Tuesday, August 28, 2018

News Clippings August 28, 2018

State

Lightning strikes cause $23,000 in damage to water treatment facilities
Oxford Eagle

Severe thunderstorms this week led to approximately $23,000 worth of damage after lightning struck equipment at two water treatment facilities in Oxford.
...“What we’ve done is a bypass, which is still in DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality) regulations and everything is still safe. However, these starters were damaged and they need to be replaced.”

500 gallons of fuel spill into Pascagoula River
NewsMS

Over the weekend a mechanical failure on one of Ingalls’ destroyer ships caused approximately 500 gallons of diesel fuel to be spilled into the Pascagoula River.

Jackson awarded $1.5M to buy low emission buses
WJTV

The City of Jackson has $1.5 million to buy new low emission buses.

Rate hike on tap
DeSoto Times-Tribune

Rural DeSoto County residents who get their garbage collection through the county and Waste Pro USA will see a slight rate increase in their bills, beginning in October. 

Waste Pro’s Lockwood appointed divisional vice president
MBJ

Chris Lockwood, former Division Manager of Waste Pro’s Hattiesburg, Mississippi location, has been promoted to Divisional Vice President.


State Government

Lottery bill passes Mississippi Senate but falters in House
AP

Mississippi legislators split late Monday on whether to create a state lottery, leaving uncertainty about what will happen.


Regional

Gov. Edwards appoints new Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority director
Times-Picayune

A North Carolina environmental consultant with a history in state government and private wetland restoration has been selected by Gov. John Bel Edwards as the new executive director of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.


National

Coal Country: EPA Plan Is Short Term Boost, No Solution For Industry Decline
NPR

The Trump's administration's proposal to relax regulations on carbon emissions is welcome news in coal producing states like Wyoming, even as people in the industry acknowledge its impact would be limited.

Advocacy groups: EPA must end inconsistent approach to Superfund cleanups under new lead rule
NW Times

As the EPA proposes strengthening its standards for lead dust hazards in the face of a federal court order, attorneys representing families exposed to lead poisoning in East Chicago say EPA's practice of inconsistently addressing such hazards at Superfund sites across the country cannot continue until the new rule.

Plastic straw ban? Cigarette butts are the single greatest source of ocean trash
NBC

Environmentalists have taken aim at the targets systematically, seeking to eliminate or rein in big sources of ocean pollution — first plastic bags, then eating utensils and, most recently, drinking straws.

Top interior staffer who backed shrinking national monuments to join BP
Washington Post

A Department of Interior official who oversaw last year’s drive to shrink two massive national monuments in Utah has left the department to join BP’s government affairs team, a spokesman for the energy giant confirmed Monday.


Press Releases

Save the Date: Governor’s Alabama Restoration Summit

Governor Kay Ivey and the Alabama Department
of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) invite you to save the date for
the inaugural Alabama Restoration
Summit. The Summit will be held on
Thursday, October 11, 2018 from 3:00 – 8:00 p.m. at the Spanish Fort Community
Center.
The Summit will have afternoon
and evening sessions. The afternoon sessions will take place from approximately
3:00 p.m. until 5:15 p.m. and be comprised of a RESTORE 101 Session and a
Program Evaluation and Adaptive Management Session. These sessions will take
place concurrently. The RESTORE 101 breakout sessions will inform participants
about the RESTORE Act and its funding mechanisms and provide information on how
to engage in Alabama’s restoration efforts. This session is directed toward a
non-technical audience.
At the same time, participants
will have the option of participating in a Program Evaluation and Adaptive
Management Session, which will be more technical in nature. This session will
help inform Alabama’s approach to evaluating the progress of restoration
projects funded by the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration
Council (Federal
RESTORE Council).
During the evening session,
which begins at 5:30, participants will have the opportunity to hear from
Governor Kay Ivey and ADCNR Commissioner Chris Blankenship about restoration in
Alabama. Attendees will learn about the upcoming work of the Gulf Coast
Ecosystem Restoration Council and how Alabama will collaborate with Council
members to develop priorities for upcoming project submissions to the Federal
Restore Council.
Additionally,
updates will be provided regarding projects currently funded through the
various DWH restoration funding types:
· 
· 
· 
· Alabama Gulf Coast Recovery Council (RESTORE Buckets 1 & 3)
· 
· 
Council (RESTORE
Bucket 2)
· 
· 



· 
· 
· 
An opportunity to provide
comment on restoration priorities will be provided. An open house will follow
the evening session.
This event is open to the public and no
registration is required. A reminder e-mail will be sent prior to the event.
For Alabama DWH restoration updates and to sign up for e-mail updates, please
visit our website at https://www.alabamacoastalrestoration.org/. If you are unable to attend the
afternoon RESTORE 101 Session, please contact Keala Hughes with the Federal
Restore Council for information on future events at Keala.Hughes@restorethegulf.gov.

Date: October
11, 2018
               7361 Spanish Fort Blvd.
               Spanish Fort, AL 36527
Time:
3:00-5:15
p.m.
Concurrent
Sessions
1.
     RESTORE 101 Session
2.
     Program Evaluation and Adaptive Management
Session
5:30
p.m.
Alabama
Restoration Summit
7:30
p.m.
Open
House