State
Atlanta’s Southern Company faces federal DOJ investigation
AJC
Atlanta-based Southern Company disclosed it is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice over a power plant that already has caused the company years of heartburn and billions of dollars.
Crews on scene of silo explosion in Brookhaven
WLBT
BROOKHAVEN, MS (WLBT) - A silo holding a fine powdered product at M&M Milling exploded around 8:30 Thursday morning.
Technology plays vital role combating Brookhaven explosion
WJTV
BROOKHAVEN, Miss - An explosion in Brookhaven sent some workers home and ignited a multi agency investigation into what happened.
Hundreds of chickens dead after poultry truck overturns on MS highway
WDAM
PERRY COUNTY, MS (WDAM) - Hundreds of chickens were killed when a tractor-trailer carrying live birds overturned Thursday morning in Perry County.
Pelahatchie Bay to partially reopen May 14
WLBT
JACKSON, MS (WLBT) - Good news for Rez boaters! Part of Pelahatchie Bay will reopen May 14.
Showing a ‘hole’ lot of promise
MBJ
Name buzz for no-cost irrigation software Pipe Planner is likely be zero outside of Mississippi and neighboring Delta states, but it figures prominently in plans for sustaining imperiled agricultural water supplies in Delta regions.
EPA Awards Clinton Public Schools $100,000
WJTV
Clintion, Miss. (WJTV) - The Environmental Protection Agency awards the Clinton Public School District $100,000. School leaders say the new buses will help reduce pollutants that are linked to asthma and lung damage.
Green industry in Mississippi grossed $175 million in 2017
MBJ
When talking about “green” industries, it doesn’t get greener than operations like Salad Days in Flora, a hydroponic farm that is used to grow pesticide-free produce including lettuce and several varieties of tomatoes.
Solar-panel maker has been shutdown for six months
MBJ
Last October, Houston-based Seraphim Solar Manufacturing USA said it was shutting down its Jackson plant to retool.
Oil Spill
Trump Administration Makes Offshore-Drilling Safety Rules Friendlier to Industry
New rules will affect measures imposed under the Obama administration after 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill
WSJ
WASHINGTON—Offshore oil drillers will have a freer hand in meeting federal safety requirements under new rules being released today by the Interior Department.
Regional
NWS holds meeting about hurricane preparedness
WDAM
MOBILE, AL (WDAM) - Regional decision-makers gathered in Mobile Wednesday to discuss the best steps to prepare for Hurricane Season.
A toddler's Ice Age discovery: Woolly mammoth tooth found in Florida
Florida Today
MELBOURNE, Fla. — A toddler stumbled upon a woolly mammoth tooth last weekend alongside a retention pond in Florida, uncovering evidence of the tusked beasts that roamed the state's coast thousands of years ago.
National
Poisonings have killed an owl and 7 bald eagles. Now, there is an investigation into the mysterious deaths
CNN
Wildlife officials are seeking the public's help in solving the mystery behind the fatal poisonings that have killed seven bald eagles and a great horned owl on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
Press Releases
EPA Awards $100,000 in School Bus Rebates to Clinton Public School District
EPA Awards Over $9.3 Million to Clean Up School Buses Nationwide
“Children’s health is a top priority for EPA, and these grants will help provide cleaner air and a healthier ride to and from school for America’s children,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “This DERA funding reflects our broader children’s health agenda and commitment to ensure all children can live, learn, and play in healthy and clean environments.”
“These rebates are an innovative way to reduce the impacts of diesel emissions with the early retirement of older dirtier school buses,” said EPA Acting Region 4 Administrator Mary S. Walker. “DERA funding provides environmental and health benefits by eliminating exposure to diesel exhaust, and it does so in a cost-effective manner.”
Applicants replacing buses with engine model years of 2006 and older will receive rebates between $15,000 and $20,000, depending on the size of the bus. Regional, state, or tribal agencies including school districts and municipalities, or private entities that operate school buses under contract with state, tribal or local agencies were eligible to apply.
Over the last seven years, EPA has awarded approximately $39 million in rebates to replace almost 2,000 school buses. Bus replacements funded through the rebate program reduce emissions and exposure to particulate matter and nitrogen oxides for children at schools, bus stops, and on the buses themselves.
School buses travel over four billion miles each year, providing the safest transportation to and from school for more than 25 million American children every day. However, exhaust from diesel buses can harm health, especially in children, who have a faster breathing rate than adults and whose lungs are not yet fully developed.
EPA has implemented standards to make newer diesel engines more than 90 percent cleaner, but many older diesel school buses are still operating. These older diesel engines emit large amounts of pollutants, which are linked to instances of aggravated asthma, lung damage and other serious health problems.
BSEE Finalizes Improved Blowout Preventer and Well Control Regulations
5/2/2019
Port Fourchon, La. – Today, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) released the final improved Blowout Preventer Systems and Well Control regulations. BSEE’s final Well Control Rule – as the regulation is commonly known – removes unnecessary regulatory burdens to responsible offshore development while maintaining safety and environmental protection. The revised rule reflects the Trump Administration’s focus on smarter regulations that provide regulatory certainty, signal American competitiveness, advance energy security, and sustain economic prosperity while promoting safety.
“Today’s final rule puts safety first, both public and environmental safety, in a common sense way,” said U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt. “Incorporating the best available science, best practices and technological innovations of the past decade, the rule eliminates unnecessary regulatory burdens while maintaining safety and environmental protection offshore. Under President Trump’s leadership, America is a leader on energy resulting in greater security and economic prosperity.”
“BSEE’s review has been thorough, careful, and tailored,” said BSEE Director Scott Angelle. “Free of undue regulatory burden while ensuring that operators conduct outer Continental Shelf activities in a safe and environmentally responsible manner, today’s rule will fuel and sustain responsible energy exploration and production of America’s outer Continental Shelf.”
The final revised rule leaves 274 out of 342 original Well Control Rule provisions – approximately 80 percent – unchanged. Sixty-eight provisions were identified as appropriate for revision, and 33 provisions were added to improve operations on the OCS. Following the direction of both Executive Order 13795 and Secretary's Order 3350, the final rule addresses offshore oil and gas drilling, completions, workovers, and decommissioning activities.
Furthermore, BSEE considered all 424 recommendations arising from 26 separate reports from 14 different organizations developed in the wake of and in response to the Deepwater Horizon and found that none of the revisions contravened any of these recommendations (see Listing of Reports).
The improvements to requirements for Blowout Preventer (BOP) design and testing include:
- Limiting the number of connection points to the BOP, reducing the number of potential failure points;
- Equipping each BOP with a high-flow receptacle to ensure faster delivery of fluid to perform the function from a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV);
- Requiring an array of rams, which are steel covers designed to close rapidly around and over a drill pipe to stop the flow of hydrocarbons, with specific capabilities, allowing the most effective use of each ram type and maximizing functionality; and
- Improving the expected lifespan of a critical BOP component by specifying a testing methodology that provides a readiness check without putting unnecessary wear and tear on the component.
