State
‘Zombie deer’ disease keeps spreading across country, hunters fear it could impact industry
Fox News
STARKVILLE, Miss - At least 16 states have come up with new regulations to prevent hunters from transporting deer from areas where deer have tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease.
Supervisors agree to approach Aberdeen aldermen about Holley building
Monroe Journal
ABERDEEN – Following preliminary conversation the week before with Aberdeen officials, the board of supervisors agreed Feb. 22 to reach out again to see what they’d like to do with the future of the former Holley Performance building.
Solid waste department improvements
Supervisors agreed for the county solid waste department to enter a 90-day trial period with Synovia Solutions to track garbage truck pickup routes. The program also includes an electronic touch pad for trucks with route-planning capabilities.
...“Time is of the essence. [Solid waste manager] Tony [Ligon] estimates you’ve got three years of space in there. If the property was owned right now, it’s probably a two-and-a-half-year process to get MDEQ [Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality] permitting, all the testing cleared, the soil bore and having the actual cell built,” Wiggins said.
In Mississippi backwater, flood rises after weeks of waiting
AP
For decades, Peggy Sellars and her husband George have warily watched periodic floodwaters inundate the land around their home in the Mississippi Delta, but the dwelling always remained dry — until this year.
Water release means fish are biting at rez
WAPT
Video
Duck hunting season expansion measure signed into law
WDAM
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WDAM) - A bill containing legislation by Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith was signed into law on Tuesday by President Donald Trump. The legislation allows states to extend duck hunting season to Jan. 31 and schedule special hunts for veterans, military and youths.
HARRISON COUNTY PRESENTED WITH 2018 PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE AWARD
WXXV
Harrison County’s Beautification Commission is presented with the ‘Keep America Beautiful’ 2018 President’s Circle Award.
KPCB receives President’s Circle
Enterprise-Journal
Keep America Beautiful recently presented Keep Pike County Beautiful with its 2018 President’s Circle Award recognition at Keep America Beautiful’s recent National Conference in Baltimore.
Organizers prepping for countywide cleanup effort
Picayune Item
Enthusiasm is building around the county for the upcoming Pearl River County Cleanup Day scheduled for Saturday, March 30.
State Government
Small-engine maker moving work from Wisconsin to Mississippi
AP
HATTIESBURG, MISS.
A maker of small engines is consolidating operations from Wisconsin to Mississippi, with plans to hire 250 people there over the next two years.
2 millennials in runoff for Lamar County's House 101 seat
Hattiesburg American
Voters in Lamar County will decide between two millennnials in an April 2 runoff for Mississippi House of Representatives District 101. After the ballots from the 10 precincts in the district were counted, none of the five candidates was able to reach more than 50 percent of the votes needed for the win. Kent McCarty, 26, led with 1,238 votes,followed by Steven Utroska, 31, who had 751 votes.
Crudup wins special House election
WAPT
Ronnie Crudup Jr. was elected Tuesday to fill an empty seat in the Mississippi House of Representatives.
Oil Spill
Paddling on Perdido River? Group pushes for kayak trail to highlight 'unique and rare gem'
PNJ
More than 60 kayakers from around the country are making their way down the Perdido River this week from the Florida-Alabama line to the Gulf of Mexico.
Regional
Environmentalists monitor Lake Pontchartrain after latest spillway opening
WDSU
Lake Pontchartrain environmentalists are monitoring the body of water after the Bonnet Carre Spillway was opened again due to the swollen Mississippi River.
Gulf-wide oil lease sale again to offer about 78M acres
AP
NEW ORLEANS
The U.S. Interior Department says an oil lease sale in August will offer about 78 million acres (31.6 million hectares) of Gulf of Mexico waterbottom. That's about the same as for sales last August and next week.
National
EPA chief tells world to buy "cleaner" American energy
Houston Chronicle
EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler claimed Monday that U.S. fossil fuels were "cleaner" than those from other countries, encouraging foreign customers to buy American oil, coal and natural gas.
EPA rules on issue pitting oil producers, corn farmers
AP
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is proposing to allow year-round sales of gasoline mixed with 15 percent ethanol, seeking to calm a dispute that has riled two politically important blocs — the oil industry and corn farmers.
EPA head rules out future negotiations with California over car emissions
The Hill
Newly confirmed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Andrew Wheeler blamed politics Monday in ruling out any reopening of talks between the Trump administration and California over proposed changes to the federal vehicle emissions standard.
Study Finds Racial Gap Between Who Causes Air Pollution And Who Breathes It
NPR
Pollution, much like wealth, is not distributed equally in the United States.
Shell urges Trump White House to tighten methane leak rules
Reuters
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell urged U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday to tighten restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas production, instead of weakening them as planned.
These forests in the West might start vanishing entirely after wildfires, study says
McClatchy
Wildfires tear through forests in the Western United States each year — but it’s getting harder for trees to grow back in some spots, and certain forested areas could disappear entirely, a new study finds.
Lumber Liquidators Settles Federal Probes Into Laminate-Flooring Claims
WSJ
Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. LL +2.26% has agreed to pay $33 million in fines after federal regulators and prosecutors accused the company of misleading investors about selling laminate flooring that contained excessive amounts of formaldehyde.
Opinion
Guest column: After BP spill, protecting the Gulf region requires even more money
Antonio J. Busalacchi and Christopher D'Elia
The Advocate
As research programs that were supported by settlements from the Macondo-Deepwater Horizon oil spill come to an end, a federal initiative is needed to address the entire spectrum of environmental threats to this region.
Sadly, viral #TrashTag challenge is no match for ramped up plastic production
BY MIYOKO SAKASHITA
The Hill
It felt good to see the “TrashTag Challenge,” in which people posted before and after litter cleanup photos tagged with #TrashTag, go viral last weekend. It’s heartwarming to see people posing proudly with trash bags full of plastic waste that had been strewn along an otherwise beautiful beach.
Press Releases
EPA Proposes Rule to Allow E15 Waiver and to Improve RIN Market Transparency
03/12/2019
WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed regulatory changes to allow gasoline blended with up to 15 percent ethanol (E15) to take advantage of the 1-psi Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) waiver for the summer months that has historically been applied only to E10.
Commercial Red Drum season to close March 14
BILOXI, Miss. – Officials with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources announced today that the commercial fishing season for Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) will close in Mississippi territorial waters at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, March 14, 2019.
Open Ocean Trustees Approve Final Restoration Plan 1
