State
USDA USING NORTH MISSISSIPPI WATERSHED FOR STUDY ON WATER QUALITY
WTVA
JACKSON, Miss. (WTVA) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture is taking one North Mississippi watershed for a study on water quality.
CORPS APPROVES EUBANKS CREEK WORK
Northside Sun
A major milestone of sorts has been reached on a drainage control project for Fondren.
The city of Jackson recently received approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to widen and clean up a tributary of Eubanks Creek.
JACKSON TO SEEK HELP WITH SMITH PARK
Northside Sun
If leaders in the capital city have their way, the state will help pay for improvements at Smith Park.
Oil Spill
Mississippi Aquarium contract approved, a win for businesses
WLOX
On Thursday morning, Roy Anderson Corporation received the go ahead from the Gulfport Redevelopment Commission to begin construction on the long awaited Mississippi Aquarium project.
Bay County ‘finally getting some RESTORE money’
PC News Herald
PANAMA CITY — Seven years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Bay County is set to receive its first funding for projects through the RESTORE damages program.
BP spill settlement money could fund these 4 outdoor recreation projects
Times-Picayune
Not all of the massive settlement BP must pay for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil disaster is going to restoration projects. About $86 million of the $5 billion earmarked for Louisiana will go toward enhancing outdoor recreation in areas affected by the disaster.
Regional
Georgia Officials Approve Funding for Troubled Nuclear Plant
Go-ahead for two reactors comes even though construction is more than $10 billion over budget
WSJ
Georgia officials voted Thursday to continue building two half-finished nuclear reactors even though construction is more than $10 billion over budget and five years late.
National
AP finds climate change risk for 327 toxic Superfund sites
AP
TARPON SPRINGS, FLA.
Anthony Stansbury propped his rusty bike against a live oak tree and cast his fishing line into the rushing waters of Florida's Anclote River.
Trump's Busy Year On Energy And Environment
NPR
President Trump campaigned on a platform to make American energy great again.
E.P.A. Officials, Disheartened by Agency’s Direction, Are Leaving in Droves
NY Times
WASHINGTON — More than 700 people have left the Environmental Protection Agency since President Trump took office, a wave of departures that puts the administration nearly a quarter of the way toward its goal of shrinking the agency to levels last seen during the Reagan administration.
Carmakers Try to Keep Waste Out of the Ground as Well as the Air
NY Times
FLINT, Mich. — Mammoth bins and barrels line the edge of a General Motors factory floor, stuffed with industrial detritus like shavings of aluminum, pieces of plastic and glass and chemical sludge that has come off the machines that are used to assemble engines for three models of Chevrolet. Every bit of it, G.M. promises, has a future.
Trump administration halts study of offshore oil inspections
AP
The Trump administration has halted an independent scientific study of offshore oil inspections by the federal safety agency created after the massive 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Tax that pays for oil spill cleanup trust fund expires on Dec. 31
Times-Picayune
Health study planned after firefighting foam tainted water
AP
DENVER (AP) — Researchers said Thursday they will study contamination levels in the blood of about 200 Colorado residents whose drinking water was tainted by firefighting foam from an Air Force base.
Researchers sue EPA over advisory committee policy
The Hill
Researchers and public health groups are suing the Trump administration to stop the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) policy blocking grant recipients from serving on advisory committees.
Regulators to consider changing gas pipeline approval policy
The Hill
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said Thursday it would review its nearly two-decade-old policy for approving natural gas pipelines.
Murphy nominates ex-acting EPA chief as state DEP commissioner
NJ.com
Gov.-elect Phil Murphy on Thursday announced he has chosen a former top federal environmental official to serve as commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Not easy being green: Legal pot brings environmental rules
AP
At a state briefing on environmental rules that await growers entering California's soon-to-be-legal marijuana trade, organic farmers Ulysses Anthony, Tracy Sullivan and Adam Mernit listened intently, eager to make their humble cannabis plot a model of sustainable agriculture in a notoriously destructive industry dominated by the black market.
Press Releases
EPA to Host Public Meeting to Present Cleanup Plan for Portions of the Mississippi Phosphates Corporation Site
12/21/2017
ATLANTA (December 21, 2017) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will host a public meeting to present the cleanup plan for portions of the former Mississippi Phosphates Corporation (MPC) site in Pascagoula, Miss. The meeting will be held on Thursday, January 11, 2018, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Pascagoula Senior Center, located at 1912 Live Oak Avenue, in Pascagoula, Miss.
USACE Mobile
MOBILE, Ala. – District has begun the first phase of an approximately $349 million project that will reduce erosion and build stronger hurricane barrier off the coast of Mississippi.
Ship Island, a barrier island off the coast of Mississippi, was cut in half when Hurricane Camille raged through the Gulf Coast in August 1969. The resulting 2.4-mile breach that now divides East and West Ship Islands is known as Camille Cut.
USDA Invests $30 Million in High-Priority Watersheds to Improve Water Quality
Thirty New Watersheds Added to National Water Quality Initiative
WASHINGTON, Dec. 21, 2017 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will add 30 new watersheds in 2018 to its premiere water quality initiative, which helps landowners improve water quality while strengthening agricultural operations.
