State
Testing the water: CHS 'SMART Kids' use grant to build STEM skills
Commercial Dispatch
Each Monday right after school, five students file into Deborah Pounders' biology classroom at Columbus High School for a special project they've been working on since August.
...The students do this for fun, for experience and legitimately in the name of science -- they share their results with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, among other things.
MDMR TO CONDUCT PRESCRIBED BURN WEDNESDAY ON DEER ISLAND
WXXV
Officials with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources will conduct a prescribed burn on Deer Island on Wednesday, April 25.
MVSU Holds Environmental Health and Sustainability Forum
DeltaNewsTV
Earth day is an annual event celebrated on April 22nd, however students at Mississippi Valley State University held an event to learn about ways to appreciate and protect the Earth and the environment.
Get rid of your old pills on Prescription Drug Take Back Day
WLOX
The Drug Enforcement Administration is offering Gulf Coast residents a way to safely dispose of old prescription drugs.
State Government
Report: MS Public Employee Retirement System won't reach current funding goals
WLOX
A new study of the Mississippi Public Employee Retirement System shows the state will not reach its minimum goal of being 80 percent funded by 2042. In fact, as of June 2017, the PERS funding ratio was sitting at 61.1 percent. And that's an increase over 2016, when the funding ratio was just 60 percent.
Oil Spill
The Coast won't 'sit down and shut up' about BP money, business council says
Sun Herald
The Gulf Coast Business Council won't sit down and shut up — when it comes to BP economic damages.
BP money debate erupts at Gulf Coast Business Council meeting
WLOX
What was supposed to be a routine meeting of the Gulf Coast Business Council Tuesday morning turned out to be something a bit different.
Regional
Sanford pollution site cleaned up, feds say
Orlando Sentinel
Superfund pollution site west of downtown Sanford was formally declared Monday as cleaned up at a cost of nearly $30 million.
National
Senate Republicans call for greater scrutiny of Pruitt’s management, spending decisions
Washington Post
Several Senate Republicans said Tuesday that Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt’s management and spending decisions should be subject to greater congressional scrutiny, though nearly all of them stopped short of asking him to resign.
Scott Pruitt’s Political Patron Now Questions the E.P.A. Chief’s Ethics
NY Times
WASHINGTON — Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, may be losing support even from his staunchest allies. His longtime political patron, Senator James Inhofe, said Tuesday that he would like to see an investigation into the ethical allegations against his protégé.
Dems question Pruitt over centralizing water pollution authority
The Hill
A pair of Democratic lawmakers is questioning Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt about a memo that gave him new authority to make certain determinations over water pollution standards.
Dems seek probe into Pruitt aide banned from banking
The Hill
Two House Democrats are asking the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) internal watchdog to investigate an adviser to Administrator Scott Pruitt who was banned nationally last year from the banking sector.
Pruitt Proposes New Rule Defining What Science Can Be Used By EPA
NPR
The head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, has proposed a new rule that restricts scientific research that can be used by the agency for its regulatory decisions.
Environmentalists dump on proposal for weaker coal ash rules
AP
ARLINGTON, Va. — Dozens of environmentalists and others are speaking out against a proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency that would roll back regulations governing the disposal of ash generated by coal-burning power plants.
Trump Faces Pressure to Choose Sides in Fight Between Corn Growers and Oil Refiners
Refineries complain of high cost of complying with ethanol mandate, while farmers question administration’s commitment
WSJ
EPA Grants Awarded To Monitor Border Waste
KPBS
Press Releases
RESTORE Act Funding to Support Job Creation and Development in Autonomous Systems Industry
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today announced the award of a $2.7 million grant to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to fund workforce development and job creation.
EPA Announces Availability of Funding to Reduce Emissions from Diesel Engines Nationwide
Preference given to fleets in areas facing air quality challenges
WASHINGTON (April 24, 2018) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of grant funding to modernize the nation’s diesel fleet by retrofitting or replacing vehicles with cleaner, more efficient diesel engines.
EPA Administrator Pruitt Proposes Rule To Strengthen Science Used In EPA Regulations
04/24/2018
WASHINGTON (April 24, 2018) – Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt signed a proposed rule to strengthen the science used in regulations issued by EPA.
