State
Emergency crews clear fuel spill at I-59 at US 49
WDAM
HATTIESBURG, MS (WDAM) - The right lane in southbound traffic is blocked as emergency crews work to clear a diesel fuel spill. According to officials, the fuel spewed from an 18-wheeler.
As of now, it’s expected to take about an hour and a half to clear the scene.
Two men sentenced in deer smuggling case
Clarion Ledger
Two Louisiana men have been sentenced for their roles in smuggling live white-tailed deer into Mississippi.
Final investment decision has not been made on proposed $8 billion LNG export facility
MBJ
Gulf LNG Energy invested $1.1 billion in a facility in Pascagoula to import liquified natural gas (LNG), which is natural gas cooled down to liquid form to make it easier to transport. Two tanker shipments of LNG were offloaded at the facility in 2011. But then the energy world turned upside down. Shale gas production came into widespread use which completely flipped expectations of a natural gas shortage in the U.S.
Ergon BioFuels plans to close ethanol plant at the end of the year
Vicksburg Post
Ergon BioFuels LLC, a subsidiary of Ergon, Inc., has announced it will close its ethanol plant at the Port of Vicksburg in December, according to a press release sent late Thursday.
Volunteers sought for Pearl River cleanup
Madison County Journal
Volunteers are still sought in Madison County to participate in Saturday’s second annual Pearl River Clean Sweep event.
BHS diggers hold ‘soft spot’ for rocks
Daily Leader
Even though she’s graduated, Chasity Hutchison digs coming back to her high school to look at rocks.
State Government
High court rules for Gov. Phil Bryant in lawmakers' budget cuts case
Clarion Ledger
The state Supreme Court has upheld a lower court's ruling that Gov. Phil Bryant had authority to cut state government budgets during a financial crunch in 2016 and 2017.
Regional
Gulf states would get a bigger share of offshore revenue, under bill that advanced in House
Times-Picayune
Louisiana, Texas, Alabama and Mississippi would all get a significantly larger share of Federal offshore energy revenue from the Gulf of Mexico under a bill proposed by U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, that was approved by the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources on Thursday (Sept. 13).
Dusky gopher frog case heads to U.S. Supreme Court with support of local government leaders
Times-Picayune
A St. Tammany Parish landowner's fight with the federal government over whether his private property should become a new breeding ground for the endangered dusky gopher frog - which last was seen in the parish more than 50 years ago - could be nearing the end of a six-year legal battle.
U.S. waives gasoline rules in Virginia, Georgia as Florence nears
Reuters
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said late on Wednesday it has temporarily waived air pollution regulations on gasoline in Georgia and Virginia as fuel supplies dip with the approach of Hurricane Florence.
Towboat fire closes Mississippi River in northeast Arkansas
AP
A towboat fire prompted the U.S. Coast Guard to close a 10-mile stretch of the Mississippi River for more than seven hours between northeastern Arkansas and northwestern Mississippi.
How environmental justice is shaping a new civil rights movement in the South
Montgomery Advertiser
When she was a teenager in 1967, Katherine Egland was one of a dozen students to integrate the Hattiesburg, Mississippi, public school system. As a member of the NAACP youth program, she spent her childhood afternoons with civil rights titans Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Medgar Evers.
National
Even one piece of plastic can kill a sea turtle, study finds
USA Today
Even just one piece of plastic is enough to increase the odds a sea turtle could die from eating it, says a study from Australia.
How the ethane molecule changed the Gulf Coast — and the world
Houston Chronicle
SAN AUGUSTINE — Working in nearly 100-degree heat, sweating through mud-stained coveralls, four roustabouts wrestled with 30-foot sections of pipe that would follow a drill bit plunging some 13,000 feet into the earth, then turning nearly 90 degrees to chew through another 10,000 feet.
Press releases
Public Webinar- Funded Priorities List 3- A Look Ahead
The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (RESTORE Council) is beginning the process to develop the next Funded Priorities List (FPL), targeted to be finalized in mid-2020. The FPL is a vehicle through which funds from the Council-Selected Restoration Component, commonly referred to as “Bucket 2”, are approved for specific ecosystem restoration activities in the Gulf Coast region. The RESTORE Council is hosting two public webinars to provide Gulf stakeholders with an overview of the path forward to the next Funded Priorities List. During each live webinar, questions related to process, schedule, and next steps will be answered. Both webinars will be recorded and posted on www.restorethegulf.gov. You may register for these webinars in advance. Once registered, a link to access the webinar will be sent to the email address provided during registration. Please forward this invitation to others interesting in the RESTORE Council’s activities.
VICKSBURG, Miss. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) announced today that it will waive day use fees normally charged at boat launch ramps and swimming beaches at its recreation areas nationwide in recognition of National Public Lands Day on Saturday, Sept. 22.
EPA Approves Emergency Fuel Waiver for Virginia and Georgia
09/12/2018
WASHINGTON (September 12, 2018) — Today, in preparation for Hurricane Florence, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler approved emergency fuel waiver requests made this afternoon on behalf of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and Georgia Governor Nathan Deal.
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