State
Wet weather delays Trace Lake repairs
Daily Journal
TUPELO – It could be next year before anglers get a chance to go fishing again at Trace Lake.
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks was forced to close and drain the Old Natchez Trace Lake at Trace State Park in April 2017. Landslides on the inside face of the dam of the 565-acre lake were greater than expected and will require more extensive repairs.
Community can do its part to help save endangered or threatened species
Picayune Item
From fish, amphibians and reptiles, to birds and mammals, there are several state and federally endangered and threatened animal species that live in Pearl River County.
Recycling center now open in Waveland
Sea Coast Echo
The city of Waveland on Friday unveiled its new recycling center, located behind city hall on Coleman Avenue.
Volunteers amass for biggest clean up effort of the year
Daily Journal
TUPELO – Two organizations joined efforts on Saturday to organize a swarm of volunteers from across the region to participate in the largest citywide cleanup effort of the year
Keep Tupelo Beautiful merged its “Pick It Up Tupelo” event – which usually falls on Earth Day – with the Rotary Club of Tupelo’s “10 for Tupelo” annual clean up event this year with the hopes of increasing overall attendance.
Thousands of pounds of drugs collected during national drug 'Take Back Day'
WLOX
BILOXI, MS (WLOX) -Thousands of pounds of prescription drugs were taken off the streets thanks to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). It's a bi-annual event, where you help out!
Shrimping season to remain open until May 6
Sea Coast Echo
The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources is extending shrimping season until 6 a.m. Sunday, May 6.
Commercial speckled trout season to close in Mississippi
AP
BILOXI, Miss. (AP) ” The commercial speckled trout season in Mississippi is closing.
The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources says the season will close Friday in state territorial waters at 11:59 p.m. and reopen at 12:01 a.m. Friday, June 1.
State Government
Governor discusses plan to fix bridges
NewsMS
Today Governor Phil Bryant discussed the issues of roads and bridges in the state at the Bond Commission meeting. Governor Bryant, State Treasurer Lynn Fitch, Attorney General Jim Hood, and others were there to discuss their part in helping repair and replace these bridges.
Today is Confederate Memorial Day. Yes, it's still a state holiday in Mississippi.
Sun Herald
Facebook isn't the only one sharing your data. Mississippi does too — for cold, hard cash.
Sun Herald
The state of Mississippi is making millions off your personal information.
Just how many millions is hard to figure. The Department of Revenue said fees charged to obtain public records are reported by the Legislative Budget Office and posted online. Which is true. Sort of.
Oil Spill
Triumph awards Escambia County $3M for workforce development
PNJ
Triumph Gulf Coast voted to approve funding to quadruple Escambia County's capacity to train students for high-paying jobs in high-tech and skilled trades.
Port of Panama City poised to receive Triumph grant
News Herald
NICEVILLE — The Port of Panama City is poised to be the first entity to receive money from the Triumph Gulf Coast oil spill fund.
Regional
Trump administration proposes easing offshore safety rules
Angelle said easing the regulatory burden would save oil and gas companies an estimated $946 million over the next 10 years.
WWL
NEW ORLEANS -- The Trump administration announced plans Friday to cut back regulations the Obama administration imposed to make offshore drilling safer after the BP oil disaster.
Recycled bottles at Jazz Fest will now go toward coastal restoration, contractor says
Times-Picayune
Good news: Beverage bottles you recycle at Jazz Fest will now go toward a coastal restoration project. That wasn't the case earlier this week, according to the contractor.
State health officer says chloroprene levels in St. John air should meet federal recommendation
The Advocate
As he stood before the St. John the Baptist Parish Council on Tuesday night, Dr. Jimmy Guidry, Louisiana's state health officer, made a statement some residents had been waiting years to hear.
Groups work to reduce nutrient loss, water pollution
Jacksonville Journal Courier
Farmers, environmentalists and scientists are working together to keep valuable nutrients from washing downstream.
National
EPA watchdog confirms Scott Pruitt probes
CBS
The Environmental Protection Agency's watchdog confirmed in a letter this week that it is looking into multiple allegations leveled against EPA chief Scott Pruitt.
AP FACT CHECK: Pruitt takes credit for Obama-era cleanups
AP
WASHINGTON (AP) — Scott Pruitt has something to boast about when it comes to the Environmental Protection Agency’s record on cleaning up toxic sites since he took over the agency. But it’s a boast only made possible by achievements of the Obama administration.
Projects That Threaten Species to Get EPA Help With Permitting
Bloomberg
A new EPA office will try to keep federal environmental reviews from needlessly slowing down permitting for energy, manufacturing, and infrastructure projects that threaten endangered species, an agency official said April 26.
Exclusive: U.S. EPA grants biofuels waiver to billionaire Icahn's oil refinery - sources
Reuters
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has granted a financial hardship waiver to an oil refinery owned by billionaire Carl Icahn, a former adviser to President Donald Trump, exempting the Oklahoma facility from requirements under a federal biofuels law, according to two industry sources briefed on the matter.
VW has to pay Florida $166M after emissions scandal. How should we spend the money?
Tampa Bay Times
TALLAHASSEE — Volkswagen’s diesel deception could be on its way to super-charging the future of electric vehicles in Florida, if state regulators agree.
Rauner, lawmakers in showdown over how — and how fast — to spend VW settlement
Chicago Sun Times
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s top environmental official is pressing to spend an anti-pollution windfall in the coming months, but critics say the rushed timetable is dictated not by sound policy but by the fall election.
Trump to Propose Freezing Auto Standards at 2020 Levels, Source Says
Bloomberg
U.S. regulators are poised to propose a freeze on fuel-efficiency standards at 2020 levels, according to two people familiar with the plan, which would erode an ambitious Obama-era initiative to curb planet-warming greenhouse gases.
Chemical raises concerns in wake of Superior refinery explosion, fire
Wisconsin Public Radio
Environmental monitoring is ongoing after an explosion and series of fires at Husky Energy's oil refinery in Superior, Wis., prompted an evacuation order last Thursday.
Cyanide 'bombs' used to kill coyotes, foxes under review by federal officials
USA Today
DENVER – A year after an Idaho boy was sickened and his dog killed by a cyanide "bomb," federal officials are investigating whether to ban the explosive poison devices used to kill thousands of coyotes and foxes annually.
Opinion
Our View: Programs show hope for inspiration
Commercial Dispatch
In recent years, it has been argued that too much emphasis has been placed on standardized tests and college-track education, to the detriment of arts and vocational programs. We've heard complaints from teachers in some districts that they feel they are expected to simply teach students to recite facts.
...Each Monday after school, the students explore area waterways, spending two hours taking water samples where they measure pH samples and collect data which they share with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
Press Releases
Mississippi’s 2018–19 Waterfowl Hunting Seasons Announced
JACKSON – The Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks considered dates for the 2018–2019 waterfowl hunting seasons during their April meeting.
