State
Grenada, EPA reckon with residents' deaths, 'colossal failure' of toxic cleanup oversight
Clarion Ledger
The view from Felicia Willis' kitchen window is of a large, dingy manufacturing facility — to her, a reminder of the illness that killed her sister in December.
Consultant hired for park cleanup
Vicksburg Post
PPM Consultants of Irondale, Ala., which serves as the city’s Brownfields grant consultant, has been hired by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen to serve as consultant for the cleanup at Riverfront Park.
Brookhaven Water Treatment plant operators gauge weather, too
Daily Leader
Q
: Who monitors the local weather?
A
: Many have wondered who keeps track of the local weather, and, after conducting a little research, we discovered that the same folks who purify city water also monitor our regional climate.
OSHA fines company after 2 employees die at sewer station
AP
PETAL, MISS.
A federal workplace safety agency has fined a Mississippi business nearly $28,000 after two men died while working on a sewer lift station.
Governor asks People to help Keep Mississippi Beautiful
WJTV
According to the Mississippi Department of Transportation costs the state more than $3 million.
City discusses details of waste collection, recycling
Natchez Democrat
NATCHEZ — City leaders Wednesday attempted to re×ne a request for proposals (RFP) that will determine what kind of waste and recycling collection services residents might receive with Natchez’s next garbage collection contract.
Madison Landing Upgrades
Northside Sun
Major upgrades are under way at Madison Landing, and work should be complete by this July.
Jackson's water problems will take years to solve
Water crisis reveals startling problems with city’s water system
WAPT
Jackson is still fixing broken water pipes from January’s cold weather. The city said it’s a couple a day compared to the several dozen that were reported after last month’s stretch of freezing weather.
Free seedlings offered for Mississippi Arbor Day
Daily Journal
TUPELO – The Lee County Soil and Water Conservation District will be giving away trees on Friday to celebrate Arbor Day in Mississippi.
State Government
Mississippi House votes to limit powers of attorney general
AP
The Republican-led Mississippi House voted Thursday to limit the powers of the attorney general who's the only Democrat in statewide office. But it's unclear whether the proposal will survive in the Senate.
Oil Spill
Coast leaders question House BP spending bill
WLOX
It's crunch time in Jackson with lawmakers looking at dueling BP spending bills. The Senate passed a bill a few weeks ago and the Mississippi House approved a measure Wednesday.
Business interests on the coast who want most, if not all of the money used for projects here were disappointed with the bill that came out of the House.
TWO BP OIL SPILL BILLS PASS THROUGH THE HOUSE
WXXV
The Mississippi House of Representatives today passed two important pieces of legislation that seek to control how the BP economic damage settlement funds will be spent.
https://www.wxxv25.com/2018/02/08/two-bp-oil-spill-bills-pass-house/
MISSISSIPPI AQUARIUM PROGRESS
WXXV
Progress is being made toward the Mississippi Aquarium in downtown Gulfport.
Regional
18 states, coal group, US Chamber want ash order overturned
AP
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Eighteen states, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, national coal industry interests and more than a dozen other groups are urging an appeals court to overturn a coal ash cleanup order at a federal utility’s Tennessee plant, contending the decision will have wide-reaching, expensive consequences.
...The states that filed a legal brief are Alabama, Kentucky, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
Coal ash cleanup spurs legal debate: How should TVA cleanup Gallatin Fossil Plant sludge?
Times Free Press
A court-ordered plan to dig up and relocate coal ash stored at TVA's Gallatin Fossil Plant in Tennessee threatens to push up TVA's electricity prices without necessarily helping the environment more than capping the ash residues where they are now, TVA customers and 18 attorneys general said in new court filings.
Alabama AG: Coal ash cleanup order violates states' rights
Al.com
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall filed a brief arguing that a federal judge's order to excavate a coal ash pond in Tennessee "usurps States' authority to regulate groundwaters," and will place a financial burden on the Tennessee Valley Authority that could cause rate increases to its customers in Alabama and other states.
LSU biologist makes biodegradable Mardi Gras beads that could make parades more green
Times-Picayune
New Orleans is well-acquainted with the waste created by discarded beads once Mardi Gras ends, but one Louisiana biologist is working on a way to reduce the debris in a sustainable manner.
National
EPA data reveals dramatic decrease in enforcement of polluter fees
The Hill
Under President Trump, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has fined far fewer polluters for breaking emissions rules than the Obama administration.
Final EPA toxic chemical rule proposes $20 million in annual fees to manufacturers
The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) fourth and final rulemaking to revamp a chemical safety rule would collect more than $20 million annually from chemical and petroleum manufacturers and distributors.
Opinion
Climate Change Just Got a Little Less Terrible
A new analysis rules out the worst case scenario. But without radical change, we’re still in plenty of danger.
By Eric Roston
Bloomberg
There are some 20,000 research papers listed on Google Scholar, a search engine for academics, that mention the worst-case scenario for climate change, one where an overpopulated, technology-poor world digs up all the coal it can find. Basically, it’s the most cataclysmic estimate of global warming.
LEGAL NOTICES VITAL FOR GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY
Northside Sun
There’s an old expression that goes something like, “Nobody’s safe when the Mississippi Legislature is in session.”
Press Releases
EPA Approves State of Arkansas’ Plan for Air Permitting and Enforcement Programs
DALLAS – (Feb. 8, 2018) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the state of Arkansas’ plan for administering programs related to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Pollutants regulated under these standards include ozone, lead, fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide.
EPA Announces 2017 Annual Environmental Enforcement Results
02/08/2018
WASHINGTON (February 8, 2018) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced its Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 annual enforcement and compliance results, highlighting site remediation and civil and criminal enforcement results.
