State
City Council approves sidewalk project, rezoning
Meridian Star
…The council also voted to table a motion to accept a contract from Allen Engineering as consultants for cleanup at the Meridian Public Training Facility. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality launched an investigation into the dumping of ceiling tile waste from CertainTeed last fall.
McAlister said that the waste would have to be buried in place and receive the approval of MDEQ.
Levee at Grenada Lakes Closed Due to Monitoring
DeltaNewsTV
Monitoring at Grenada Lakes continues, as crews with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers urge residents to take caution with the rising water.
Controlled burn threatens Harrison County child care center
WLOX
SAUCIER, MS (WLOX) -Smoke and fire from a controlled burn forced a school to evacuate some students and call 911 after a dangerous situation developed.
CITY LEADERS HIRE COMPANY TO HELP WITH DEBRIS REMOVAL
WCBI
City leaders in Columbus agreed to bring in a debris removal company to clean up after last month’s tornado.
Students learn all about conservation at Camp Binachi
WTOK
To give students a more hands-on experience with learning, the Lauderdale County and Meridian Public School Districts have teamed up with private industry and government professionals to learn all about conservation.
Grants awarded to help promote history, heritage
DeSoto Times-Tribune
DeSoto County Tourism and the Convention Visitors Bureau seeks to enhance and update the visual image of the county as a historical and heritage destination. The organization has received funding through the Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area (MHNHA) to do that.
State Government
Pet projects: This is what the Mississippi Senate wants to spend $280 million on
Clarion Ledger
Bryant vetoes change to public employees’ insurance board
AP
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant has struck down a bill dealing with the board that manages health insurance for state government employees and school employees.
Bill passes to cut suits against Mississippi property owners
AP
A bill that would make it harder for people to sue Mississippi property owners for some injuries is headed to Gov. Phil Bryant for his signature or veto.
Regional
Flooding in the Midwest unlikely to impact Mississippi River levels in New Orleans
Times-Picayune
Mississippi River levels in New Orleans are not likely to be affected by the severe flooding that has impacted residents across four midwestern states, as rising water levels of the Missouri River breached or overtopped nearly 200 miles of levees this week.
Off-bottom oyster farming cleared at Pinellas National Wildlife Refuge
Fox 13
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (FOX 13) - On the south side of the Skyway Bridge, the state of Florida owns a nature preserve that will now be home to the Lost Coast Oyster Company.
National
Clean drinking water a bigger global threat than climate change, EPA's Wheeler says
CBS
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler says that unsafe drinking water -- not climate change -- poses the greatest and most immediate global threat to the environment.
Collins among senators defending mercury emissions standards
AP
A bipartisan group of senators including Maine's Republican Sen. Susan Collins is calling on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials to withdraw a proposal that could change the rules about mercury emissions.
Jury Finds Bayer’s Roundup Weedkiller Caused Man’s Cancer
WSJ
SAN FRANCISCO—A jury found that a man developed cancer from exposure to Roundup weedkiller he used in his yard, in the second case to go to trial over the alleged harms of the popular Bayer AG BAYRY 2.50% product.
Officials: Air is safe near newly extinguished Houston-area petrochemical fire
AP
Houston authorities on Tuesday assured residents that there were no measureable air-quality problems from a petrochemical storage terminal fire despite a huge black plume of smoke that could be seen for miles.
Starbucks to test recyclable cups, redesign stores
AP
Starbucks says it plans to test both recyclable and compostable cups over the next year.
Press Releases
Proposed EPA program would give $50-million boost to children’s health
03/20/2019
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a new $50-million grant program, the Healthy Schools Grant Program, to expand the Trump Administration’s efforts to protect children where they learn and play.
Student Teams from Alabama, Tennessee and Florida Universities Awarded $60,000 EPA Grant for Innovative Technology Projects
03/18/2019
ATLANTA – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $60,000 in funding for four student teams through its People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) grants program. The teams from the University of Alabama, East Tennessee State University, University of Central Florida and University of Miami are receiving funding to develop sustainable technologies to help solve environmental and public health challenges.
Reaching Another TSCA milestone, EPA Identifies 40 Chemicals to Prioritize for Risk Evaluation
03/20/2019
WASHINGTON (March 20, 2019) — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is publishing a list of 40 chemicals to begin the prioritization process – the initial step in a new process of reviewing chemicals currently in commerce under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
Interior Provides More Than $291 Million in Conservation Funding for States and Tribes to Clean Up and Repurpose Abandoned Coal Mines
AML funds improve coal communities and the lives of their residents
3/19/2019
WASHINGTON – U.S. Acting Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt today announced the availability of the Fiscal Year 2019 Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Reclamation grants through the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement(OSMRE). This year’s grants will provide more than $291.2 million [1] for states and tribes to reclaim and repurpose abandoned coal lands. Mississippi
$102,445
Corps of Engineers continues floodfight on Mississippi River
MEMPHIS, Tenn., March 19, 2019 – More than 100 employees working in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Memphis District have been continuously involved in a floodfight on the Lower Mississippi River and its tributaries since Feb. 8. While Memphis is home to most of these men and women, additional personnel from USACE offices across the nation have augmented their numbers.
