State
NCBC TESTING FOR WATER CONTAMINATION
WXXV
The Naval Construction Battalion Center is asking permission from property owners near the base to test their private drinking water for contamination.
What is the 'zombie deer disease'? 10 things to know about CWD
Clarion Ledger
Chronic wasting disease — commonly called CWD and sometimes referred to as the "zombie deer disease" or "zombie deer virus" — has become one of the biggest topics of discussion among deer hunters.
DIGGING IN: Water, sewer improvements moving along despite weather
Starkville Daily News
The city’s water and sewer systems may be deep underground, but if you ask Starkville Utilities General Manager Terry Kemp, the issues are at the front of his mind.
Rez makes progress removing invasive plant
WJTV
The Pearl River Valley Water Supply District says it is making progress in trying to contain an invasive plant that's spreading in our waters.
STATE & FEDERAL LEADERS LOOK AT FLOOD RISK AREAS
WCBI
AMORY, Miss. (WCBI)- Federal and state agencies are trying to reduce the risks of flooding deaths and property loss throughout an area in Northeast Mississippi.
As rain continued to fall throughout Monroe County, community leaders, emergency managers, local planners and others met with officials from FEMA, MEMA and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
Flood precautions underway with river on the rise
Vicksburg Post
City street department workers Thursday began installing the timbers to shut off the China Street gate to the Mississippi River waterfront as city officials began taking steps to prepare for a 50-foot crest. said officials are watching the river, “And we’ll close 465 when the river makes us close it.”
Local company faces $300,000 in OSHA fines
Natchez Democrat
NATCHEZ — A local tissue and paper towel manufacturing facility faces more than $300,000 in fines for alleged workplace hazard violations.
State Government
Mississippi lawmakers plan to borrow $182 million for universities, projects
Clarion Ledger
Mississippi universities would receive $85.3 million of $182 million in borrowing for projects approved Wednesday by the House Ways and Means Committee.
NO TAX CHARGES PLANNED FOR LOTTERY TICKET SALES IN STATE
Northside Sun
Jackson, Madison, and Ridgeland shouldn’t count on the state’s new lottery to boost sales tax revenues.
Health inspector accused of taking bribes from restaurants, altering reports
Clarion Ledger
A state health inspector is accused of taking bribes from the restaurants he was tasked with inspecting and then altering department records while with the Mississippi Department of Health.
Oil Spill
FSU Pitches $8 Million Proposal To Triumph Gulf Coast To Research Apalachicola Bay
WFSU
Florida State University could get $8 million to come up with a plan to revitalize Franklin County’s Apalachicola Bay. A decade of natural and man-made disasters have crippled it, and by extension the community that depends on it.
Orange Beach to help fund Alabama, Auburn tar ball study
February 21, 2019 – Orange Beach, AL (OBA®) – In a partnership Mayor Tony Kennon says is a precursor to the marine research center the city is planning to build, researchers from the University of Alabama and Auburn University are planning a tarball field study.
Regional
Council Oks settlement, clears way for power plant project
AP
A utility giant will pay a $5 million penalty in the wake of a scandal over the use of paid, phony supporters for a new $210 million gas fired power plant, but it will also be allowed to go ahead with construction of the plant, the New Orleans City Council unanimously decided Thursday.
Bonnet Carre Spillway to open next week as Mississippi River rises, Corps say
Times-Picayune
The Army Corps of Engineers expects to begin opening bays of the Bonnet Carre Spillway next week to deal with a rapidly rising Mississippi River that could swell to 17 feet at the Carrollton Gage in New Orleans – the official flood stage – by March 12.
National
Ford Is Investigating Emissions and Fuel Efficiency Data
NYT
Ford Motor Company said on Thursday that it was investigating how it tested the emissions and fuel efficiency of its vehicles after employees reported possible flaws with the company’s computer models.
Trump Administration Cuts Off Talks With California Over Fuel-Efficiency Standards
WSJ
WASHINGTON—The Trump administration said it would cut California out of its effort to craft new efficiency rules for cars and trucks, the latest in a series of confrontations between Washington and Sacramento that now threatens to destabilize one of the country’s biggest industries.
DEC Commissioner Seggos changes mind, decides to keep job
NY Upstate
ALBANY -- Basil Seggos, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation, who announced his resignation back in November, has changed his mind.
He’s decided to stay on the job.
Oregon And Washington Lawmakers Consider Statewide Plastic Bag Bans
Oregon PB
Lawmakers in both Oregon and Washington are considering bills that would ban single-use plastic bags statewide to reduce plastic pollution.
Press Releases
EPA Awards Funding to American Lung Association to Reduce Diesel Emissions in the Southeast
Seven Southeastern states to realize emissions reductions
02/21/2019
ATLANTA (February 21, 2019) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is awarding a Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program grant totaling $716,115 to the American Lung Association to reduce diesel emissions in fleets of United Parcels Service (UPS) vehicles operating in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
