State
DMR director says Coast waters could open as soon as Labor Day Weekend
WLOX
BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - A water advisory on parts of South Mississippi’s beaches could be lifted by Labor Day Weekend, according to Joe Spraggins, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.
Labor Day holiday likely won’t help devastated Coast hotel industry
WLOX
BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - It’s been a terrible summer for the hotel industry on the Gulf Coast.
Even if predictions that the water will be safe by Labor Day come true, they said it’s too little, too late.
Ocean Springs residents do their part in keeping city clean
WLOX
OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (WLOX) - The city of Ocean Springs is hosting the first-ever Community Clean-Up Day at Freedom Field Saturday.
Oil Spill
Excitement grows as the $93 million Mississippi Aquarium inches towards completion
Mississippi Press
GULFPORT, Mississippi -- Spend any time at all with David Kimmel and Kurt Allen and it quickly becomes clear the new Mississippi Aquarium under construction in Gulfport is in good hands.
Regional
With hurricane forecasts improved, research focus turns to explaining storm risk to public
The Advocate
Meteorologist Frank Marks, longtime director of the federal Hurricane Research Division, had a genuine bird’s-eye view of the effects of Hurricane Barry on New Orleans as the troublesome storm made landfall last month.
Interactive graphic: See past 10 years of Gulf of Mexico offshore leases
The Advocate
The following map shows the number of active offshore blocks leased each year in the Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas exploration. In 2007, there were 6,912 blocks leased covering nearly 37 million acres. In 2018, the numbers were considerably lower with 2,587 blocks leased covering more than 13.6 million acres.
National
EPA ordered to set stronger smog standards
The Hill
A federal appeals court has ruled in a case battling Obama-era pollution regulations that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must set stronger regulations on smog in order to protect the environment.
Gov. Tony Evers creates council targeting PFAS contamination
The Cap Times (WI)
Gov. Tony Evers has formed a new council aimed at identifying potential sources of PFAS contamination and addressing the chemicals across the state.
Well water users warned after Air Force Academy finds toxic level of firefighting chemical
Colorado Springs Gazette
Air Force Academy firefighters training a quarter century ago released a torrent of toxic perfluorinated chemicals that seeped into groundwater and flowed into Monument Creek, a 15,000-page Air Force report released Friday shows.
Report outlines improvements for an underfunded, struggling DEQ
Roanoke Times
Virginia’s environmental agency has a daunting to-do list: dealing with climate change, offsetting regulatory rollbacks at the federal level, cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay and monitoring work on the largest natural gas pipeline ever built in the state, to name just a few.
Yet the Department of Environmental Quality is being asked to do more with less state funding, fewer employees, and an outdated set of regulations.
Press releases
United States Settles With Southeastern Grocers To Reduce Ozone-Depleting Emissions at Grocery Stores in the Southeastern States
08/23/2019
WASHINGTON (August 23, 2019)— Southeastern Grocers Inc. and its subsidiaries BI-LO LLC and Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. (together, “SEG”), owners and operators of regional grocery store chains BI-LO LLC, Winn-Dixie Stores Inc., Fresco y Más and Harveys Supermarket, have agreed to reduce emissions of potent ozone depleting gases from refrigeration equipment at 576 stores under a proposed settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act.
EPA Seeks Public Input on 20 High-Priority Chemical Substances Proposal
08/23/2019
WASHINGTON (August 23, 2019) — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is meeting another statutory requirement under the 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) by proposing to designate 20 chemical substances as High-Priority Substances for upcoming risk evaluations. The proposed designation is a required step in a new process of reviewing chemical substances currently in commerce under the amended TSCA.
EPA Provides $1.2 Million to Hypoxia Task Force States, Including Iowa and Missouri, and Continues to Promote National Dialogue to Reduce Excess Nutrients and Enhance the Nation's Waters
08/23/2019
(Lenexa, Kan., Aug. 23, 2019) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that it is providing a total of $1.2 million to the 12 state members of the Hypoxia Task Force (HTF), including Iowa and Missouri, to help implement state plans to reduce excess nutrients in the Mississippi River/Atchafalaya River Basin. Through this funding, EPA is promoting tailored and effective nutrient reduction efforts that are developed through state leadership in coordination with EPA.
