State
Forget Jackson: West Rankin about to 'pull the trigger' on separate wastewater plant
Clarion Ledger
West Rankin officials are poised to "pull the trigger" on a long-wished-for independent wastewater plant, breaking off from Jackson after decades of partnership and cutting off the spigot to about $3.5 million in annual revenue to the capital city.
Hearing on Mississippi's water suit against Memphis set for next January
Commercial Appeal
A long-running U.S. Supreme Court case in which the state of Mississippi claims Memphis is stealing its water won't be resolved until at least next year.
Tesla Donates Solar Panels to Piney Woods School
Delta Daily News
PINEY WOODS, MS (Ben Caxton) — The Piney Woods School has received a donation, from Elon Musk’s Tesla corporation.
Chicken company plans $20M in upgrades to Mississippi plant
AP
VICKSBURG, MISS. A chicken company plans $20 million in upgrades to a central Mississippi plant.
That time we nuked Mississippi
Al.com
In 1963 and 1964, at the height of the Cold War, tensions were high between the United States and the Soviet Union, as both nations stockpiled tens of thousands of nuclear devices.
NY Post
Two fishermen in Mississippi snagged the second-largest alligator gar ever caught with a bow in state history — a 182-pound, 7-foot-long behemoth.
Hogs invade farmland, State relaxes trapping rules
WJTV
In an effort to combat wild hog populations, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks approved a rule change allow people to trap wild hogs on some wildlife management areas.
Oil Spill
Ivey: U.S. Army Corps, not state, will first rule on giant boat launch project
Al.com
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will play an "important" role in determining whether a boat launch project can move forward along the Intracoastal Waterway in Orange Beach, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said.
Regional
Most Tennessee landfills have decade or more worth of space left
Commercial Appeal
Despite a glutted market for recyclable material and looming capacity problems at waste sites elsewhere, most of Tennessee's landfills have enough space for at least a decade's worth of garbage, a new state report says.
Prospect of Tyson poultry houses met with concern, uncertainty in Haywood County
Commercial Appeal
BROWNSVILLE, Tenn. — After two nearby tracts of land were sold recently, Natalie Pinner was shocked to learn that she might have chickens as her new neighbors — hundreds of thousands of them.
Residents Raise a Stink Over Pig Farms in North Carolina
Trial will help determine how hundreds of other complaints against pork giant Smithfield Foods will be handled, with major implications for the state
WSJ
BEULAVILLE, N.C.—The linchpin of 500 legal complaints against Chinese-owned pork giant Smithfield Foods Inc., is headed to federal court Tuesday, part of a historic challenge to North Carolina’s $2.9 billion hog industry.
Arkansas wastewater permits expire, but facilities continue to operate
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Dozens of wastewater discharge permits have expired, but permittees have been allowed to continue operating under administrative holds placed on them by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.
Wastewater plants need EPA oversight, group argues
Florida Times-Union
State officials repeatedly downplayed violations of pollution permits at Northeast Florida wastewater treatment plants that affect the St. Johns River, a whistle-blower group is telling the federal government.
EPA, Hercules file consent decree for Terry Creek outfall
Brunswick News
The next step in the cleanup of a Superfund site off U.S. Highway 17 went forward May 16 when attorneys for the federal Environmental Protection Agency and chemical company Hercules lodged a proposed consent decree in U.S. District Court in Brunswick.
National
Ex-LyondellBasell Counsel to Lead Superfund Push at EPA
Bloomberg
The EPA has named a former chemical company lawyer to head the group in charge of accelerating contaminated site cleanups around the U.S.
Emails show cooperation among EPA, climate-change deniers
The emails underscore how Pruitt and senior agency officials have sought to surround themselves with people who share their vision of curbing environmental regulation and enforcement
AP
WASHINGTON — Newly released emails show senior Environmental Protection Agency officials working closely with a conservative group that dismisses climate change to rally like-minded people for public hearings on science and global warming, counter negative news coverage and tout Administrator Scott Pruitt’s stewardship of the agency.
Following PFAS Summit, EPA Will Take Steps To Address Contamination
WAMC
A national summit on PFAS chemicals was held in Washington, D.C. this week. Convened by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, the two-day event sought input on pollution including PFOA and PFOS, which have been discovered in several communities in our region.
EPA used disavowed research to justify putting dirtier trucks on the road
LA Times
At a time when acts of defiance against the Trump administration are routine in Sacramento, the rebuke that breezed through the California Assembly this month still came as a jolt. Even Trump loyalists in the chamber joined in.
EPA's Own Science Advisers to Rebuke Agency Over Auto Rollback
Bloomberg
Some of the EPA’s science advisers say the agency is ignoring its own research in moving to relax vehicle emission requirements, a signature element of the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back environmental regulations.
VW funds from diesel scandal will pay for zero-emission buses, trucks in California
LA Times
State officials figure the Volkswagen diesel emissions testing scandal added an extra 10,000 tons of noxious nitrogen oxide to California's air.
To make up for it, the state will use $423 million of Volkswagen penalty money to cut the same amount of nitrogen oxide by subsidizing the purchase of zero-emission trucks, buses and other vehicles.
Your Recycling Gets Recycled, Right? Maybe, or Maybe Not
Plastics and papers from dozens of American cities and towns are being dumped in landfills after China stopped recycling most “foreign garbage.”
NY Times
Oregon is serious about recycling. Its residents are accustomed to dutifully separating milk cartons, yogurt containers, cereal boxes and kombucha bottles from their trash to divert them from the landfill. But this year, because of a far-reaching rule change in China, some of the recyclables are ending up in the local dump anyway.
The Last Straw: San Francisco Targets Disposable Plastics
Bloomberg
Straws and takeout boxes made from fluorinated chemicals are the latest targets in San Francisco as the city looks to keep plastic out of its trash dumps.
Press releases
Alabama Prepares for Annual Groundwater Conference
May 25, 2018
ECOS
The Alabama Department of Environmental Management will host its 18th Annual Groundwater Conference on June 13 in Montgomery. This event provides an opportunity to network with other groundwater professionals and learn about new technologies related to groundwater protection and restoration.
