State
FORREST SUPERVISORS TO TAKE ROAD OVERLAY PROJECT UNDER ADVISEMENT
Hub City Spokes
In other action, supervisors:
• Acknowledged the approval from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality of the Forrest County Waste Tire Grant Application in the amount of $50,000.
Oil Spill
Panama City Port Authority receives millions from BP Oil Spill fund
WJHG
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - Officials with the Panama City Port Authority recently got word they received money from the BP Oil Spill fund.
Africa town Connection Blueway kayak trail plan announced
Al.com
The next canoe and kayak trail offering access to the Mobile-Tensaw Delta will begin in Africatown with a launch facility and park to be built under the Cochrane-Africatown Bridge.
Regional
Federal judge blocks EPA enforcement of 2015 clean water regulations
AJC
A federal judge recently ruled in favor of Georgia and 10 other states that sought to block the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating the pollution of wetlands and tributaries.
Nutria don't just destroy wetlands, they're also raiding bird nests, scientists say
Times-Picayune
Eva Windhoffer had to lay down and “question life” after she saw the footage.
In a grainy nighttime video from a remote camera trained on a colony of nesting shorebirds, a scraggly nutria waddles into the frame. Then the shy, plant-eating rodent does the unthinkable.
National
Scott Pruitt, Under Fire, Plans to Initiate a Big Environmental Rollback
NY Times
WASHINGTON — Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, is expected on Friday to send President Trump a detailed legal proposal to dramatically scale back an Obama-era regulation on water pollution, according to a senior E.P.A. official familiar with the plan. It is widely expected to be one of his agency’s most significant regulatory rollback efforts.
Senate committee targets Pruitt scandals in spending bill
The Hill
A Senate committee unanimously passed a spending bill Thursday with a non-binding provision taking aim at Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Scott Pruitt for his recent ethics scandals.
For Pruitt Aides, the Boss’s Personal Life Was Part of the Job
NY Times
WASHINGTON — Senior staff members at the Environmental Protection Agency frequently felt pressured by Scott Pruitt, the administrator, to help in personal matters and obtain special favors for his family, according to interviews with four current and former E.P.A. officials who served as top political aides to Mr. Pruitt.
McDonald's to test plastic-straw alternatives in U.S. later this year
USA Today
Waste Management named one of Military Times’ 100 Best for Vets: Employers 2018
MBJ
Waste Management has made the Military Times’ Best for Vets Employers 2018 rankings for the ninth year in a row.
Waste Management maintains a network of veteran employment outreach partners to communicate openings and events, attending over 100 veteran job fairs in the U.S. and Canada each year. In 2017, 8.6 percent (over 1,000) of all the company’s U.S. hires were military veterans. More than 3,000 veterans work in a variety of roles at WM.
Why Railroads Are Making Freight Trains Longer and Longer
Pressure from investors and competition from trucking drive railroads to add cars to improve efficiency. But some say the trend is misguided and, potentially, a safety hazard.
WSJ
The freight train is now on track to stretch up to 3 miles long, with 200 cars or more. And it’s being powered, in part, by an unusual energy source: the activist investor.
Companies have plenty of reasons to keep adding train cars. Long trains save on fuel and crews, reducing the cost of rail transportation.
AP Investigation: Fish billed as local isn’t always local
AP
In a global seafood industry riddled with labor abuse and fraud, national distributor Sea To Table offered conscientious consumers fish that was fresh, local and always caught in the U.S. However, DNA tests suggest consumers are getting duped.
Press Releases
EPA Recognizes Federal Green Challenge Winners and Their Efforts to Save Resources and Taxpayers’ Money
06/14/2018
WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognizes federal facilities for conserving resources and saving taxpayers’ money as part of the Federal Green Challenge (FGC).
Trump Administration Provides Support for Community Health, Revitalization
06/14/2018
WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) joined other federal partners in announcing technical assistance to help six communities use local health facilities as a driver for improving health and revitalizing the local economy.
National-Scale Grid to Support Regional Groundwater Availability Studies and a National Hydrogeologic Database
USGS
The National Hydrogeologic Grid (NHG) dataset includes a raster and vector representation of 1-km cells defining a uniform grid that encompasses the continental United States.
