State
FIRE DEPARTMENTS RESPOND TO TIRE FIRE
Newton County Appeal
Firefighters responded to a large pile of tires that were on fire midday Monday on Velma Moore Road in Lawrence.
DeSoto supervisors mull Holly Springs request; gravel pit order
DeSoto Times-Tribune
In other matters Monday, the Board of Supervisors was informed of a court decree by Circuit Judge Gerald Chatham that directs the Board of Supervisors to grant a 15-year operating permit for a controversial gravel pit operation in the Lewisburg area of District 1.
3 new West Nile cases reported in Hinds, DeSoto counties
WJTV
JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) — Mississippi State Department of Health is reporting three new human cases of West Nile virus.
State Government
State senator Sean Tindell resigns
WLOX
MISSISSIPPI (WLOX) -Sean Tindell is resigning from his position as state senator.
Tindell began representing District 69 in the Mississippi senate in 2012.
Gov. Bryant chooses new Lauderdale County Court judge
AP
MERIDIAN, MISS.
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant has appointed a new judge who will start work Nov. 1.
Lisa Howell will succeed Lauderdale County Court Judge Frank M. Coleman, who is retiring Oct. 31.
Regional
Oil pipeline break in Gulf of Mexico under federal investigation
Times-Picayune
The federal
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has convened a panel of inspectors, engineers and accident investigators to review a break in an underwater pipe that resulted in the release of up to 9,350 barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico about 40 miles southeast of Venice on Thursday (Oct. 12).
Water utility sues company over possible contamination
AP
WILMINGTON, N.C.
A utility that provides water in southeastern North Carolina has sued a company it accuses of polluting the Cape Fear River, where the utility gets its water.
National
EPA Administrator Pruitt issues directive to curb settlements with outside groups
Washington Post
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt issued
a directive on Monday to limit the extent to which the EPA can reach legal agreements with groups suing to force it to take regulatory action.
Trump's EPA to Curb Legal Settlements With Environmentalists
Bloomberg
The Trump administration moved Monday to curb settlements with conservationists and industry, instead vowing to fight cases designed to force the
Environmental Protection Agency to take action.
EPA Says Higher Radiation Levels Pose ‘No Harmful Health Effect’
Bloomberg
In the event of a dirty bomb or a nuclear meltdown, emergency responders can safely tolerate radiation levels equivalent to thousands of chest X-rays, the Environmental Protection Agency said in new guidelines that ease off on established safety levels.
Obama EPA did not do background checks on hundreds of cyber-contractors, watchdog warns
Fox News
EXCLUSIVE: Hundreds of contractors holding important information security jobs at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have for years been working as high-level operators of its computer systems without the appropriate security background checks — a situation the agency is still scrambling to correct.
Opinion
Environmental Protection Agency Proposes Rule to Repeal Major Overreach of Obama Era
The Trump Administration is continuing its ambitious rollback of harmful federal regulations – this time taking steps to undo one of the most onerous and costly rules of the Obama era.
Press Releases
Administrator Pruitt Issues Directive to End EPA "Sue & Settle"
“The days of regulation through litigation are over,” – EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.
10/16/2017
Contact Information:
WASHINGTON (October 16, 2017) – In fulfilling his promise to end the practice of regulation through litigation that has harmed the American public, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt issued an Agency-wide directive today designed to end “sue and settle” practices within the Agency, providing an unprecedented level of public participation and transparency in EPA consent decrees and settlement agreements.
“The days of regulation through litigation are over,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. “We will no longer go behind closed doors and use consent decrees and settlement agreements to resolve lawsuits filed against the Agency by special interest groups where doing so would circumvent the regulatory process set forth by Congress. Additionally, gone are the days of routinely paying tens of thousands of dollars in attorney’s fees to these groups with which we swiftly settle.”
Over the years, outside the regulatory process, special interest groups have used lawsuits that seek to force federal agencies – especially EPA – to issue regulations that advance their interests and priorities, on their specified timeframe. EPA gets sued by an outside party that is asking the court to compel the Agency to take certain steps, either through change in a statutory duty or enforcing timelines set by the law, and then EPA will acquiesce through a consent decree or settlement agreement, affecting the Agency’s obligations under the statute.
More specifically, EPA either commits to taking an action that is not a mandatory requirement under its governing statutes or agrees to a specific, unreasonable timeline to act. Oftentimes, these agreements are reached with little to no public input or transparency. That is regulation through litigation, and it is inconsistent with the authority that Congress has granted and the responsibility to operate in an open and fair manner.
“Sue and settle” cases establish Agency obligations without participation by states and/or the regulated community; foreclose meaningful public participation in rulemaking; effectively force the Agency to reach certain regulatory outcomes; and, cost the American taxpayer millions of dollars.
With today’s directive, Administrator Pruitt is ensuring the Agency increase transparency, improve public engagement, and provide accountability to the American public when considering a settlement agreement or consent decree by:
1. Publishing any notices of intent to sue the Agency within 15 days of receiving the notice;
2. Publishing any complaints or petitions for review in regard to an environmental law, regulation, or rule in which the Agency is a defendant or respondent in federal court within 15 days of receipt;
3. Reaching out to and including any states and/or regulated entities affected by potential settlements or consent decrees;
4. Publishing a list of consent decrees and settlement agreements that govern Agency actions within 30 days, along with any attorney fees paid, and update it within 15 days of any new consent decree or settlement agreement;
5. Expressly forbidding the practice of entering into any consent decrees that exceed the authority of the courts;
6. Excluding attorney’s fees and litigation costs when settling with those suing the Agency;
7. Providing sufficient time to issue or modify proposed and final rules, take and consider public comment; and
8. Publishing any proposed or modified consent decrees and settlements for 30-day public comment, and providing a public hearing on a proposed consent decree or settlement when requested.
The full directive and memo can be read
here.
The video of the signing can be found
here. A downloadable b-roll version can be found
