State
MILLER ON CITY’S PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
Northside Sun
Robert Miller was recently named public works director for the city of Jackson. Miller has a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Louisville and a master’s in business administration from Indiana University. He previously served as deputy director of the sewerage and water board in New Orleans, and as vice president and treasurer of Municipal Financial Services in Louisville, Ky. He recently spoke with Sun Senior Staff Writer Anthony Warren about his new role.
PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR WANTS GUIDELINES FOR CALLING STATE OF EMERGENCY OVERHAULED
Northside Sun
Jackson Public Works Director Bob Miller would like to overhaul the city’s state of emergency guidelines, in hopes of responding more quickly to major infrastructure problems.
Pearl River advocates keep wary eye on Mississippi plans they say threaten downstream ecosystems
The Advocate
Swamp tour operator Paul Trahan pointed to the almost motionless water on the West Pearl River on a recent afternoon — a mirror-like surface that reflected ghostly images of the gum and cypress trees lining the waterway.
Threefoot hotel project could start Dec. 10
Meridian Star
Work on the Courtyard by Marriott hotel at the Threefoot Building in Meridian could begin early next month.
...In an August interview, Tray Hairston of Butler Snow LLP, who represents Ascent, said the renovation could cost “a little bit more than [$22 million]” given certain “environmental” issues that need to be addressed. At the time of the report, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality was in the process of testing samples taken from the building.
Open burning ordinance passed in Olive Branch
DeSoto Times-Tribune
The Olive Branch Board of Aldermen moved to pass an ordinance addressing open burning in the city at Tuesday’s meeting.
MMA names Earl Walker 2017-2018 Chairman of the Board; Alan Sudduth named Secretary-Treasurer
MBJ
Earl Walker, Senior Director of Government Relations and External Affairs at Airbus Helicopters, Inc. in Columbus, has been named the 2017-2018 Chairman of the Mississippi Manufacturers Association Board of Directors. Alan Sudduth, Public and Government Affairs Manager of Chevron in Pascagoula, was named Secretary-Treasure.
State Government
Governor still interested in lottery despite budget plan omission
Daily Journal
JACKSON – A noticeable omission from Gov. Phil Bryant’s budget proposal, which he released last week, was any mention of the lottery.
But that does not mean the second-term Republican governor has changed his mind on the subject.
Oil Spill
Tangle of oil pipelines adds to cost of barrier island restoration project
Times-Picayune
An already expensive coastal restoration project needed an extra $2.2 million to deal with unexpected complexities posed by a tangle of buried oil and gas pipelines.
Regional
How many red snapper are actually in the Gulf? These scientists are going to find out
Sun Herald
A team of 21 scientists from universities and state and federal agencies will attempt to answer one of the Gulf’s perplexing questions: How many red snapper are there?
Arkansas, Tennessee officials move to reduce herbicide drift problems
Commercial AppealAfter a season that saw thousands of acres of crops damaged by a drift-prone herbicide, Arkansas has moved to ban certain uses of the weed-killer known as dicamba, while Tennessee officials are considering new restrictions on the product.
Train carrying molten sulfur derails in Florida
AP
LAKELAND, FLA.
A train hauling molten sulfur has derailed in Florida and officials are asking nearby residents to stay inside their homes.
Large oyster reef project planned for Lake Calcasieu
Times-Picayune
The state plans to build one of southwest Louisiana's largest artificial oyster reefs in Lake Calcasieu before the year's end.
EPA shows intention to side with industry on coal ash
Brunswick News
New federal coal ash disposal regulations could be on their way to the ash heap of history if coal energy interests have their way, and none other than the Environmental Protection Agency filed a court document announcing support of the industry position.
Air of Uncertainty: EPA cites sick school children in emission reduction plan
WVUE
ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH, LA (WVUE) -In an action plan to reduce chloroprene emissions at the Denka manufacturing plant, the Federal Government cites two incidents where more than a dozen children became ill at school, but Louisiana Department of Health and Hospital leaders do not believe the children's symptoms are related to what is being pumped out of the facility.
Chemical company’s response to water worries: Silence
AP
RALEIGH, N.C. — Americans have grown accustomed to hearing apologies from everyone from cheating car-makers to cheating presidents, but a Fortune 500 chemical company with a pollution problem in North Carolina is following a different model: don’t apologize, don’t explain.
Why Did DEQ Put 2 Former Leaders On Leave?
WFAE
After Democrat Roy Cooper defeated Republican Governor Pat McCrory a year ago, state environmental secretary Donald van der Vaart gave up his office. After all, he was a McCrory appointee. But he didn't leave the agency. Instead he demoted himself and the department's No. 2 official, John Evans, to staff positions. The two men have since spoken out on policy issues, sometimes at odds with state policy. Now the Department of Environmental Quality has put the van der Vaart and Evans on paid "investigatory leave."
National
Scott Pruitt on a mission to change the culture of the EPA
USA Today
WASHINGTON — EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt isn’t just dismantling the Clean Power Plan and other high-profile environmental programs of the Obama era. He’s on a mission to re-engineer the agency’s culture by returning power to states and away from the Washington bureaucrats and coastal elites he said have led it astray.
Exxon, oil giants team up to reduce methane emissions
The Hill
ExxonMobil Corp. and seven other energy firms have teamed up to tackle natural gas sector greenhouse gas emissions, the companies announced on Wednesday.
China Limits Waste. ‘Cardboard Grannies’ and Texas Recyclers Scramble.
NY Times
HONG KONG — When the street value of scrap cardboard here fell by nearly a third this summer, Leung Siu-Guen, a scrap collector, started to worry.
Why a 'safe' PFAS level in drinking water is so ambiguous
MLive
ROCKFORD, MI -- The drinking water at April Hemlock's home on Wildwood Creek Drive tested at 56 parts-per-trillion for PFOA -- one of a toxic soup of chemicals in Belmont groundwater linked to cancer, thyroid disease and other illnesses in people exposed to them.
EPA still weighing fine for geese deaths at former mine
AP
BUTTE, Mont. (AP) — Nearly a year after at least 3,000 snow geese died in the toxic waters of a former open pit copper mine, the Environmental Protection Agency says it hasn’t decided yet whether to fine the companies responsible for the site.
Oil and gas industry is causing Texas earthquakes, a ‘landmark’ study suggests
Washington Post
An unnatural number of earthquakes hit Texas in the past decade, and the region's seismic activity is increasing. In 2008, two earthquakes stronger than magnitude 3 struck the state. Eight years later, 12 did.
Governor considers using VW payout to replace school buses
Auto company paid Arizona $59M to settle lawsuit
Daily Courier
PHOENIX — Gov. Doug Ducey is sitting on $59 million in unexpected cash.
Now he needs to figure out how to spend it within the confines of the strings attached.
And given the current thinking among his top staffers, the beneficiaries could be school districts seeking to replace their fleet of aging buses.
U.S. drinking water regulations tied to reduced arsenic exposure
Reuters
The public’s exposure to arsenic, a naturally occurring chemical element linked to cancer and birth defects, declined after U.S. regulators tightened restrictions on the amount of arsenic allowed in drinking water, a recent study suggests.
Terminix fined $9.2M for pesticide use that poisoned family
AP
GREENVILLE, DEL.
A pest control company will pay more than $9 million in criminal fines tied to the use of a banned pesticide that sickened a Delaware family on vacation in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2015.
Opinion
Recreational fishing matters to Mississippi and the nation
Clarion Ledger
Each year, 11 million Americans escape to our nation’s salty shores to take part in one of America’s favorite pastimes — fishing.
Press Releases
Four Mississippi Counties Declared For Federal Disaster Aid From Hurricane Nate
JACKSON – Gov. Phil Bryant announced that President Donald Trump declared George, Greene, Harrison and Jackson counties federal disaster areas from the aftermath and effects of Hurricane Nate that hit Mississippi on October 8th.
Those four counties are eligible for Public Assistance, which is reimbursement grants to local governments and non-profit organizations for things like damage to infrastructure, debris removal, and overtime to responders.
"This will greatly assist our citizens on the Coast as they recover from Hurricane Nate, through the rebuilding efforts of critical infrastructure," Gov. Bryant said. “I am grateful to President Trump and his Administration for their prompt attention to this matter.”
Mississippi is also approved statewide for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which is for measures/actions taken that reduce or eliminate long term risk to people and property from natural hazards.
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