State
Wildlife officials battle invasive species
WAPT
GIANT SALVINIA. TODAY WORK CREWS WERE REPLACING CONTAINMENT BOOMS TO KEEP THE INVASIVE PLANT FROM SPREADING TO THE REST OF THE LAKE
Piles of litter along Hickory Dr. threaten landlords livelihood
WJTV
Abandoned homes and piles of garbage have people along Hickory Drive in Jackson furious.
It’s been a growing problem over the past couple years and the problem is now interfering with one landlord's lively hood with deserted homes and litter driving away renters.
FEMA announces MS counties eligible for disaster relief
WDAM
ATLANTA, GA (WDAM) - Nearly a dozen Mississippi counties received public notice that the Federal Emergency Management Agency intends to supply funding to help repair public facilities and infrastructure damaged Dec. 27-28, 2018, during severe storms and flooding.
Judge could hand $2B power rate fight to utility regulator
AP
Days after deciding to go forward with a trial over whether a Mississippi utility overbilled its customers, the judge on Tuesday ordered fresh arguments on whether he has the authority to hear the case.
State Government
McCarty becomes newest Representative
NewsMS
The results are in and Kent McCarty is the newest member of the Mississippi House of Representatives. Winning 68% of the vote against Steven Utroska in the special election runoff, McCarty will take over the HD 101 seat in Lamar County that was formerly held by Representative Brad Touchstone who stepped down from the position to serve as a Lamar County Judge.
Oil Spill
Okaloosa Island adds first offshore snorkel reef
Destin Log
OKALOOSA ISLAND — The Emerald Coast Convention and Visitor’s Bureau deployed Okaloosa Island’s first artificial reef Tuesday.
Regional
MLGW creates advisory committee to study leaving TVA
WMC
MEMPHIS, TN (WMC) - MLGW plans to form an advisory committee as the utility begins studying getting its power from a source other than the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Multiple studies have suggested MLGW could save money by getting electricity from elsewhere.
National
EPA waits on DOE input to process small refinery waivers for 2018 from U.S. biofuel law
Reuters
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is waiting to receive input from the Department of Energy to process 2018 applications exempting small refineries from U.S. biofuel laws, the agency’s administrator Andrew Wheeler said on Tuesday.
Chemical plant fire near Houston kills 1
CNN
For the second time in three weeks, a Houston-area chemical plant caught fire, sending thick plumes of black smoke into the sky.
Press Releases
AG HOOD DELIVERS $40 MILLION TO STATE FUNDS FROM BP PAYMENT
Attorney General Jim Hood recently delivered $40 million, representing the second of 16 payments from BP, to two state funds from settlement monies owed after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.
EPA, USDA, and FDA Recognize April as Winning on Reducing Food Waste Month
04/02/2019
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) kick off Winning on Reducing Food Waste Month by calling for greater collaboration with public, private, and nonprofit partners as well as state and local officials to educate and engage consumers and stakeholders throughout the supply chain on the need to reduce food loss and waste.
USDA Study Shows Significant Greenhouse Gas Benefits of Ethanol Compared with Gasoline
(Washington, D.C., April 2, 2019)— A new study released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) finds greenhouse gas emissions from corn-based ethanol are about 39 percent lower than gasoline. The study also states that when ethanol is refined at natural gas-powered refineries, the greenhouse gas emissions are even lower, around 43 percent below gasoline.
