State
MOVING AHEAD
Northside Sun
The capital city is moving forward with another round of consent decree work, and is issuing $30 million in loans to pay for it.
...The loan is being awarded through the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ). According to MDEQ’s Web site, the state is not allowed to grant the money, but issue loans. Loans also must have an interest rate based on the market rate.
Brookhaven takes bids for waste pickup — Waste Pro’s contract is up Oct. 1
Daily Leader
Although the city wants to dump Waste Pro as its debris remover, the company is not ready to let go of the contract.
Officials refining waste collection plan
Natchez Democrat
NATCHEZ — The City of Natchez could push back its 4 p.m. Monday deadline for waste haulers to submit proposals to become Natchez’s next waste and recycling collector.
Saltillo City Hall helping residents clean up
Daily Journal
SALTILLO – The city of Saltillo is offering its residents a little help with their spring cleaning.
Throughout the month of April, the city is providing a dumpster behind city hall for citizens to properly dispose of household garbage, lumber, old appliances and other debris.
City of Picayune installs new “No Littering” sign
Picayune Item
In order to minimize the amount of litter found on the side of the road, the city of Picayune has installed a new “No Littering” sign.
Their new house stinks and their home builder is to blame, Coast couple says in lawsuit
Sun Herald
A couple who bought a new six-bedroom home north of Biloxi say in a lawsuit that D.R. Horton Inc. — Gulf Coast had a sewerage system installed for a three-bedroom home, creating a stench and damage when toilets and drain fields overflowed.
SMITH PARK RE-OPENING APRIL 13 AFTER RENOVATIONS
Northside Sun
The grand re-opening for Smith Park is Friday, April 13, at 11 a.m.
The event will feature music, food trucks and a brief ceremony commemorating the completion of a major round of improvements at the facility.
State Government
Study: Economic development incentives paying off for state
Daily Journal
JACKSON – Despite failures that have the potential to cost the state $185 million, Mississippi has received positive results from its incentive programs designed to entice companies to locate in the state, according to a study conducted by the office of Auditor Stacey Pickering.
Mississippi Department of Revenue's new system speeding up car registration
WLBT
Getting a new car can be a hassle and registering the vehicle can also be another hoop to jump through. For some, going through the Department of Revenue for the car title can be a trying experience.
Oil Spill
MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST MAYOR’S MEETING
WXXV
Several mayors from across the Gulf Coast met at the Shell Landing Golf Club in Gautier today for the first Gulf Coast Mayor’s Meeting of 2018.
Mississippi gets $2.6 million grant for pedestrian bridge
AP
A Mississippi Gulf Coast city is receiving a $2.6 million federal grant to construct a pedestrian and bus bridge over a major highway.
Regional
Judge: EPA's delayed response to Alabama landfill complaint violated law
Al.com
A federal judge in California has ruled the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency violated the law by allowing civil rights complaints in five states, including Alabama, to "languish for decades" before releasing any results.
Like the Louisiana coast, the Gulf seafloor is rapidly eroding, research finds
Times-Picayune
Louisiana's land loss crisis doesn't stop at the coast. New research has found that the seafloor extending from the Mississippi River Delta into the Gulf of Mexico is also eroding at a rapid rate, potentially putting offshore oil and gas infrastructure at risk and allowing hurricanes to hit the coast with greater force.
Cooper, GOP battle over federal grants, VW settlement money
AP
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The unrelenting power struggle between North Carolina Republicans and the Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is back in court.
Researchers predict above average 2018 hurricane season
WLOX
The upcoming hurricane season, which kicks off June 1, is predicted to be above average.
A study released Thursday by researchers at Colorado State University predicts a total of 14 named storms, with seven of those being hurricanes. Of those seven, three are expected to be major. A major hurricane is considered a category 3, 4, or 5.
National
Trump Says He Has Confidence in EPA Chief
White House seeks answers from Scott Pruitt over housing and other controversies
WSJ
President Donald Trump said Thursday he continues to have confidence in Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt and praised his service, remarks that come as the White House is looking into several controversies swirling around the administrator.
Top Pruitt aide resigns amid growing scandal at EPA
ABC
A top aide to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has resigned.
Two sources familiar with the matter say Samantha Dravis, who served as senior counsel and associate administrator in the EPA’s Office of Policy and was seen as one of Pruitt’s closest aides, resigned abruptly last week.
EPA sued by 14 states over delay in methane emission standards
Reuters
Fourteen states filed suit on Thursday accusing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of failing to issue regulations for curbing emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse pollutant, from existing oil and gas operations as required under the Clean Air Act.
EPA Could Drop Chemical Exposures From Risk Reviews
Bloomberg
The EPA could ignore ways people are exposed to chemicals under a pending policy that would allow the agency to exclude some chemical uses from its risk analyses.
Opinion
Trump’s Pruitt Test
The President needs to show some loyalty to his leading reformer.
Editorial – Wall Street Journal
Donald Trump demands loyalty up the chain of command, but loyalty down has been another matter. The latest test of loyalty down will be whether Mr. Trump stands behind Scott Pruitt as Washington’s green political machine tries to oust the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator for supposedly grave ethics offenses.
Press Releases
MDEQ Recognizes 2018 enHance Members
(JACKSON, Miss.) -- The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) accepted nine renewal memberships into its enHance program for the 2018 class on Thursday. The recognition was part of the annual workshop and awards luncheon held in Jackson including celebrating the program’s tenth anniversary this year.
Bus & Pedestrian Bridge to Connect Downtown With Jones Park & Mississippi Aquarium
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Congressman Steven Palazzo, R-Miss., today announced the award of a $2.6 million project grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to construct an 1,100-foot pedestrian and bus bridge above Highway 90 in downtown Gulfport. This bridge will connect the Gulfport Transit Authority’s Multimodal Transportation Center to Jones Park and the new Mississippi Aquarium.
USGS Scientists Develop New Tool to Determine if Vermiculite Insulation Contains Asbestos
USGS
U.S. Geological Survey scientists and partners have created an onsite, time-saving technique for building inspectors to ascertain whether vermiculite insulation contains amphibole asbestos. The findings are featured in the April 2 edition of American Mineralogist.
