State
Mississippi Phosphates site removed from EPA Administrator's Emphasis List
Mississippi Press
PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt's ousting will not affect the cleaning of the Mississippi Phosphates Corp. site, according to the EPA.
Contract to raze old Kuhn Hospital could be awarded Aug. 24
Vicksburg Post
Pending approval by the Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen could award a contract to raze the buildings on the Kuhn Memorial Hospital property Aug. 24.
Cleveland Alderman Declare an "Emergency"
Delta Daily News
CLEVELAND, MS (Ben Caxton) — Alderman in the City of Cleveland declared an “emergency” this week. The emergency is that the city has apparently ignored crucial wastewater pump failures recently, instead relying on backups to take over, without replacing the failed pumps to maintain two at each of the city’s pumping stations as required by law.
Savanna Plant Update
Northside Sun
Engineers could be brought on next month to draw up plans for nearly $30 million in repairs for the Savanna Street Wastewater Treatment Plant.
...According the RFP, the final design should be completed and approved by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) by March. From there, the project should be bid out.
Sniffing Out the Problem
Northside Sun
Jackson city officials are planning to look into the cause of a major sewer main problem along Cavalier Drive in Fondren.
HAPPENING TODAY: Hazardous waste disposal site open in Harrison County
WLOX
If you're doing some late summer cleaning around the house and need a place to throw away hazardous waste, Harrison County has you covered!
...The monthly disposal site is one of two programs available for Harrison County residents. Both programs are funded through the county and Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
Wildlife Restoration funds changing the face of hunting
Clarion Ledger
By the early 1900s, Mississippi was experiencing a decline in popular game species such as wild turkeys, deer and wood ducks along with other wildlife. Some has been attributed to over-harvesting of game and some to habitat destruction. The reduction in game was also seen on a national level.
DeSoto to ink agreement for GIS mapping
DeSoto Times-Tribune
DeSoto County will join an interlocal pact with several other counties to obtain high-resolution GIS mapping of the county down to six-inch scale accuracy.
State Government
Analysis: Road money session waits on Lt. Gov Tate Reeves
AP
A special session to seek more money for Mississippi's roads and bridges could be drawing near. But nothing is likely to happen without Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves' agreement, and many observers aren't sure what he wants.
Regional
A Western Kentucky Coal Plant Polluted The Water, But Won’t Pay Any Fines
WFPL
Alabama bans some paddlefish harvest to protect species
AP
The state is suspending the commercial paddlefish season on the Alabama River to protect the species.
Utility crews in Cape Coral find bone fragment that could be millions of years old
Fort Myers News-Press
Crews working underground on Cape Coral's utilities extension project earlier this summer made a surprising find — a bone fragment belonging to either a mammoth or mastodon that could be 2.6 million years old.
National
Toxins turning up in dozens of public water systems
AP
ORSHAM, Pa. (AP) - Lauren Woeher wonders if her 16-month-old daughter has been harmed by tap water contaminated with toxic industrial compounds used in products like nonstick cookware, carpets and fast-food wrappers. Henry Betz, at 76, rattles around his house alone at night, thinking about the water his family unknowingly drank for years that was tainted by the same contaminants, and the pancreatic cancers that killed wife Betty Jean and two others in his household.
Monsanto to pay $289M after jury agrees Roundup weed killer caused man's terminal cancer
AP
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A San Francisco jury on Friday ordered agribusiness giant Monsanto to pay $289 million to a former school groundskeeper dying of cancer, saying the company's popular Roundup weed killer contributed to his disease.
5th lawsuit filed against EPA over 2015 mine waste spill
AP
A fifth lawsuit was filed against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over a mine waste spill the agency inadvertently triggered in 2015, polluting rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
Press Releases
Five Star Urban Waters Grants Awarded to Wolf River Conservancy
Community-led projects supported by EPA will restore urban waters and streams, improve water quality in priority watersheds
08/10/2018
ATLANTA (August 10, 2018) – Today, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a $38,923 grant to Wolf River Conservancy, Inc. in Memphis, Tenn.
