State
MDEQ OFFICIALS SAY CUTS WILL NOT AFFECT ABILITY TO OVERSEE CONSENT DECREE
Northside Sun
A lack of funding and the loss of employees at the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) won’t affect the agency’s abilities to oversee water quality or consent decree enforcement in Jackson.
Why MDEQ put a stop to Jackson County’s burning near a subdivision
Sun Herald
ST. MARTIN
People in the Quail Creek subdivision of St. Martin complained to the state Department of Environmental Quality about burning that Jackson County was doing this week close to their property.
ENVIRONMENTALISTS AGAINST ONE LAKE PLAN IN PEARL RIVER
WXXV
A group of mayors and county representatives feel confident the proposed One Lake Plan is the best option for flood control in the Jackson area. However, a group of environmentalists think otherwise.
A new company hiring in Jackson County helps convert shrimp hulls to high-tech products
Sun Herald
JACKSON COUNTY
Mari Signum, a fairly new company with a patented technology for extracting chitin from shrimp shells, has found a home in west Jackson County.
State Government
The Supreme Court says Sun Herald got it right in DMR records case. Here’s why.
Sun Herald
The Mississippi Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in the Sun Herald’s favor in a long-running battle between the media company and state officials over records from the Department of Marine Resources.
Medical building named for Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant
AP
JACKSON, MISS.
The University of Mississippi Medical Center is naming a building for Gov. Phil Bryant.
College Board trustees approved the plan Thursday morning.
State auditor speaks on reverse auction law
WDAM
LAMAR COUNTY, MS (WDAM) -A new law regarding purchases by all Mississippi government entities will go into effect on January 1st.
Lotto could be more revenue for state, less for municipalities
Daily Journal
JACKSON – A lottery eventually would produce between $82 million and $94 million annually in revenue for Mississippi, state Economist Darrin Webb has projected.
Oil Spill
Runway improvements could mean big growth for Trent Lott Airport
WLOX
PASCAGOULA, MS (WLOX) -The Trent Lott International Airport stays busy, but one big hiccup has kept it from getting much busier.
Bids are in to build the $93M Mississippi Aquarium. Here’s who wants the job.
Sun Herald
GULFPORT
The city on Thursday unsealed bids from three companies to construct the main campus for the Mississippi Aquarium.
The bids are in for Mississippi Aquarium project
WLOX
GULFPORT, MS (WLOX) -The bids for the Mississippi Aquarium project have been unsealed. The City of Gulfport has three proposals to consider.
Regional
'Time bomb' of wetland-killing bugs set to explode next year
Times-Picayune
The plague of foreign insects killing a critical coastal marsh grass in Louisiana is likely to worsen next year, according to scientists studying the problem.
The Doctor Is In
Meet the scientist behind Alabama’s oyster farming movement, a transplant from up east who has made his mark down south.
Mobile Bay Magazine
Down here they call him “Dr. Oyster.” “Here” is the Auburn University Shellfish Lab on Dauphin Island, where Associate Professor Extension Specialist Bill Walton, Ph.D., is the master of the mollusk.
Who owns Florida's beaches? Private landowner rights can clash with public beach access
USA Today
ROSEMARY BEACH — Nestled between the high-rise condominium towers lining Panama City Beach to the east and Destin to the west is Walton County Road 30 A ― a 24-mile stretch of multi-million dollar beachfront homes and exclusive resorts that is experiencing a tourism boom.
National
Pruitt to testify on EPA agenda at House, Senate hearings
The Hill
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt will head to Capitol Hill twice in the coming two months to testify at a hearing on the agency’s agenda.
EPA, Army propose two-year delay of WOTUS
The agencies will be collecting public comment on this proposal for 21 days after publication in the Federal Register.
Farm Futures
The U.S. EPA and the U.S. Department of the Army are proposing to delay the effective date of the Waters of the U.S. rule by two years.
AP Explains: Farm runoff and the worsening algae plague
AP
Harmful algae blooms have become a top water polluter, fueled by fertilizers washing into lakes, streams and oceans. Federal and state programs have spent billions of dollars on cost-sharing payments to farmers to help prevent nutrient runoff, yet the problem is worsening in many places. Here’s a look at the algae menace and what’s being done:
New EPA Chief for New England Appointed
Hartford Courant
The head of a non-profit environmental organization has been named as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s New England region chief, a move by the Trumpadministration drawing unusual praise from activists and state officials.
Countries, states, provinces vow to phase out coal use
The Hill
A group of 19 countries and a handful of provinces and states, including Washington, is vowing to phase out their use of coal for electricity generation as part of the United Nations climate conference.
Humans have dumped tons of plastic into oceans. Now it’s reached the deepest depths, study finds
McClatchy
The crustaceans crawling through the deepest, darkest depths of the ocean are almost like aliens: We know little about them, they’re otherworldly-looking — almost shrimp-like — and they exist in an environment that we can hardly imagine.
Keystone pipeline leaks more than 5,000 barrels of oil
NY Times
More than 5,000 barrels of oil spilled from the Keystone pipeline on Thursday in South Dakota, sending cleanup crews and emergency workers to the remote northeast portion of the state.
Tesla Semi, an electric big rig truck with 500-mile range, rolls into reality
USA Today
HAWTHORNE, Calif. — Elon Musk wears many masks. Internet entrepreneur. Electric car salesman. Rocket man.
Add trucker to the list.
Opinion
Protect the aquifer
Editorial – Commercial Appeal
Frequent reminders of the vulnerabilities of the Memphis area water supply should persuade us that it is past time for local officials and concerned citizens to assume a greater role in its preservation.
Why Better Energy Storage Could Ramp Up Fossil-Fuel Use
WSJ
By Richard L. Revesz
Richard L. Revesz is dean emeritus and Lawrence King Professor of Law at New York University School of Law, where he directs the Institute for Policy Integrity.
Press Releases
EPA and the Army Propose to Amend the Effective Date of the 2015 Rule Defining “Waters of the United States”
11/16/2017
WASHINGTON (November 16, 2017) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of the Army (the agencies) are proposing to amend the effective date of the 2015 rule defining “waters of the United States.”
EPA Announces Appointment of Alexandra Dunn to Region 1 Administrator
11/16/2017
WASHINGTON (November 16, 2017) - Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt announced the appointment of Alexandra Dapolito Dunn to become Regional Administrator for Region 1. With over two decades of experience in environmental law, legislation, policy, and regulatory affairs, Ms. Dunn will oversee federal environmental protection efforts in: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
EPA Announces Availability of $1.2 Million in Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreements
11/16/2017
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today the availability of $1.2 million for Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (CPS) Cooperative Agreements.
