State
Researchers Quantify Groundwater Availability in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain
Do you know where your water comes from? Much of Northwest and Central Arkansas rely primarily on reservoirs fed by surface water runoff for their water needs. However, many communities throughout the U.S., including the Mississippi Alluvial Plain (MAP) in Eastern Arkansas, are dependent on groundwater for irrigation, commercial, and public water supplies.
Flooding in the Delta stressing wildlife, including bears, turkey, pigs
Clarion Ledger
Unusually high amounts of rainfall combined with Mississippi River flooding have created a situation that has flooded hundreds of thousands of acres in the south Delta. In addition to inundating roads and structures, the flood waters have displaced and pressured wildlife.
Yazoo Floodgates May Be Opening Soon
Delta Daily News
As water levels on the Yazoo backwater creep toward a record high 97.4 feet over the weekend, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers is alerting residents that the Steele Bayou floodgates will likely be opened over the first couple of days in April.
Eagle Lake residents hear from officials about flood issue; gates may open soon
Vicksburg Post
Residents in the Yazoo backwater area can expect to see the backwater flooding to possibly reach a level of 97.4 feet, according to projections from engineers at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Vicksburg District.
Tenn-Tom woes may earn disaster designation
Daily Times Leader
Businesses and industries along the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway will ask Gov. Phil Bryant to include the waterway in the disaster declaration request to the federal government.
Wildfire that burned hundreds of acres advances toward Hancock County jail
Sea Coast Echo
Area fire departments and the Mississippi Forestry Commission worked late into the evening Saturday battling a forest fire that burned hundreds of acres, raging uncomfortably close to an RV park and the Hancock County Justice Facility.
Locals plant sea oats for school, beach erosion defense
WLOX
The battle against beach erosion took another step forward Friday as an army of students and volunteers dug in and planted more than 3,000 sea oats on the beach in Biloxi as part of the EPA’s Gulf of Mexico program.
USM SCIENTIST SYMPOSIUM ON COASTAL ISSUES
WXXV
Over the past two days a handful of marine science professionals have descended on the Gulf Coast.
Greenwood Moves Forward with Installing Surveillance Cameras
Delta News TV
The City of Greenwood moves forward with installing surveillance cameras throughout the city.
Volunteers pick up trash for 10 for Tupelo
WTVA
Nonprofit organizations, city leaders, and volunteers spent their morning cleaning up the streets of Tupelo.
Local school teams up with Disney to clean up the Coast
WLOX
Dozens of children from St. Vincent de Paul gathered Sunday in Long Beach to clean up trash along the beach. It was part of a Disney program that earned one hard-working family a trip to Disney World.
Eagle Heights has new sewer system, MDOT eases restrictions
Picayune Item
Members of the Pearl River County Utility Authority’s Board of Directors heard about ongoing projects that are improving sewer services in the county during Thursday’s meeting.
Lauderdale County school getting solar panels through grant
AP
A school district in eastern Mississippi will try using solar panels to become more energy efficient.
MDWFP and MSU to host pond management workshops
NewsMS
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks (MDWFP) Fisheries Bureau and the Mississippi State University Extension Service will host pond management workshops in Adams and Forrest Counties.
Morgan Freeman converts his Mississippi ranch into a honeybee sanctuary
WLBT
Morgan Freeman has converted his 124-acre Charleston, MS ranch into a honeybee sanctuary, reports Forbes.
State Government
Mississippi driver’s license process: Long lines, long wait
AP
Getting a new driver's license in Mississippi can be a multiday ordeal with long lines at Department of Public Safety stations that are short-staffed.
Oil Spill
Mississippi Aquarium spurs development in downtown Gulfport
MBJ
The $93 million Mississippi Aquarium is coming out of the ground on the East Beach service road in Gulfport, on track to open late this year or by early 2020.
Latest allotment of BP oil spill restitution money includes millions for environmental projects
PNJ
Trustees have allocated $61 million to Florida environmental projects through restitution money paid by oil giant BP in the aftermath of the massive 2010 Gulf Coast oil spill, including nine projects in the Pensacola area.
Regional
Alabama ranks 5th for industrial toxic releases in air and water
Al.com
Alabama industrial facilities released more than 82 million pounds of toxic material into the air, land and water in 2017, according to an analysis released this month by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Officials shorten triggerfish, amberjack seasons in Gulf
AP
Federal officials say fishing seasons for triggerfish and amberjack in the Gulf of Mexico have been shortened.
Hundreds of volunteers help clean Wolf River Harbor
WMC
MEMPHIS, TN (WMC) - More than 200 volunteers met at Mud Island Saturday to help clean Wolf River Harbor.
National
Army bill for public records on contaminant: About $300,000
AP
The U.S. Army has put a price tag on releasing the results of water tests for a dangerous contaminant at military installations: nearly $300,000.
General Motors adding 400 new jobs, invests $300M in plant for new electric vehicle
The Hill
General Motors on Friday announced it is adding 400 jobs to and investing $300 million in a Michigan plant to produce a new Chevrolet electric vehicle.
New Mexico raises concerns over proposed federal water rule
WRAL
The New Mexico Environment Department wants to withdraw from a federal lawsuit challenging Obama-era protections for waterways and wetlands across the country.
Who keeps buying California's scarce water? Saudi Arabia
The Guardian
Four hours east of Los Angeles, in a drought-stricken area of a drought-afflicted state, is a small town called Blythe where alfalfa is king. More than half of the town’s 94,000 acres are bushy blue-green fields growing the crop.
Opinion
Mississippi Has Over 100,000 Regulations On The Books
According to a study, wading through Mississippi’s morass of regulations would take 13 weeks to absorb its 9.3 million words and 117,558 restrictions.
Mississippi Center for Public Policy
Even with 40-hour workweeks and some breaks, that’s not exactly light reading.
The Mercatus Center at George Mason University’s James Broughel and Jonathan Nelson wrote a policy snapshot of Mississippi’s regulatory state as part of a national project to analyze regulatory burdens nationwide.
Press releases
EPA Partners with Harrison County Sand Beach Authority on Sea Oats Project
Sea oats planted on Biloxi Beaches to help control erosion and provide buffer to benefit aquatic habitat
03/22/2019
Biloxi (March 22, 2019) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Gulf of Mexico Program along with the Harrison County Sand Beach Authority and several local partners participated in a dune vegetation planting project on 1703 Beach Blvd in Biloxi, Mississippi.
EPA Makes Studies on PV29 Publicly Available
03/22/2019
WASHINGTON (March 22, 2019) — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the release of 24 studies on Pigment Violet 29 (PV29) used by EPA to develop the draft risk evaluation under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, which amended the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
