State
OPPOSITION
Northside Sun
Groups cite not enough information for One Lake to proceed
Twenty-six environmental groups opposed to the One Lake Project say there’s still not enough information to comment on it, and have asked local leaders to delay the public comment period until all data is released.
Browning Road Lives Up to Its Name with Another Sewer Collapse
Delta Daily News
Another sewer line collapse on Browning Road in Greenwood is under repair.
With acid problems, Jackson renews drinking water warnings
AP
The mayor of Mississippi's largest city on Wednesday renewed longstanding warnings about the city's drinking water, saying the city still isn't maintaining the chemical balance needed to prevent lead and copper pipes from corroding.
Saltillo water project comes in under bid
Daily Journal
SALTILLO – A project to enlarge a water main in west Saltillo will cost a lot less than expected.
Arrow won’t take aim at Waste Pro trash pickups in county
Daily Leader
Lincoln County supervisors were hoping their new solid waste company would ride to the rescue and save them from picking up behind Waste Pro, but they’re on their own for the next 10 weeks.
Wildlife Dept. proposes CWD management changes
Clarion Ledger
The Wildlife Bureau of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks made several recommendations pertaining to chronic wasting disease management during this month's Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks meeting. One of the changes involves how the CWD Management Zone is identified.
Shrimpers say season is 'mediocre' so far
WLOX
BILOXI, MS (WLOX) -It’s typical to see shrimp boats either leaving harbor or working out over the Mississippi Sound.
Alligator sightings up in the tri-county area
WAPT
BRANDON, Miss (WJTV) - An eleven year old boy from Rankin County spotted an alligator in his front yard. Then another child loses his bait fishing in the middle of a Jackson neighborhood this weekend from, you guessed it, an alligator!
Teachers learn about nature through conservation camp
Monroe Journal
ABERDEEN – Twenty-five teachers from throughout the state made a couple of Monroe County stops as part of the weeklong teacher conservation workshop through the Mississippi Forestry Association.
Blue Springs gets Toyota grant to improve park
New Albany Gazette
The Town of Blue Springs will soon have a new swing set in the Toyota Blue Springs Water Garden and Education Park thanks to a grant. Blue Springs Mayor Rita Gentry told the town’s board of aldermen that the town has received a $7,000 grant from Toyota for landscaping and upkeep in the park.
PRESIDENT TRUMP NOMINATES MSU ALUM FOR USDA POSITION
WTVA
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WTVA) - President Donald Trump announced earlier this week he intends to nominate Mississippi State University alumnus Scott Hutchins for the position of undersecretary of agriculture for research, education and economics at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
State Government
CCID PANEL MEETING TO START MASTER PLAN WORK
Northside Sun
An advisory panel that will help determine how funds are spent in the new “Capitol Complex Improvement District” is expected to meet for the first time today.
Oil Spill
Hancock storm drainage idea lets nature clean up the mess
WLOX
BAY ST. LOUIS, MS (WLOX) -With heavy rainstorms come nasty drainage. The water coming through a culvert in Bay St. Louis may not be raw sewage, but it’s close.
Calcasieu, Cameron to get $10 million for Coastal Recreation Projects
KPLC
LAKE CHARLES, LA (KPLC) -Sixty million dollars in new coastal recreation projects have been announced. The money is from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement. Calcasieu Parish is getting a Science Center along with improvements at Sam Houston Jones State Park.
BP Oil Spill Settlement Money Will Fund Wakulla High Automotive Facility
WFSU
The Wakulla County School Board is getting a new automotive technician training facility. The project will cost almost $4 million dollars from a settlement with BP over the 2010 oil spill. The School Board will chip in $375,000 toward the project.
Regional
The Mississippi isn't so muddy, and that could be bad for restoring Louisiana's coast
Times-Picayune
The muddy Mississippi isn't nearly as muddy as it used to be.
A new study indicates the concentrations of sediment in the lower Mississippi River have decreased by more than half in recent decades. That's not good for Louisiana, which depends on a constant supply of river silt, sand and mud to rebuild land on its ever-eroding, ever-sinking coast.
$4 million settlement reached in Tennessee River pollution case
Al.com
Daikin America has agreed, for a second time, to a multi-million dollar settlement in a lawsuit involving chemical pollution of the Tennessee River, according to attorneys representing the plaintiffs.
Alabama cases involving water permits, minimum wage to be heard by appeals court
Al.com
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments next week on two Alabama cases - one involving minimum wages and the other water permits.
Man dies of bacterial infection after eating tainted oyster at Florida restaurant
USA Today
National
White House ‘concerned’ that House bill doesn’t cut EPA funding enough
The Hill
The White House is expressing concerns that a funding bill set for a vote Thursday in the House does not make deep enough cuts for agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Florida Republican to Introduce Carbon-Tax Bill
Rep. Carlos Curbelo says plan would replace gasoline tax, generate more revenue for infrastructure
WSJ
A Florida Republican is set to propose a carbon-tax bill in Congress next week, hoping to generate new traction for climate-change efforts in the face of GOP leadership pushing firmly the other way.
Ozone levels trigger EPA ‘non-attainment’ designation n San Antonio
MySA
Levels of smog-producing ozone in San Antonio’s air have finally triggered what local officials have long feared — a designation of “non-attainment” by the Environmental Protection Agency, which could hurt the city’s economy by delaying transportation and manufacturing projects.
ND Department of Health creating plan to spend $8.1 million from VW settlement
KFYR
After cheating emissions tests for more than six years, Volkswagen is paying nearly $3 billion to clean up the environmental damage it caused, including here in North Dakota.
Flood Insurance Logjam Threatens Coverage as Storm Season Swirls
Bloomberg
Congress has still been unable to reach a deal on the federal flood insurance program just weeks before it expires, opening the possibility that millions of homes and businesses could lose coverage as hurricane season kicks into high gear.
Press Releases
EPA Finalizes First Amendments to the Coal Ash Disposal Regulations Providing Flexibilities for States and $30M in Annual Cost Savings
07/18/2018
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the first set of revisions to the 2015 regulations for the disposal of coal combustion residuals, also known as CCR or coal ash, from electric utilities and independent power producers. The first set of revisions provides utilities and states more flexibility in how CCR is managed, and saves between $28 to $31 million a year in regulatory costs.
