State
City to address EPA
Delta Democrat Times
City officials hope to receive good news on their upcoming trip to the Environmental Protection Agency Region 4 office in Atlanta later this week.
Several city officials, including Mayor Errick D. Simmons, Councilwoman Carolyn Weathers, Bill Burle, owner of W. L. Burle Engineers, Brad Jones, the coordinator for the EPA consent decree, Andy Alexander, the city’s attorney, Jimmy Palmer, the city’s EPA attorney, and Steve Osso, the city’s external financial consultant, will meet with the EPA officials on Wednesday and Thursday about the city’s options moving forward with the partial consent decree for sanitary sewer overflows.
The objective of the meeting is to get relief for residents who are burdened by increased water and sewer rates, Weathers said.
“We look forward to meeting with the EPA officials in Atlanta and what we can do to defray the cost,” she said.
When the city signed the decree in 2016, it was looking at $20.5 million in sewer repairs. Since the deal was signed, the costs have skyrocketed to more than $40 million and may ultimately top $65 million.
Because of the astronomical costs of the project, Weathers wrote President Donald Trump a letter in February concerning how the city will be able to pay for the repairs with a declining population and high poverty rate.
This week, Weathers received a reply from Jeaneanne M. Gentle, director for the EPA’s Water Protection Division, who was forwarded the letter and the options available to the city.
Two possibilities for the city to receive funds to address water and wastewater infrastructure needs is either through the Clean Water Act Section 319 grants, which has $170.9 million in funding available, or through low interest loan funding from Mississippi’s Water Pollution and Control (Clean Water) Revolving Loan Fund.
Steep Sewer Tax Increase a Going Concern
Delta Daily News
As expected, the City of Greenville has approved a steep hike in residents sewer bills starting this fall.
NEW INFRASTRUCTURE REPAIRS ARE ON THE WAY TO ONE STARKVILLE NEIGHBORHOOD
WCBI
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI)- Major upgrades are coming to the Pleasant Acres community in Starkville, upgrades that residents like Cam McMillen describes as being long over due.
Asbestos findings pause demolition of Bills Avenue homes in Ocean Springs
WLOX
A project involving the demolition of 30 rental homes on Bills Avenue in Ocean Springs is on a temporary pause as several of the properties undergo asbestos abatement.
LOCAL EXPERT DISCUSSES VIBRIO BACTERIA
WXXV
Vibrio bacteria, occasionally mislabeled as the ‘flesh eating bacteria,’ is in its peak season.
Vibrio naturally lives in certain coastal waters like the Gulf of Mexico and is present in higher concentrations between May and October when water temperatures are warmer.
Water, Water Everywhere: Punkin Water Association continues to address quality, pressure
Oxford Eagle
The Punkin Water Association held its monthly board meeting Monday night, and was met with an audience full of customers.
Mississippi to close red snapper fishing season on Friday
AP
Mississippi says it's closing its red snapper season for recreational fishermen on Friday.
State Government
State workers in South Mississippi embezzled millions — and still owe, audit shows
Sun Herald
A former state official in Biloxi and two women whose actions shut down Head Start programs in Harrison County are among 17 former state workers from South Mississippi who collectively owe the state tens of thousands of dollars.
Top Mississippi hospital and insurer agree to contract terms
AP
Mississippi's largest hospital and its largest private insurer said late Tuesday that they've reached an agreement to end their contract dispute.
Regional
Red tide algae's deadly trail of marine animals has triggered a state of emergency in Florida
Washington Post
A toxic, red algae bloom has left a trail of dead fish, fleeing tourists and abandoned beaches along 150 miles of southwestern Florida coastline, prompting the governor to issue a state of emergency.
Florida’s Red Tide Stings Tourist Industry
Naturally occurring stench has caused Gov. Scott to declare a state of emergency for seven counties
WSJ
Patrons of the Dry Dock Waterfront Grill on Florida’s Longboat Key usually enjoy stunning views of the Sarasota Bay. Now, they get an unpleasant stench.
Environmental bonds could help speed state coastal restoration projects
Times-Picayune
A $40 million project to rebuild 835 acres of wetlands and reduce storm surge flooding of Port Fourchon could become a test of a new "pay for success" environmental bond program that might provide up-front construction money to the state and entice oil and gas or other firms to fund bonuses to bond buyers and contractors if the work reduces wetland losses better than expected.
National
EPA challenged Trump officials' claim car efficiency rollback would save lives
The Hill
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) staff challenged the Trump administration’s conclusion that rolling back vehicle fuel efficiency rules would save lives.
Monsanto Verdict Could Trigger Landslide of Litigation Over Roundup
Bloomberg
Last week’s huge jury award against Monsanto Co. over its popular weed killers Roundup and Ranger Pro could boost litigation from others claiming their use of the products harmed them.
Garbage companies are refusing your recycling. The trade war with China will make it worse
San Francisco Chronicle
Across the Bay Area, recycling companies are in a crunch to find places overseas where they can sell plastic yogurt cups and junk mail flyers.
Garbage from Washington state's booming pot industry clogs gutters, sewers and landfills
Washington Post
SEATTLE - Washington state's penchant for getting high is trashing the place.
Plastic "doob tubes" and small Mylar bags used to package pot are moldering in gutters, bleaching out in landfills and bobbing in waterways.
Press Releases
EPA Hears from North Carolina Communities at Fayetteville Community Engagement Event
08/14/2018
FAYETTEVILLE — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wrapped up the latest per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) community engagement in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
MDMR hosting photo contest for 2019 calendar
BILOXI, Miss. – The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources is hosting a photo contest, and the winners will be used in the agency’s 2019 calendar.
