State
Pike County residents protest poultry farm
WJTV
Some Pike County residents are fighting to keep a poultry farm from opening in their neighborhood.
New tool helping Hattiesburg clear pipe problems
WDAM
The City of Hattiesburg has a new tool to help solve what could be a stinky problem.
Water and Sewer Director Alan Howe said the department recently purchased a new camera to send into sewer pipes, now an intricate part of every resident's call for a back-up or other problem.
Rankin Co. flood maps change
WLBT
If you live or do business in Rankin County your flood risk may have changed, and Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and insurance representatives had a few suggestions for citizens on Tuesday evening.
Citywide cleanup to be held on April 22
Picayune Item
The fourth annual Keep Poplarville Beautiful cleanup is scheduled for April 22, and organizers hope for another large turnout of citizens willing to help cleanup the city.
State Government
Gov. Bryant signs proclamation closing 83 bridges in MS
WLOX
Tuesday Gov. Phil Bryant signed a proclamation declaring a state of emergency ordering the Mississippi Department of Transportation to immediately close 83 locally owned bridges that have been judged deficient by the federal National Bridge Inspection Standards and the Mississippi Office of State Aid Road Construction.
PSC to review operations of Mississippi Power
WTOK
The Mississippi Public Service Commission says it will begin an operations review process for Mississippi Power Company, to be used as a precursor to a future rate case.
Hyde-Smith assigned important seat on Senate Appropriations Committee
WJTV
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Just days after being sworn in, Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) has achieved a major milestone.
Mississippi's new US senator sets top staff jobs
AP
Mississippi's new U.S. senator is keeping some top staff members who worked for her predecessor.
Oil Spill
County commissioners sign off on BP oil spill money
Citrus County Chronicle
County commissioners on Tuesday unanimously signed off on the RESTORE Act multi-year implementation plan and the paperwork will be sent to the appropriate state and federal agencies for approval.
National
EPA Gives North Dakota Power to Regulate CO2 Wells
AP
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The Trump administration on Tuesday gave North Dakota the power to regulate underground wells used for long-term storage of waste carbon dioxide captured from industrial sources such as coal-fired power plants.
EPA to clean up toxic Texas site damaged by Hurricane Harvey
AP
Federal environmental regulators have reached a long-awaited agreement with the owners of a polluted toxic waste site in Texas that was damaged during Hurricane Harvey, releasing dangerous chemicals into a river.
California ‘Actively’ Considers Challenge to EPA on Vehicle Emissions
Federal agency head has rejected as ‘wrong’ Obama-era decision designed to get all vehicles sold to average more than 50 miles a gallon by 2025
WSJ
California officials are weighing a lawsuit to challenge the Trump administration’s decision to ease vehicle emissions standards, though the state remains open to negotiations, the head of California’s air-pollution regulator said.
Press Releases
EPA Releases Draft Policy to Reduce Animal Testing for Skin Sensitization
04/10/2018
WASHINGTON –Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a draft Science Policy to reduce the use of animals in testing chemicals to evaluate whether they cause an allergic reaction, inflammation or sensitization of the skin. The draft policy is open for public comment until June 9, 2018.
“This draft policy is another step toward achieving EPA's goal of reducing the use of animals and increasing the use of cutting-edge science in chemical testing,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.
Given the substantial scientific evidence and international activities supporting the new methodologies for skin sensitization testing, EPA will begin accepting these approaches immediately under the conditions described in the draft policy document.
This draft policy is the result of national and international collaboration between the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods, the National Toxicology Program’s Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods, the European Union Reference Laboratory for Alternatives to Animal Testing and Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency.
Under Administrator Pruitt’s leadership, the Agency has made strides to reduce the use of animal testing. Last month, EPA fulfilled another milestone in the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, which amended the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), when it released a draft strategy to reduce or replace the use of vertebrate animals in tests of chemical substances manufactured, processed, or imported in the United States. Find the draft plan and how to comment on it here.
Gov. Phil Bryant Declares State of Emergency Related to Locally Owned Bridges
JACKSON – Gov. Phil Bryant signed today a proclamation declaring a state of emergency that orders the Mississippi Department of Transportation to immediately close 83 locally owned bridges that have been judged deficient by the federal National Bridge Inspection Standards and the Mississippi Office of State Aid Road Construction. The bridges slated for immediate closure are in Amite, Carroll, Clarke, Greene, Hinds, Humphreys, Itawamba, Jasper, Jones, Lauderdale, Leake, Lincoln, Newton, Pike, Smith and Wayne counties. The proclamation also applies to bridges that are found to be deficient in the future.
The bridges will remain closed until they are in compliance with federal and state laws, regulations and standards.
“These bridges have been deemed unsafe for the traveling public,” Gov. Bryant said. “Keeping them open constitutes an unnecessary risk to public safety, violates the corrective action plan agreed upon by the state and federal government and jeopardizes federal infrastructure funds Mississippi receives.”
In November 2016, the Federal Highway Administration Mississippi Division Office began working with MDOT to review and evaluate the bridges that were identified in the National Bridge Inventory as being in the worst condition, to ensure they were safe to remain open to traffic.
In March 2017, FHWA worked with MDOT and the Office of State Aid Road Construction to develop and implement an action plan to address NBIS compliance issues concerning the proper inspection and closure of unsafe bridges. The primary action item in the plan required the state to hire independent consultants to perform the NBIS inspections of all local bridges with timber substructure.
During the week of March 19, 2018, The FHWA Mississippi Division subsequently determined many of the bridges deemed deficient remained open to the public.
The U.S. Department of Transportation notified the state last week that FHWA is concerned that the bridges remaining open constitutes an unacceptable safety risk to the traveling public whose remedy requires immediate federal, state and local action.
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