State
SINKING SHRIMP
Sea Coast Echo
A shrimp boat on Wednesday partially sank in its berth at the Pass Christian Harbor.
Harbor officials were notified that the 56-foot vessel Capt. Quintinn" started taking on water at about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday.
MDEQ: Section of Pascagoula's beach safe for swimming again
WLOX
Monday morning the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality lifted the water contact advisory for Pascagoula Beach West from Oliver Street east to Westwood Street. This area of the sound is safe for human contact again.
Hattiesburg to acquire Councilwoman Mary Dryden's land for sewer pump station
Hattiesburg American
Hattiesburg officials are in the process of using eminent domain to obtain a piece of property owned by a Hattiesburg City Council member for use as part of the city's Comprehensive Sewer and Water Improvements Program.
If pollution is killing dolphins, scientist says, that means we’re next.
Sun Herald
GULFPORT
A melon-headed whale swam slowly around an above-ground pool Sunday at the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies after being rescued Saturday morning from the surf in Fort Morgan, Alabama.
IMMS monitoring loggerhead turtle eggs
WLOX
Erosion closes portion of road
Vicksburg Post
The Vicksburg National Military Park announced Friday that Confederate Avenue from Ft. Hill to Graveyard Road within the park will be closed effectively immediately.
PERS retirees look to keep benefits and go back to work
NewsMS
PERS, it’s the Public Employee’s Retirement System and they provide nonfederal public employees of the state with defined benefits after retirement.
Oil Spill
Controversial Dispersents Helped Clear the Air During 2010 Deepwater Horizon Spill
WCAI
Seven years ago at this time, the Gulf Coast was facing a different kind of crisis – the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
State to use oil spill fines to monitor coastal work’s impact
Houma Courier
Louisiana has received $19.5 million in oil spill fine money to expand a program that will monitor coastal projects’ impact to ensure they achieve the goals set out in the state’s master plan.
Regional
Tennessee now in compliance with federal air quality standard
WVLT
Nashville, TENN. (AP)-- Tennessee environment officials say the whole state now complies with federal air quality health standards for particle pollution.
National
Houston’s Environmental Threats Come Into Focus
As Harvey’s flooding recedes, risk of toxic pollutants tests health inspectors
WSJ
HOUSTON—Water is subsiding in flooded neighborhoods, the mayor is insisting Houston “is open for business,” and shelters are emptying out, but Texans returning to flood-damaged homes face plenty of obstacles: the threat of toxic pollutants in the air and drinking water, and even hungry, dislocated animals seeking shelter.
Hurricane Harvey aftermath: Chemical plants already released 1 million pounds of extra air pollutants
Washington Post
Oil refineries and chemical plants across the Texas Gulf coast released more than 1 million pounds of dangerous air pollutants in the week after Harvey struck, according to public regulatory filings aggregated by the Center for Biological Diversity.
Toxic waste sites flooded in Houston area
AP
HIGHLANDS, Texas (AP) — As Dwight Chandler sipped beer and swept out the thick muck caked inside his devastated home, he worried whether Harvey’s floodwaters had also washed in pollution from the old acid pit just a couple blocks away.
EPA defends action on flooded Superfund sites in Houston
The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this weekend sharply defended its work in Texas following the impact of Hurricane Harvey and warned that a story implying otherwise creates "panic" and "politicizes" the work of first responders.
EPA now requires political aide’s sign-off for agency awards, grant applications
Washington Post
The Environmental Protection Agency has taken the unusual step of putting a political operative in charge of vetting the hundreds of millions of dollars in grants the EPA distributes annually, assigning final funding decisions to a former Trump campaign aide with little environmental policy experience.
Trump taps Wisconsin AAG David Ross for top EPA Post
WKOW
MADISON (WKOW) – President Donald Trump has announced that he'll nominate an assistant attorney general from Wisconsin to serve as Assistant Administrator of the Office of Water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Trump taps Florida Carlton Fields attorney for EPA legal post
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Retrieving Gold, and More, From Wastewater
NY Times
Q. Are the heavy metals removed from wastewater valuable?
A. The main goal of removing heavy metals from wastewater is environmental protection from harmful substances, like copper compounds. Much of what is recovered, like lead, is of low value. But some treatment processes do recover valuable metals.
Interior Secretary Zinke Connects With Local Communities in Protected Lands
Trump’s mandate to review monuments leads Montana native to rural workers and businesses seeking alternative uses for designated areas
WSJ
ASHLAND, Ore.—On a dirt road high on a mountain near here, the secretary of Interior unfolded his 6-foot-2-inch frame out of a dusty black Suburban one morning recently and started shaking hands with a group of ranchers in cowboy hats.
Oregon Ducks move football practice to coast amid 'hazardous' air quality in Eugene
The Oregonian
EUGENE -- Oregon's preparations for Saturday's home game against Nebraska have been altered by air quality so "hazardous" that local agencies have issued an alert for residents.
Press Releases
All Hunters Must Take HIP Survey Before Hunting Migratory Birds
9/1/2017 4:20:49 PM
From MDWFP
JACKSON — If you plan on hunting any migratory bird (ex: coots, ducks, geese, brant, swans, doves, woodcock, rails, snipe, or gallinules) you are REQUIRED by federal law to participate in the Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program (HIP) survey–something most hunters do already during the purchase of a Mississippi hunting license.
If you need to take the HIP survey, you may do so by phone by contacting the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks (MDWFP) License Bureau at 601-432-2055 during normal business hours. After business hours call 1-800-5GO-HUNT. Upon completion of the survey, you will be provided with a HIP confirmation number to satisfy the requirement.
Lifetime License holders and Exempt License holders are still required to take the HIP Survey.
Information from HIP surveys is used by MDWFP and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to generate reliable estimates of hunting activity and the number of all migratory game birds harvested throughout the country. These estimates give biologists information they need to make sound decisions concerning hunting seasons, bag limits, and population management.
