State
Coast Guard, other agencies respond to vessel fire on Mississippi River
WJTV
The Coast Guard is responding to a vessel fire on the lower Mississippi River near Vicksburg,
State Government
Lawmakers want to undo PSC corruption reform
Clarion Ledger
Two measures before the Legislature would undo some of the reform passed in reaction to corruption in the state's regulation of utilities in the 1980s.
Oil Spill
Gulf restoration council approves Tampa Bay project
Times-Picayune
Gulf Islands National Seashore wants public to help create videos for ferry riders
PNJ
Gulf Islands National Seashore wants park visitors to lend a hand in the production of three promotional videos that will be played for ferry passengers starting this summer.
BP appoints new chief over Gulf of Mexico
Houston Chronicle
BP will have a new regional president in Houston overseeing the Gulf of Mexico in February.
Starlee Sykes wil take over in Houston as BP's regional president for the Gulf of Mexico and Canada. She replaces Richard Morrison, who's retiring after 37 years at BP.
Regional
Lots of S.C. dams still need repairs 2 years after massive flooding
Post and Courier
COLUMBIA — More than two years after ruptured dams contributed to massive flooding in South Carolina, scores still require repairs, as property owners decide how — or if — they can afford the tab.
National
EPA ends clean air policy opposed by fossil fuel interests
AP
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced Thursday it is doing away with a decades-old air emissions policy opposed by fossil fuel companies, a move that environmental groups say will result in more pollution.
EPA Withdraws Air Pollution Policy
Agency reverses decades-old emissions policy that environmentalists and congressional critics called one of its bedrock regulations
WSJ
WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is withdrawing a decades-old air policy aimed at reining in some of the largest sources of hazardous pollutants like mercury and lead.
EPA pushes unified national fuel emissions standard
The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is pushing for a unified national fuel emissions standard for automobiles, a move that could significantly impact California's stringent car emissions standards.
Chemours asked to test water for Teflon agent by 'concerned' EPA
Bloomberg
Chemours Co. has been asked by federal regulators to test public and private drinking water supplies in West Virginia and Ohio for a chemical it uses to make products including Teflon.
Trump’s Infrastructure Push Makes Effort to Speed Permits
Administration looks to streamline process for building roads and bridges, but opponents see risky environmental agenda
WSJ
WASHINGTON—U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue last week was nearing the end of a speech urging Congress to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure when he offered another option: At least make it easier to build things when the money can be found.
Press Releases
Reducing Regulatory Burdens: EPA withdraws “once in always in” policy for major sources under Clean Air Act
01/25/2018
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a guidance memorandum withdrawing the “once in always in” policy for the classification of major sources of hazardous air pollutants under section 112 of the Clean Air Act. With the new guidance, sources of hazardous air pollutants previously classified as “major sources” may be reclassified as “area” sources when the facility limits its potential to emit below major source thresholds.
“This guidance is based on a plain language reading of the statute that is in line with EPA’s guidance for other provisions of the Clean Air Act,” said Bill Wehrum, assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. “It will reduce regulatory burden for industries and the states, while continuing to ensure stringent and effective controls on hazardous air pollutants.”
Today’s memo is another step by which EPA is reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens that deterred innovative efforts to improve the environment. The “once in always in” policy has been a longstanding disincentive for sources to implement voluntary pollution abatement and prevention efforts, or to pursue technological innovations that would reduce hazardous air pollution emissions. States, state organizations and industries have frequently requested rescission of this policy, which was one of the most commonly cited requests in response to President Trump’s Executive Order 13777. Today’s EPA action is an important step in furtherance of the president’s regulatory reform agenda while providing a meaningful incentive for investment in HAP reduction activities and technologies.
The Clean Air Act defines a “major source” as a one that emits, or has the potential to emit, 10 tons per year of any hazardous air pollutant, or 25 tons per year or more of any combination of hazardous air pollutants. Sources with emissions below this threshold are classified as “area sources.” Different control standards apply to the source depending on whether or not it is classified as a “major source” or an “area source.”
In a 1995 memo, EPA established a “once in always in” policy that determined that any facility subject to major source standards would always remain subject to those standards, even if production processes changed or controls were implemented that eliminated or permanently reduced that facility’s potential to emit hazardous air pollutants.
Today’s memo finds that EPA had no statutory authority under the Clean Air Act to place a time limit on when a facility may be determined to be an area source, and that a plain language reading of the Act must allow facilities to be reclassified as area sources once their potential to emit hazardous air pollutants falls below the levels that define major sources.
EPA anticipates that it will soon publish a Federal Register notice to take comment on adding regulatory text that will reflect EPA’s plain language reading of the statute as discussed in this memorandum.
For Immediate Release
For More information contact:
Keala J. Hughes, Director of External Affairs & Tribal Relations
Direct: 504-717-7235
On January 24, 2018, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (Council) voted to approve funding $1,790,546 in implementation funding for the Robinson Preserve Wetlands Restoration project sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. These funds will be used to restore 118.2 acres of coastal habitat and restore more natural hydrology, along with related activities in Tampa Bay, Florida. The Council also voted to approve the 2017 Funded Priorities List: Comprehensive Commitment and Planning Support (2017 CPS FPL), to provide funding to its members to enhance collaboration, coordination, public engagement and use of best available science needed to make efficient use of Gulf restoration funds resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The 2017 CPS FPL funding will support the Council’s commitment to a coordinated approach to ecosystem restoration, as called for in the Comprehensive Plan Update 2016: Restoring the Gulf Coast’s Ecosystem and Economy. Per the RESTORE Act, only RESTORE Council members may apply for any Council-Selected Restoration Component funds. The Council members include the governors of the five Gulf states (Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas), and the heads of six federal departments (the Secretaries of the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, the Army, Commerce, Homeland Security and the Interior, and the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). The Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) has been published to the Council website. Applications for CPS funding will be accepted from members through April 30, 2018.
Miss. Senators Endorsed James in Early 2017 to be Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) today said Senate confirmation of R. D. James to be Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works is important for the future of navigation and flood control works in Mississippi.
The Senate on Wednesday voted to confirm James, who was recommended by Cochran and Wicker early last year to lead the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. A self-employed Missouri farmer who has served on Mississippi River Commission since 1981, James was confirmed by a 89 to 1 vote.
“The importance of the Army Corps of Engineers to Mississippi cannot be overstated. I am confident Mr. James understands the how the Corps of Engineers can work as a partner with communities to protect and improve our state,” Cochran said. “I congratulate Mr. James on his confirmation and look forward to working with him.”
“R.D. James has extensive experience working alongside the Army Corps of Engineers during his 36 years of service on the Mississippi River Commission,” Wicker said. “Today, the Senate confirmed a man who knows the importance of water infrastructure investment in supporting our nation’s economy and keeping vulnerable communities safe from the destructive effects of floods. I am confident Mr. James is the right man for the job, and I am positive he will be a strong advocate for Mississippi and our region.”
James’ confirmation was also supported by the Mississippi Levee Board and the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta Levee Board.
In his new position, James will supervise all Department of the Army functions relating to water resources infrastructure carried out by the Corps of Engineers. He will also be responsible for the operation, maintenance and improvement of the Mississippi River and Tributaries (MR&T) Project, which was authorized by Congress following the devastating flood of 1927.
The MR&T comprehensive system of levees, floodways, channel and tributary basin improvements in the lower Mississippi River Valley is the largest navigation and flood control project in the world. It protects approximately 4 million people in Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, and Illinois.
In their February 2017 letter of recommendation, Cochran and Wicker cited James’ experience in fostering collaboration between the Corps of Engineers and the private sector.
“As a civilian on the Commission, Mr. James has been responsible for facilitating collaboration between the Corps of Engineers and our nation’s most talented private-sector engineers,” the Senators wrote to President Trump.
They expressed their confidence that James is “eager to shift the Corps’ focus back to building useful infrastructure.”
“Federal agency red tape has unnecessarily delayed U.S. infrastructure investments in recent years. These delays have provided economic advantages to our global competitors and have prevented the American public from enjoying the full economic and disaster mitigation benefits the Corps of Engineers is capable of providing,” they wrote.
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Microplastic Pollution: A complex mixture of diverse polymers, shapes and sizes
NOAA
Posted Thu, 01/25/2018 - 11:00
By: Chelsea M. Rochman, Guest Blogger and Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto
The microplastics literature is growing at a tremendous rate. Every day, new studies are published about their sources, fate, and effects. There is no longer any doubt that microplastics of all shapes, sizes, and types contaminate diverse ocean habitats and animals. We also understand much more about the effects of microplastics on organisms than we did just a few years ago. Still, there are research gaps to fill. Fewer measurements of microplastics have been taken in freshwater habitats, so much of what we know about plastic pollution comes from studies in marine systems. Furthermore, even less is understood about the effects of microplastics in freshwater animals. Finally, and of most interest here, many studies do not compare the effects of different types of plastic polymers. This may be important as different polymers are made up of unique mixtures of chemical ingredients.
As part of a project funded by the NOAA Marine Debris Program, we set out to answer questions related to these research gaps. We examined whether environmentally-relevant concentrations of different types of microplastics (polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene, polyvinylchloride (PVC), or polystyrene) directly affect freshwater prey (Asian clams) and indirectly affect their predators (white sturgeon). Using several different plastics that were similar in shape and size, we found that effects varied by polymer type. For example, abnormalities in cells and tissues were greatest in clams fed PVC or polystyrene compared to PET and polyethylene. Like chemical pollutants, not all microplastics should be categorized into one, singular contaminant group. Microplastics come in a variety of polymers, some of which are relatively nonthreatening and others that are more hazardous. Instead of only thinking about what concentrations of microplastics may be harmful, we might also consider the different sources and types of microplastics that may be hazardous.
