State
Alabama man dies in West Point traffic accident
Commercial Dispatch
West Point Police Department is investigating a traffic accident that killed an Alabama man on Highway 45 Alternate near the Hampton Inn Monday.
...Meaders said the tractor-trailer was carrying a hazardous, corrosive material called black liquor, but that the vehicle's tank was not leaking. Authorities cordoned off the area where the accident occurred and contacted the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. He added everyone in the area was safe during clean-up.
SOME SALTILLO CITIZENS SAY WATER SUPPLY UNFIT, URGE ALDERMEN FOR CHANGE
WCBI
SALTILLO, Miss. (WCBI) – Some residents unhappy with their water supply in Saltillo plan to ask the board of aldermen to switch suppliers.
Brookhaven, Lincoln County garbage bids not tidy and clean
Daily Leader
The low bids for city and county garbage pickup contracts were turned in Tuesday by two different companies, and it’s possible a third company could win the final job of operating the city’s transfer station today.
Legend of teddy bear and Teddy Roosevelt to be focus of new visitor center
Vicksburg Post
The story of President Theodore Roosevelt’s Mississippi bear hunt that served as the inspiration for the teddy bear will highlight the displays at a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service visitor center off U.S. 61 North in the Onward community near Rolling Fork.
Natchez Trace Parkway economic impact totals $154M
Daily Journal
Visitors along the Natchez Trace Parkway made an overall economic impact of $154 million last year, according to the National Park Service.
State Government
GOP Rep. Mark Baker running for Mississippi attorney general
AP
Republican state Rep. Mark Baker of Brandon announced Tuesday that he is running for Mississippi attorney general next year, saying he believes the office “needs to be reformed from the inside out.”
Mississippi Rep. Myers keeps seat as judge tosses challenge
AP
MCCOMB, MISS.
A Mississippi lawmaker will get to keep his state House seat after a judge dismissed a challenge from his opponent in the 2015 Democratic primary.
Oil Spill
BP Settlement Money Starts Flowing To Panhandle
WUSF
BP settlement money is headed to new water and sewer lines for an industrial park, technical-education programs in two counties and expansion of the Port of Panama City.
Shell Point Beach gets a makeover
Tallahassee Democrat
SHELL POINT - Six years after first applying for money to restore a locally popular stretch of beach along Apalachee Bay, the Shell Point Beach project is complete.
Regional
Baton Rouge-region back in line with national air pollution standards
The Advocate
Baton Rouge has long struggled to get its air quality in line with national standards, but the ozone concentration around the city has finally dipped to acceptable levels under the stricter regulations promulgated last year.
State committee overturns approval to farm Russian fish
Times-Picayune
Louisiana's House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment overturned a decision by the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission Tuesday (May 1) that would have opened the door to aquaculture of a Russian fish. Representatives expressed concern over how the escape of the fish could add to the state's financial burden of managing invasive species.
Governor asks SC agency to clean up abandoned tire site
AP
Gov. Henry McMaster on Wednesday asked South Carolina health officials to clean up hundreds of thousands of tires from an abandoned recycling center.
BP unleashing robot army to improve performance, safety
Houston Chronicle
This is the year BP will unleash a wave of robots into the Gulf of Mexico.
The British oil and gas major, as well as other Big Oil companies, are increasingly turning to aerial drones, underwater robots and magnetic, spider-like crawlers to examine oil platforms and other offshore equipment for safety inspections and emergency response.
National
EPA security chief, Superfund head leave amid ethics probes
AP
The two top officials in charge of security and toxic-waste cleanups at the Environmental Protection Agency have abruptly left their jobs, days after EPA administrator Scott Pruitt told lawmakers that his subordinates were to blame for alleged ethical lapses that have prompted more than a dozen federal investigations of the agency.
'On Fire For God's Work': How Scott Pruitt's Faith Drives His Politics
NPR
The Sunday before Scott Pruitt's confirmation hearing to run the Environmental Protection Agency, Pruitt stood on the stage of his hometown church, bowed his head, and prayed.
Report: EPA's Scott Pruitt went on $100K Morocco trip partially arranged by lobbyist
USA Today
Embattled EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is facing new criticism after it was revealed his controversial trip to Morocco was partially arranged by a lobbyist and cost $100,000 — more than double what was previously reported.
Nine out of 10 people breathing polluted air: WHO
Yahoo News
Geneva (AFP) - More than 90 percent of the global population is breathing in high levels of pollutants, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, blaming poor air quality for some seven million deaths annually.
EPA chief Pruitt overrules staff, gives Wisconsin's Walker, Foxconn big break on smog
Chicago Tribune
The Trump administration on Tuesday exempted most of southeast Wisconsin from the latest federal limits on lung-damaging smog pollution, delivering a political victory to Gov. Scott Walker as he makes a new Foxconn Technology Group factory the centerpiece of his re-election campaign.
Feds give Utah three years to bring ozone pollution down to acceptable levels
Salt Lake Tribune
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has given Utah three years to reverse a trend of rising ozone pollution in some of its most populated counties.
California Sues Trump Administration Over Vehicle Emissions
Some 17 states and District of Columbia—representing more than 40% of the car market—challenge EPA’s decision to ease emissions rules
WSJ
SAN FRANCISCO— California Gov. Jerry Brown said Tuesday his state was suing the Trump administration over its decision to ease national vehicle-emissions standards.
West Virginia reaches $2.6M settlement with Volkswagen over emissions scandal
The Hill
Automaker Volkswagen and two of its affiliates have agreed to pay West Virginia $2.65 million for failing to adhere to U.S. smog standards.
EPA finds nothing toxic at Wisconsin refinery explosion site
AP
SUPERIOR, Wis. — The Environmental Protection Agency says it has finished monitoring the air at the site of a recent oil refinery explosion in northwestern Wisconsin and found no elevated levels of anything toxic.
Mayors ask refinery to end use of dangerous chemical
AP
The mayors of the Lake Superior twin port cities near last week's oil refinery explosion and fire are calling on its owners to stop using a dangerous chemical compound at the site.
Virginia to maintain coal ash rules, opposes EPA rollback
AP
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s governor says the state has no plans to change its coal ash management practices, despite an Environmental Protection Agency plan to roll back regulations governing the byproduct generated by coal-burning power plants.
Investigators Puzzled By Fish Kills In Baltimore Waters
WJZ
BALTIMORE (WJZ)– Thousands of dead fish have ended up in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, and experts still aren’t sure why.
Press Releases
EPA, Working with States and Tribes, Takes Next Steps on 2015 Ozone Designations
05/01/2018
WASHINGTON – Highlighting its commitment to collaborating with states, tribes, and localities to protect air quality, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking the next step in the Clean Air Act process to implement the national air quality standards for ozone that were issued in 2015.
