coastal restoration industry to grow in Louisiana
Daily Comet
Coastal advocates say Louisiana’s coastal master plan combined with the reparations from the BP oil spill will help expand the coastal restoration and water management industries in the state and create thousands of jobs over the next decade.
National
EPA spending almost $25,000 to install a secure phone booth for Scott Pruitt
Washington Post
The Environmental Protection Agency is spending nearly $25,000 to construct a secure, soundproof communications booth in the office of Administrator Scott Pruitt, according to government contracting records.
Bass Pro completes $4 billion acquisition of Cabela's
AP
OMAHA, Neb. — Bass Pro Shops' roughly $4 billion acquisition of rival outdoor retailer Cabela's is complete, but the small western Nebraska town that has been home to Cabela's is still wondering about its future.
Opinion
Memphis aquifer belongs to the public, not TVA
Amanda Garcia and Scott Banbury, Guest columnists
Commercial Appeal
The Tennessee Valley Authority is considering a proposal that would allow it to install groundwater withdrawal wells without getting public input or conducting public environmental reviews.
Press Releases
Grand Bay NERR hosts National Estuaries Day
MOSS POINT, Miss. – The Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve will celebrate National Estuaries Day on Saturday, Sept. 30 at the Reserve. Participants will be able to explore the Reserve by boat and learn how scientists conduct research in the field and use that information to protect estuaries and other coastal habitats. Boat rides will be from 8 a.m. until noon.
The Coastal Resources Center at the NERR will be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., those who attend will see interactive displays and exhibits from other organizations. Lunch will be provided by Chevron to the first 200 people to arrive.
Anyone interested in a boat ride must make a reservation. The NERR will provide life jackets, but parents must bring appropriately sized life jackets for infants. Those taking a boat tour should wear closed-toe shoes and bring snacks sunscreen, bug spray and bottled water. They also may want to bring binoculars and cameras.
The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources is dedicated to enhancing, protecting and conserving marine interests of the state by managing all marine life, public trust wetlands, adjacent uplands and waterfront areas to provide for the optimal commercial, recreational, educational and economic uses of these resources consistent with environmental concerns and social changes. Visit the DMR online at dmr.ms.gov.
The Grand Bay NERR is managed through a state-federal partnership between the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
MDWFP Black Bear Camera Survey
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks is currently conducting a 6,000-acre camera survey in the Mississippi Delta to estimate the number of black bears on the property.
In the past, bait station camera surveys have proved to be ineffective in gathering accurate information for bears. With various wildlife species visiting the sites, the bait is only effective while it remains. Once all the bait is gone, there is no reason for a bear to visit the site. We are using a scented lure that will remain in place for a longer period and remains effective throughout each interval of when the cameras are checked roughly every 10 days.
These camera stations will be run for 6-8 weeks and at the conclusion of the survey, the results will be used in a mathematical model to give us an estimate of the number of bears in the survey area. If successful, this method will be implemented in other areas of the state known to have bears as we move forward in determining a scientifically based estimate of the black bear population in Mississippi.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today announced two federal grants worth $1.08 million to help lower the rate of commercial truck-related accidents and fatalities in Mississippi.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) approved the grants for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety to ensure drivers are licensed and qualified to operate commercial motor vehicles (CMV) in Mississippi.
“Ensuring that truckers are licensed and qualified to operate large vehicles on our highways is an important public safety issue. These grants will allow the Mississippi Department of Public Safety to improve road safety by seeing that standards are met,” Cochran said.
FMCSA is providing $588,748 to support state compliance with commercial driver’s license standards, including uploading conviction data, ensuring system compatibility, and monitoring commercial driver’s license (CDL) examiners.
Another $499,844 has been awarded to help decrease CMV crashes in Mississippi by enforcing CDL standards, requirements and penalties—including a no-tolerance policy for speeding, cellphone use, texting, aggressive driving, and other acts that contribute to traffic accidents. The Department will also collaborate with the Mississippi Trucking Association and trucking companies statewide.
The Mississippi Department of Public Safety has set a goal to decrease CMV crashes in the high-crash corridor areas by 5 percent, statewide CMV large truck fatalities by 5 percent, CMV heavy truck rollover fatalities statewide by 25 percent, and maintain Hazardous Materials CMV fatalities at zero.
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Hurricane Maria expected to alter North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland Beaches
Release Date: SEPTEMBER 26, 2017To learn more about USGS’ role providing science to decision makers before, during and after Hurricane Maria, visit the USGS Hurricane Maria page at https://www.usgs.gov/maria.
About two-thirds of beaches from North Carolina to Maryland have a high probability of eroding as Hurricane Maria moves up the coast, according to the latest U.S. Geological Survey coastal change forecast. Approximately 15 percent of that same shoreline has a high probability of experiencing overwash, where surge and waves overtop dunes.
While the hurricane that devastated Puerto Rico is not currently forecast to make landfall on the east coast, high winds and large waves generated by the storm have the potential to affect the coast.
As of Tuesday morning, the USGS coastal change forecast showed:
- Approximately 60 percent of North Carolina dunes are expected to be impacted by dune erosion, with 5 percent of that stretch of coastline expected to experience overwash.
- Two thirds of Virginia beaches north of the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay are likely to erode while one-third are likely to be overwashed.
- Elevated water levels are also likely to reach and erode sand dunes along two thirds of the Maryland coastline with less than 5 percent of the coastal dunes being overwashed.
Many factors are taken into account l when trying to forecast what a storm like Maria might do to the coast, such as differences in the waves that reach the coast and the elevation of the sand dunes in the areas affected.
“Although Hurricane Maria’s strength has diminished, its strong winds will still generate large waves that will travel to a stretch of the coastline from North Carolina to Maryland's eastern shore,” said Joseph Long, USGS research oceanographer and one of the lead developers of a series of coastal change forecasting tools. “As the storm moves north, those large waves are expected to erode and in some cases overwash sandy beaches and dunes that serve as protection for coastal communities.”
This USGS Coastal Change Forecast model uses the National Hurricane Center’s storm surge predictions and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wave forecast models as input. The USGS model adds information about the beach slope and dune height to predict how high waves and surge will move up the beach and whether the protective dunes will be eroded of overtopped. Results of the modeling indicate Hurricane Maria could have a significant impact on the beaches and dunes along portions of the U.S. east coast.
As waves and surge reach the base of sand dunes that line many coastal areas, they begin to erode and narrow the dune. In some locations water levels may reach higher than the top of the dune and a process known as overwash occurs, often transporting large amounts of sand across coastal environments, depositing sand inland and causing significant changes to the landscape.
Inundation, the most severe type of coastal impact, occurs when beaches and dunes are completely and continuously submerged by surge. The models currently show that very few beaches are expected to be inundated by Hurricane Maria.
The most up-to-date forecasts for potential coastal change predictions are available on the Coastal Change Hazards Portal page, which is easily accessible to the public. The coastal change forecast can be used by emergency managers to help identify locations where coastal impacts might be the most severe, such as where roads will be overwashed by sand or where it's possible that roads might go underwater because of storm surge and large waves. 
