State
New law will prohibit local government from banning plastic bags or other type containers
Clarion Ledger
A new law goes into effect in Mississippi in July to prohibit local governments from regulating use of plastic bags, paper cups or other auxiliary containers by retailers or food vendors.
Gov. Phil Bryant has signed Senate Bill 2570 into law.
MFC deploys wildland firefighters to Texas
NewsMS
The Mississippi Forestry Commission (MFC) is deploying one Wildland Firefighting strike team with two bulldozers to Texas, where they will assist state and federal partners with wildfire suppression efforts. Five MFC Wildland Firefighters will travel overnight arriving in Merkel, Texas on Tuesday, March 20, 2018.
State Government
Mississippi hires pension director from Georgia government
AP
The Mississippi Public Employees Retirement System is hiring a new director from Georgia.
Ray Higgins will be the sixth leader of the Mississippi government pension system in its 66-year history.
Oil Spill
Dangerous ‘Quicksand Island’ near Pascagoula may be getting safer soon
Sun Herald
It’s actually named Round Island and it’s still not quite ready for boaters, kayakers and such, but it is getting closer to becoming a recreational paradise.
The island, which is essentially made of dredge spoils from the Pascagoula shipping channel, will soon be graded and shaped and the berms will be covered with plants, said Chris Wells of the Department of Environmental Quality’s Office of Restoration.
Restore Act money to be used to repair docks at Panama City Marine Institute
WJHG
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - A local school will now be able to upgrade some of its facilities thanks to Restore Act funding.
Bay Parkway construction advances
PC News Herald
PANAMA CITY BEACH — Construction of the Bay Parkway extension that is expected to reduce traffic on Back Beach Road could begin next year, as funding continues to be added for the project.
Dispersants can turn oil spills into toxic mist, research shows
Times-Picayune
The dispersant chemicals used to clean up oil spills have the unintended effect of transforming crude oil into a toxic mist able to travel for miles and penetrate deep into human lungs, new research has found.
Regional
Shelby County residents working to protect drinking water
WREG
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Memphis is known for having some of the freshest and cleanest water in the country, and many want to keep it that way.
National
EPA proposes tweaks to oil refinery pollution rules
The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a series of changes to pollution rules for oil refineries that it says would save the industry $11.5 million a year.
Pruitt to restrict the use of data to craft EPA regulations
The Hill
The Trump administration is planning to put new restrictions on the kind of scientific studies and data that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can use to craft its regulations.
The EPA wants to stop using scientific findings whose data and methodologies are not public or cannot be replicated, the Daily Callerreported Tuesday..
Appeals court set to hear Virginia coal ash storage case
AP
A federal appeals court is set to hear arguments in a legal battle over the storage of more than 3 million tons of coal ash from a retired power plant in Virginia.
Researchers to Deploy Wall of Sound to Battle Invasive Fish
The Lake News (KY)
Frankfort – Researchers will experiment with a riverbed bubbler and sound system as part of the ongoing effort to slow the spread of Asian carp throughout the Mississippi River basin.
European technology originally designed to steer migrating salmon back into main river channels will be tested below Barkley Dam in western Kentucky as an environmentally friendly way to block passage of Asian carp upstream.
BP Appoints First Ever Woman to Lead Its American Business
Bloomberg
For the first time in BP Plc’s history, its U.S. business will be led by a woman. Susan Dio will take over as chairman and president of BP Americas starting May 1 and be based in Houston.
Press Releases
Administrator Pruitt Signs Technical Corrections to Emissions Standards Saving $11.5 Million in Regulatory Costs for Refineries
03/20/2018
WASHINGTON — Today, Environment Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt proposed amendments to the Petroleum Refinery Sector Risk and Technology Review and the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS). These technical corrections provide both regulatory clarity for refineries and cost savings up to $11.5 million.
Higgins named PERS sixth executive director
Ray Higgins of Dacula, Ga., has been named by the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS or the System) Board of Trustees as the agency’s sixth executive director in its 66-year history.
Federal Duck Stamp Theme Will Celebrate the Conservation Achievement of Waterfowl Hunters in 2018
March 20, 2018
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced that the theme of the 2019-2020 Federal Duck Stamp will be “Celebrating our waterfowl hunting heritage.” This theme requires entrants in the 2018 Duck Stamp Contest to include one or more visual elements that reflect the contributions waterfowl hunters make to habitat conservation.
