State
ESG to operate wastewater plant
Vicksburg Post
ESG, the Georgia-based company hired to operate and manage the city’s water treatment plant on Haining Road, has been hired to operate and manage the wastewater treatment plant.
Saltillo to poll water users
Daily Journal
SALTILLO – Over the next month, the city of Saltillo will ask its customers what they think about the municipal-supplied water. Since switching the entire city back to well water last September, City Hall has been flooded by complaints of dirty and smelly water, mostly from the west side of town.
Louisiana lawmakers pass legislation to help prevent dam project on Pearl River
WDSU
More than a decade after Congress passed the 2007 Water Resources Development Act, Louisiana lawmakers are asking the Mississippi Army Corps of Engineers to deny a permit to a proposed dam in Jackson, Mississippi.
Special waste collection set
Stone County Enterprise
Stone County residents wishing to dispose of hazardous waste as well as outdated prescriptions will have the opportunity June 16.
Land trust aims to clean up, protect Chunky River on June 15
Meridian Star
Volunteers will be working to preserve the Chunky River’s beauty and protect a Lauderdale County ecosystem with a cleanup on June 15.
Erosion issue to be studied in Hernando
DeSoto Times-Tribune
After record rainfall this winter and no let-up during a particularly wet spring, the City of Hernando, like other places, is having to deal with major erosion issues.
2018 shrimp season opens with more than 250 boats in the MS Sound
Sea Coast Echo
More than 250 boats filled the Mississippi Sound early Wednesday for the start of the 2018 shrimp season.
Neshoba Board of Supervisors gets TVA rebate check
WTOK
The Neshoba County Board of Supervisors has received some unexpected money from the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Fossil Road Show coming Saturday
New Albany Gazette
It could be called a case of rock and roll as Fossil Road Show 2018 moves into New Albany to be at the Union County Heritage Museum Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Fossil Find!
Chickasaw Journal
Walter Dyer Atkinson celebrated his seventh birthday Saturday, April 28, 2018, with a trip to the Mississippi Natural Science Museum in Jackson where he donated a sea-star arm he found in his backyard to the Museum. Atkinson is shown with George Phillips, state paleontologist, who noted the fossil is very rare. Atkinson is the son of John and Kellie Atkinson of Houston.
State Government
Mississippi high court mulls case over power to cut budgets
AP
The Mississippi Supreme Court has heard arguments in a lawsuit that questions the governor's power to make midyear state budget cuts.
National
EPA Plan for Transparency in Science Alarms Industry, Too
Bloomberg
Judge rules EPA must provide evidence used for Pruitt's climate change claims
The Hill
A U.S. district judge has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to release any documents used by Administrator Scott Pruitt to make his public statement that human behavior is not a “primary contributor” to climate change.
Scott Pruitt may have just dug his hole quite a bit deeper
Washington Post
Reporter Jessica Smith took advantage of access to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt on Wednesday to ask him about the latest in a seemingly endless series of ethically dubious actions he has taken since being sworn in.
2 of Scott Pruitt's closest aides, also facing scrutiny, are leaving the EPA
Washington Post
Two of Scott Pruitt's most trusted aides have given notice that they are leaving, as the Environmental Protection Agency chief faces growing scrutiny over his spending and management decisions, according to current and former agency officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel moves.
Trump offers public praise for Pruitt: 'Somebody has to say that'
The Hill
President Trump reaffirmed his support for embattled Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Scott Pruitt on Wednesday, saying that under him the agency is "doing really, really well."
Major oil group launches new coalition to promote offshore drilling
The Hill
A top U.S. oil and gas industry leader is setting its sights on expanding offshore drilling in the eastern Gulf and off the coast of mid-Atlantic states.
Your polyester shirt may be polluting our water system
Washington Post
Your polyester shirt may soon come with a warning label.
Lawmakers in California and New York have proposed state bills this year to raise awareness of a problem few consumers may have heard of -- synthetic fabrics shedding microfibers into the water system.
GOP lawmakers raise red flags over environmental group's ties to China
Fox News
Two senior Republicans are raising red flags about a major environmental group's ties to China, suggesting the organization is "at risk" of being "coerced" and might even need to register as a foreign agent.
New Mexico official says Texas landowners are “stealing” millions of gallons of water and selling it back for fracking
Texas Tribune
ORLA — After you head northeast on Ranch Road 652 from tiny Orla, it’s easy to miss the precise moment you leave Texas and cross into New Mexico. The sign just says “Lea County Line,” and with 254 counties in Texas, you’d be forgiven for not knowing there isn’t one named Lea.
Opinion
Cost-Benefit Reform at the EPA
Under Obama, the EPA juked the numbers to justify costly regulation.
Editorial – WSJ
Barack Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency jammed through an average of 565 new rules each year during the Obama Presidency, imposing the highest regulatory costs of any agency.
Press Releases
MDEQ Issues Air Quality Action Day for DeSoto County
(JACKSON, Miss.) – The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), has declared an Air Quality Action Day for Thursday, June 7, for DeSoto County. Air Quality Action Days are those days when ozone levels have the potential to exceed the ozone standard, and it is suggested that residents and industries take actions to help reduce air pollution.
Trump Administration Announces $256 Million in Construction Projects Approved for National Parks
Approved projects will repair and rehabilitate aging National Park Service infrastructure
6/6/2018
WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke today announced more than $256 million in approved funding to rebuild critical national park infrastructure.
