State
Company to pay $3.5M after Mississippi, Alabama oil spills
AP
An oil company has agreed to pay federal and Mississippi regulators $3.5 million in penalties and do more to prevent oil spills under a legal settlement filed last week.
Hattiesburg to begin mosquito spraying this week
WDAM
HATTIESBURG, MS (WDAM) - City of Hattiesburg trucks will begin spraying for mosquitoes this week.
County celebrates environment in Earth Day event
DeSoto Times-Tribune
Things got a little “earthy” around the DeSoto County Courthouse Square Saturday morning. Along with the start of the season for the Hernando Farmers Market, DeSoto County government officials hosted about 50 different exhibits and vendors around the square for its yearly Earth Day celebration.
HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE EVENT
WXXV
The Harrison County Beautification Committee and Mississippi Power teamed up on Saturday to collect household hazardous waste items.
Trash becomes treasure for 1st graders during beach cleanup in Biloxi
WLOX
BILOXI, MS (WLOX) - Ninety-five first graders from North Woolmarket Elementary School got an extra day of spring break, in a sense, Monday as they helped pick trash up on the beach near the Biloxi Lighthouse.
Beach vendors have mixed reviews leading into summer tourism season
WLOX
BILOXI, MS (WLOX) - Beach vendors say the beautiful weather the Coast has had recently is tailor-made for success but early reviews are mixed.
City employees may be responsible for parts of Jackson "Water Crisis"
WJTV
JACKSON, Miss (WJTV) - Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba announced today his administration is now taking legal action into the cause of what many call the Jackson “Water Bill Crisis.”
National Park Service awards $28,466 to protect 10 acres of a Mississippi battlefield
WLBT
WASHINGTON, D.C (WLBT) - The National Park Service today announced $28,466 in grants from the American Battlefield Protection Program to help protect 10 acres of America’s battlefields in Mississippi threatened with damage or destruction by urban and suburban development. These grants will be used to acquire a portion of the Champion Hill Battlefield, a significant Civil War Battlefield.
Oil Spill
Triumph money to help pay for Crestview Bypass
WJHG
According to Okaloosa County leaders, the Board of Triumph Gulf Coast voted to help pay for the Crestview Bypass.
BP Profits Fall on Oil Price Volatility
WSJ
LONDON— BP PLC said Tuesday its profit dropped by 12% in the first quarter due to a weaker oil price environment at the start of 2019, echoing anemic quarterly results recently reported by other Big Oil companies.
Regional
Could Bonnet Carre Spillway reopen this year? Corps says it's possible; Here's why
The Advocate
Rising waters in the Mississippi River could require the Bonnet Carre Spillway to be reopened next month, which would the first time in history the nearly 90-year-old structure has been used twice in a single year.
National
Charges filed after fire at Texas petrochemical facility
AP
HOUSTON (AP) — Water pollution charges were filed Monday against a company that owns a Houston-area petrochemical storage facility where a large fire that burned for days in March caused chemicals to flow into a nearby waterway.
Press Releases
U.S. EPA requires onshore oil production company to protect Alabama and Mississippi’s waterways from oil discharges
04/29/2019
ATLANTA (April 29, 2019) – On April 25, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reached a settlement agreement with Denbury Onshore, LLC to resolve Clean Water Act (CWA) and Oil Pollution Act (OPA) violations in Alabama and Mississippi. The State of Mississippi is a co-plaintiff under the consent decree in which Denbury has agreed to implement an extensive injunctive relief package, including a risk-based program designed to prevent future oil spills, and pay a civil penalty of $3.5 million.
USDA Announces Funds to Help Mississippi Ag Producers Restore Wildlife Habitat
Gopher Tortoise Part of Innovative Private Land Conservation
Benefit Agriculture and Wildlife
Jackson, Miss. – The United States Department of Agriculture is making financial assistance available to partner with agricultural producers who want to restore and protect habitat for seven focus species, including the gopher tortoise in Mississippi. Applications that are received by May 17, 2019, will be considered in the second ranking period.
