State
City declines comment on Kelvin McGruder complaint against Meridian
Second former department head to allege unequal treatment
Meridian Star
UPDATED 11:15 a.m. 9/21, Mayor Percy Bland statement: "It is the ongoing practice of this administration, under advice from legal counsel, to refuse comment on active litigation and ongoing investigations. I continue to be excited about my current team, our progress and the great things happening in Meridian. I trust the legal process and look forward to this matter being resolved as quickly as possible.
...As for Roberts, McGruder stated in the complaint that he had violated environmental protection laws when he "illegally" dumped material on city property and "moonlight(ed) on city time as a security officer at a local credit union."
Roberts retired shortly after the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality initiated an investigation into ceiling tile manufacturing waste dumped at the Public Safety Training Facility. MDEQ has yet to provide an update the status of the investigation despite three different information requests by The Meridian Star.
Bland previously said that Robert's involvement with that violation wasn't connected with Roberts' decision to retire.
Wildlife officials still battling invasive plant trying to take over Rez waters
WLBT
Officials are making an effort to get rid of an invasive plant species found on the Ross Barnett Reservoir.
Ex-newsman tackles Pascagoula documentary
Enterprise-Journal
Bryant Hawkins was working as a photojournalist for the Hattiesburg American newspaper when he started his Pascagoula River project.
Wildlife commission votes for multiple hunting regulation changes
Clarion Ledger
The Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks voted in favor of several hunting regulation changes this week, and if the changes are confirmed in the commission's October meeting, hunters will see new rules for harvest reporting, supplemental feeding and more.
Ribbon cutting held for new Brandon water well
WLBT
Brandon turned on a new 1000 GPM water well Thursday morning with an official ribbon cutting at Lakebend.
FEDS GIVE CORINTH $1.5M TO IMPROVE WATER SERVICE AT INDUSTRIAL PARK
AP
CORINTH, Miss. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Commerce is awarding $1.5 million to a northeast Mississippi city to improve water service at an industrial park.
TVA plans new power line in central Mississippi
AP
FLOWOOD, MISS.
Tennessee Valley Authority says it plans to build a new power line in central Mississippi.
Corps of Engineers sign flood partnership with DeSoto
DeSoto Times-Tribune
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials, both of this region's sitting U.S. senators and a host of representatives inked their signatures to a joint cost sharing/feasibility agreement that will address major flooding issues in Mississippi's fastest growing county.
City seeks to stop erosion from claiming bridge, power lines
AP
VICKSBURG, MISS.
Officials looking to rebuild a collapsed bridge in a Mississippi city have another problem — the underlying waterway is trying to change course.
USM MARINE RESEARCH CENTER RIBBON CUTTING
WXXV
This morning dozens of people, as well as local and state officials, joined together to officially cut the ribbon on the University of Southern Mississippi Marine Research Center in Gulfport.
The PRVWD re-elects president to the board
WLBT
The Pearl River Valley Water Supply District has re-elected their president to the board.
Jennifer Hall will now serve a second term as head of the 14 member board. The state agency oversees operations of the Ross Barnett Reservoir.
State Government
Analysis: Public retirement plan pressure won't end soon
AP
JACKSON — Mississippi's public pension system got a particularly unwelcoming reception last week when its leaders told legislators to budget for higher pension contributions.
FIRM HIRED TO DEVELOP PLAN FOR CAPITOL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT
Northside Sun
A master plan governing how funds will be spent in the new “capitol complex improvement district” could soon be taking shape.
The Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) recently selected Waggoner Engineering/AJA Consultants to help draw up the plans.
Regional
Florence floodwaters breach dam at power plant; coal ash could spill
AP
Duke Energy said Friday that a dam containing a large lake at Wilmington, North Carolina, power plant has been breached by floodwaters from Florence, and it's possible coal ash from an adjacent dump is flowing into the Cape Fear River.
NC river swirls with gray muck near flooded coal ash dump
AP
WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) - Gray muck is flowing into the Cape Fear River from the site of a dam breach at a Wilmington power plant where an old coal ash dump had been covered over by Florence's floodwaters.
Toxic Spills Highlight Trump's Deregulation of Coal Plant Waste
Bloomberg
The breach of a pond used to store coal ash in North Carolina has revived criticism of the Trump administration’s efforts to loosen restrictions on how power plants dispose of the toxic waste.
Thousands of dead fish wash ashore on North Carolina highway after Florence
Washington Post
Even as the water from Hurricane Florence and the flooding that followed finally began to recede, it left behind a poignant - and pungent - reminder of the powerful storm that overwhelmed the Carolinas and turned roads to rivers.
30 Mississippi River mayors agree to reduce plastic waste
Times-Picayune
Dozens of mayors from Mississippi River cities are calling for a major reduction of plastic waste flowing into the river and out into the Gulf of Mexico.
State Releases Beneficiary Mitigation Plan For Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust
Chattanoogan
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has released a final Beneficiary Mitigation Plan for implementing the state’s initial allocation of $45.7 million from the Volkswagen Diesel Settlement Environmental Mitigation Trust.
National
The Energy 202: Trump's EPA is targeting rules for yet another greenhouse gas
Washington Post
First it was carbon dioxide, when the Environmental Protection Agency proposed in August relaxing pollution standards for coal-fired power plants meant to curb emissions of that most common greenhouse gas.
Press releases
Updates for Hunting in Mississippi
9/21/2018
From MDWFP
JACKSON, MS - The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks (MDWFP) announces several proposed changes for deer and turkey seasons approved during the September 19, 2018 Commission held at MDWFP’s Headquarters in Jackson.
USDA Invests in Mississippi's Local Watersheds Project to
Protect Communities and Vital Infrastructure
Jackson, Miss., Sept. 21, 2018 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will invest $24 million in one multi-year project in Mississippi that aims to build vital infrastructure while conserving natural resources through the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Program. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) works with local groups to help prevent floods, protect watersheds, improve agricultural water management and enhance wildlife habitat through this program.
Louisiana Trustees Release Funds to Support Monitoring of Fish and Marine Mammal Research
