State
The man brought on to rebuild DMR is leaving. Here’s where he’s going.
Sun Herald
Mississippi Department of Marine Resources Executive Director Jamie Miller, who was picked to rebuild trust in the scandal-ridden agency, is leaving to join the Mississippi Development Authority.
Countywide poultry ordinance gains supervisor approval
Monroe Journal
ABERDEEN – Following an executive session Dec. 4, the board of supervisors approved a countywide poultry ordinance, which is more stringent than one currently in place by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. The issue of a county-mandated poultry ordinance has been a hot topic since the summer.
NEW MONROE CHICKEN ORDINANCE
WCBI
MONROE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A new chicken ordinance will soon be flying into Monroe County, after supervisors voted it down last month.
Taxpayers paying $3.2 million to keep highways clean
WDAM
PINE BELT (WDAM) -Littering has been an ongoing issue here in the Magnolia State, costing taxpayers $3.2 million annually to keep the state clean.
High court set to hear Costco case
Madison County Journal
With their Costco appeal, nine Ridgeland residents will finally get their day in front of the state Supreme Court early next year.
Unoccupied vehicle kills Perkinston man at Central Landfill
Picayune Item
A fatal accident at Central Landfill in Millard occurred Tuesday, which involved an unoccupied vehicle that struck a pedestrian.
U.S. District Court undergoing temporary move due to mold issues
Monroe Journal
ABERDEEN – The Thomas G. Abernathy Federal Building continues to battle mold infestation in a building suffering from decades of deferred maintenance by the General Services Administration (GSA).
Pascagoula mayor to ask President for $1.1 Billion in aid
WLOX
PASCAGOULA, MS (WLOX) -It's no secret Pascagoula Mayor Dane Maxwell has an open line of communication with the White House and President Donald Trump.
State Government
Coast lawmakers say something must be done about PERS. Question is, what?
Sun Herald
Lawmakers who bring up the Public Employees Retirement System do so at their own peril, members of the Coast delegation said, but they say it needs to be brought up anyway.
Toolmaker to hire 660, invest $33.4M in 3 Mississippi cities
AP
GREENWOOD, MISS.
Milwaukee Tool announced Wednesday that it will add a total of 660 jobs at three Mississippi locations, investing $33.4 million to make and distribute more power tools.
STATE AGENCIES ROLL-OUT OPIOID AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
MPB
Mississippi officials are rolling-out a new public awareness campaign to educate people about opioid abuse and options for treatment. MPB's Desare Frazier reports.
National
Scott Pruitt, E.P.A. Chief, Says Agency Scientists Are Free to Discuss Their Work
NY Times
WASHINGTON — Scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency will be free to publicly discuss their work from now on, Scott Pruitt, the agency’s administrator, has assured lawmakers who criticized the E.P.A. for preventing employees from presenting findings about climate change.
EPA head pledges to protect climate scientists
The Hill
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head Scott Pruitt told senators his agency will ensure that climate change researchers and other scientists at the agency are free to present their work at conferences.
EPA plans three more hearings on Clean Power Plan repeal proposal
Charleston Gazette-Mail
The Trump administration announced Wednesday it plans to hold three additional public hearings on its proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan.
EPA watchdog to investigate Pruitt meeting with industry group
The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) inspector general said this week it will investigate Administrator Scott Pruitt’s April meeting with a coal mining industry group.
Former Volkswagen manager sentenced to 7 years for emissions cheating scandal
The Hill
A former manager at Volkswagen was sentenced to 84 months in prison on Wednesday for his role in the company’s emissions cheating scandal.
This Duck-Like Dinosaur Could Swim. That Isn’t the Strangest Thing About it.
NY Times
If it looked like a duck, did it swim like a duck?
Paleontologists studying an unusual fossil have identified a new dinosaur, related to the velociraptor, that had a neck like a swan, a snout like a goose and forelimbs like flippers.
Press releases
Jamie Miller to Join MDA, Gov. Phil Bryant Appoints Joe Spraggins Executive Director of DMR
JACKSON – Gov. Phil Bryant announced today that he has appointed Brig. Gen. Joe Spraggins executive director of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.
Spraggins will replace Jamie Miller, who has served as DMR’s executive director since 2013. Miller is joining the Mississippi Development Authority as deputy director for governmental affairs and chief innovation officer. Spraggins has served as DMR’s chief operations officer since 2013.
“Jamie has served the people of Mississippi well at DMR,” Gov. Phil Bryant said. “I know he will continue to improve our state at MDA. DMR is in good hands with Gen. Spraggins assuming leadership, and I am pleased he has accepted this appointment.”
Miller has 20 years of public- and private-sector experience working in South Mississippi and Washington, D.C. His professional career has focused on legislative affairs, natural resource management and community and economic development.
At DMR, Miller worked with the Mississippi Legislature to pass the DMR Reorganization and Accountability Act, which required annual agency audits, authorized an Office of Restoration and Resiliency and three key agency positions — chief scientific officer, chief financial officer and marine patrol chief.
Miller worked to enhance the Coast’s natural resources, including a focus on Mississippi’s oyster reefs. He played a key role in the Governor’s Oyster Council on Restoration and Resiliency to expand public oyster growing areas and initiating oyster aquaculture to restore natural reefs and increase commercial production.
Miller served as chief of staff for Cong. Steven Palazzo in Washington D.C., and as policy advisor to Gov. Haley Barbour’s Office of Recovery and Renewal following Hurricane Katrina. In that role, Miller helped develop Community Development Block Grant programs, including the expansion of the Port of Gulfport.
In his new role at MDA, Miller will focus primarily on local, state, federal and international governmental relations. With prior experience in the Governor’s Office of Disaster Recovery, he will serve as disaster recovery administrator and oversee state-owned ports. Miller will coordinate with all Mississippi military installations on behalf of MDA, monitor all Base Realignment and Closure activity and work with the Mississippi Military Communities Council. He will also coordinate all university and federal research center relations on behalf of MDA, serve as liaison to the Delta Regional Authority and Appalachian Regional Commission, oversee statewide benchmarks and project performance initiatives, in addition to other administrative and strategic initiatives as assigned.
He graduated from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and received his B.S. in environmental biology with a minor in chemistry from the University of Southern Mississippi.
“I look forward to joining Director Glenn McCullough and his team at the Mississippi Development Authority,” Miller said. “I share the passion Glenn and Governor Bryant have for Mississippi and hope to build on the agency’s success. It has been an absolute privilege to lead the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and its employees for nearly 5 years. I leave knowing the positive initiatives we implemented will continue to benefit the agency in the future. My role at MDA gives me an even greater opportunity to promote the entire state as a premier business and tourism destination.”
Spraggins grew up in Alexander City, Ala., and graduated from Troy University with a bachelor's degree in resource management. He served 34 years in the military and attained the rank of brigadier general. He retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2006.
Prior to joining DMR, he served as commander of the Combat Readiness Training Center in Gulfport and chief of staff of the Joint Force Headquarters in the Tennessee National Guard. Spraggins was appointed director of emergency management, homeland security and the E-911 Commission for Harrison County. He began work days before Hurricane Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29, 2005.
“I am honored that Governor Bryant chose me to be the executive director for the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. I have worked alongside Jamie Miller for the past four years, and his leadership has been outstanding. I look forward to continuing the work that he has done to make this agency one of the best in the state.”
Miller will officially join MDA on Dec. 20. Spraggins will assume leadership of DMR the same day.
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President Trump Appoints EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt as Chair of the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council
12/06/2017
WASHINGTON – Today, President Donald Trump appointed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt as the new chairperson of the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (Council).
EPA Announces Additional Public Listening Sessions on Proposed Repeal of Clean Power Plan
12/06/2017
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold three additional public listening sessions on the proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan in San Francisco, Calif., Gillette, Wyo. and Kansas City, Mo.
