State
Monroe County School District awarded $15,000 MDEQ grant
Monroe Journal
The Monroe County School District was among 17 districts across Mississippi to receive a grant from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to apply toward the purchase of a new school bus.
Controversial Pearl River dam project to be discussed at public meetings in Baton Rouge, Slidell
The Advocate
Officials from a Mississippi flood-control district that wants to dam the Pearl River near Jackson will face two potentially tough audiences next month when they present an overview of a draft feasibility and environmental impact statement on the project: a Louisiana task force and St. Tammany Parish residents.
Outrage over director’s firing simmers, locals pledge support for keeping the center ‘Audubon’
Sun Herald
The National Audubon Society's decision to abruptly dismiss the director of its local Pascagoula River Audubon Center had local leaders calling for a change in ownership as late as Wednesday afternoon.
Blockage causes raw sewage to flood Fulton parsonage
Itawamba County Times
The City of Fulton will likely be footing a nearly $19,000 bill for damage caused when a blockage in its main sewer line caused a local parsonage to flood.
Brookhaven picks Arrow for trash pickup in 4-3 vote
Daily Leader
A 4-3 split by the Brookhaven Board of Aldermen Tuesday night leaned in favor of an Alabama-based company for the city’s trash pickup.
Nissan names new leader at Mississippi auto plant
AP
Nissan Motor Co. is naming a new leader for its Mississippi assembly plant.
National
Acting EPA chief looks to reassure staff after Pruitt’s resignation
The Hill
In his first major appearance since taking the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) helm on Monday, new acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler sought to reassure the agency's more than 14,000 staffers that he has their back, despite turbulence within the EPA.
New EPA acting chief defends past coal industry lobbying
AP
The new acting chief of the Environmental Protection Agency defended his past lobbying work with the coal industry on Wednesday as he addressed agency employees roiled by months of ethics allegations against former administrator Scott Pruitt.
House votes to overhaul fishery management law
The Hill
The House on Wednesday passed controversial legislation that aims to overhaul how the federal government manages the nation’s fisheries.
EPA scraps detailed plan to force U.S. refiners to blend more biofuels
Reuters
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ditched a detailed plan that would have forced refiners to blend more biofuels into their gasoline and diesel in 2019 to compensate for volumes likely to be exempted under the agency’s small refinery hardship waiver program, according to newly released EPA documents.
US on pace to become world's biggest oil producer for first time since 1970s
AP
The U.S. is on pace to leapfrog both Saudi Arabia and Russia and reclaim the title of the world's biggest oil producer for the first time since the 1970s.
Opinion
WLOX Editorial: Lawmakers should do the right thing
Four months ago, the Mississippi Legislature adjourned. But the day they left Jackson, they knew they would likely go back for a special session since some big issues were not resolved. Now Governor Phil Bryant is likely to call a special session for August.
GARBOLOGY 101
Scott County Times
It is three-tenths of a mile from the end of my driveway down the dirt and gravel Pine Grove Road to Highway 21. Three-tenths of a mile. A little after 6:00 a.m. on the Fourth of July I decided to walk to the highway and back because I was more than a little perturbed on the eve of the Fourth as I drove in from work. Trash was everywhere — which is usual — but this time there was a white garbage bag of garbage sitting in the middle of the road right in the curve.
Press Releases
Acting Administrator Wheeler Addresses EPA Staff
07/11/2018
WASHINGTON – Today, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler addressed EPA employees on the third business day of his tenure after being appointed acting administrator by President Donald J. Trump.
