State
ONE LAKE REPORT ONLINE FOR PUBLIC REVIEW
Northside Sun
A report detailing the One Lake Project is now available for view online.
Greenville Sewer Failures Continuing to Grow, Officials Say Work is Getting Done
DeltaNewsTV
Four sewer systems in the city of Greenville are in desperate need of repair due to failures.
On Tuesday, the Greenville City Council approved declaring two more streets as emergency repair projects.
City of Greenwood Deems Crumbling Pipes an Emergency
DeltaNewsTV
At Greenwood City Council Special Meeting that was held Thursday morning.
The council approved a resolution deeming an emergency for crumbling pipes in the existing sewer line from Browning Road to Carrollton Avenue, and also including Grenada Boulevard in the City.
Annexed areas ready for hook-ups — Utilities now only a step away for many
Daily Leader
Many residents in the annexed areas of Brookhaven are just a deposit payment away from receiving water and sewer from the city.
...Aldermen voted in February to finalize two 20-year loans — which total $8.5 million — for the Annexation Improvements Project. The loans, through the State Revolving Fund, are from Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality for sewer service and the state Department of Health for water.
More than $3 million to fund study on DeSoto County flooding
Fox 13
DESOTO COUNTY, Miss. - More than $3 million will be spent to study flooding issues in DeSoto County.
State Government
Governor Phil Bryant Appoints New Executive Director for MEMA
WJTV
Governor Phil Bryant chose Greg Michel to be Executive Director of Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, Monday.
Tax ruling could lead to more money for Mississippi roads
AP
Thursday's U.S. Supreme Court ruling saying states can force online shoppers to pay sales taxes could produce a special legislative session in Mississippi to earmark new money for roads and bridges.
What will collecting internet sales taxes mean for Mississippi?
Clarion Ledger
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling allowing states to collect online sales tax should mean an injection of $50 million to $75 million to state coffers, Mississippi's tax chief said Thursday. It also is likely to stem sales losses and closures of mom-and-pop retailers across the state to the growth of online shopping.
Mississippi gambling regulators approve sports betting rules
AP
Mississippi's state-regulated casinos could begin taking sports bets as soon as late July, after gambling regulators on Thursday approved rules regulating sports betting.
Regional
Suit: Offshore drilling done in absence of required report
AP
Three conservation groups said in a lawsuit filed Thursday that federal wildlife agencies have failed for years to complete required consultations and reporting on the effects that oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico could have on endangered species.
Tennessee senators oppose Trump plan to sell utility assets
AP
Senators from Tennessee are opposing part of President Donald Trump's reorganization plan that revisits possibly selling the transmission assets of the nation's largest public utility.
National
The Energy 202: EPA loses a tenth of its criminal investigators since Trump's election
Washington Post
The number of investigators at the Environmental Protection Agency looking into the most serious potential violators of the nation's anti-pollution laws has fallen by a tenth since President Trump's election.
Senate blocks bid to stop Obama water rule
The Hill
The Senate voted Thursday to block a measure by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) that would have repealed former President Obama’s landmark water pollution rule.
EPA says no new rule needed on toxic waste spills
The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Thursday that it has determined it does not need to write a new regulation to prevent toxic waste spills into water from chemical plants and other facilities.
Trump wants to move Army Corps to Interior, Transportation departments
Times-Picayune
Most functions of the Army Corps of Engineers, including oversight of hurricane and river levees, coastal wetland permitting and river navigation in Louisiana, would be transferred to the departments of Interior and Transportation under a Trump administration plan announced Thursday to completely restructure the federal government.
Natural-Gas Boom Driving Methane Leaks, Study Finds
Higher levels of the potent greenhouse gas could pose challenge to efforts to slow global warming
WSJ
The country’s natural-gas boom is putting much higher rates of the potent greenhouse gas methane into the atmosphere than government estimates suggest, a challenge for efforts to slow global warming, according to new research analysis published Thursday in the journal Science.
House Narrowly Passes Bill to Reauthorize Farm Programs
WSJ
WASHINGTON—The House on Thursday narrowly passed a Republican-written bill that reauthorizes farm programs while also imposing controversial new work requirements on food-stamp recipients, acting on legislation that is important to a critical GOP constituency before the midterm elections.
Thirteen bald eagles were found dead in a field. This is what killed them.
Washington Post
The 13 bald eagles were found lifeless on a Maryland farm more than two years ago, many with wings splayed, bodies intact, and talons clenched. Several were too young to have their species' distinctive white heads. And at least six, according to a federal lab report, had ingested a highly toxic pesticide that has been essentially banned from the U.S. market, in part because it is lethal to birds.
Press Releases
Jun 21 2018
RESTORE Act Funds Will Support Planning & Construction Costs for Site Improvements
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., and Congressman Steven Palazzo, R-Miss., today announced a $3.52 million grant to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality to fund engineering, design, and construction for site improvements at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center.
EPA Celebrates New Chemical Safety Milestones on 2nd Anniversary of Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act
The Agency will reduce animal testing, track mercury imports and manufacture, and facilitate sharing of Confidential Business Information with emergency responders
06/22/2018
WASHINGTON — On the two-year anniversary of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it has met its statutory responsibilities to release guidance and policy on confidential business information, a strategy to reduce animal testing, and a final mercury reporting rule.
Secretary Zinke Praises President Trump's Government Reform and Modernization, Welcomes NMFS back to Interior
Executive Branch reorg strengthens Zinke's plan to modernize and reorganize Interior
6/21/2018
WASHINGTON – In accordance with President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order 13781, the Executive Branch will undergo a reorganization to better meet the needs of Americans in the 21st century.
