Thursday, December 5, 2019

News Clippings December 5, 2019

State

Jackson mayor to join rally against proposed Madison County landfill
Clarion Ledger

Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba plans to join Ridgeland Mayor Gene McGee and other elected officials, community members and organizations on Thursday to rally against a proposed Madison County landfill. 

Deadline to oppose 3rd dump nears
Madison County Journal

A group opposed a third garbage dump in south Madison County was to have rallied today (Thursday) before a deciding Dec. 10 MDEQ vote.

Rally to oppose proposed Madison County landfill
WJTV

RIDGELAND, Miss. (WJTV) – Local community members, elected officials and organizations will rally on Thursday, December 5, to oppose a proposed landfill in Madison County.

Recycling to cost city of Brookhaven more
Daily Leader

The price of recycling to the city is going up, but Brookhaven aldermen plan to absorb that cost in order to keep the program going.

Waste service ends recycling pickup
Daily Corinthian

When the truck leaves today, loaded with plastic soda bottles and milk jugs, it’s not coming back.

Medical waste facility proposed
Stone County Enterprise

David Wolf, the owner of Earthcare, Inc., a medical waste-disposal company, came before the Stone County Board of Supervisors Monday to seek approval for a facility in the county.
Wolf said his company has been utilizing another company to sterilize the collected waste before it goes to a landfill.

Team Rubicon arrives to help demolish homes in South Delta
Vicksburg Post

It will be years before areas of the South Delta — such as Eagle Lake — find any sense of normalcy following the devastating, months-long flood that ravaged the area for much of the year.

Flaggs set to host Thursday public hearing on future of Kuhn site
Vicksburg Post

The public will get its first look at Mayor George Flaggs Jr.’s plans for the Kuhn Memorial Hospital property on Thursday.

River expert: Current swell in the Mississippi River no reason for concern
Vicksburg Post

The Mississippi River at Vicksburg is expected to crest at 37 to 37.5 feet by mid-December, a hydrologist for the National Weather Service Office in Jackson said Wednesday. Beyond that, the river is expected to fall over the rest of the month, before rising once again.

City set to install LED lights starting this month
Commercial Dispatch
 
A project to install more than 4,000 energy-efficient LED lights in the city is set to begin this month.


State Government

Hinds CC President Dr. Clyde Muse announces retirement plans
Vicksburg Post

RAYMOND – Hinds Community College President Dr. Clyde Muse today announced to the Board of Trustees at their regular monthly meeting his intention to retire on June 30, 2020, after 42 years as chief of the college and 68 years as an educator.


Oil Spill

MAFES to open seafood lab on Mississippi Gulf Coast
Starkville Daily News

Mississippi State University is gearing up to continue its approximately 15 years of seafood research in the Gulf of Mexico.


Regional

Black Warrior Riverkeeper seeks more fines against Alabama Power for fish kill
33/40

Walker County, Alabama — Take a look at the photos of just some of the 508 dead fish that were found six days after a chemical spill in March at Alabama Power’s Plant Gorgas in Walker County.

Jefferson Parish secures funding for 'living coastline' in Bucktown as work continues on boardwalk
NOLA.com

Bucktown probably isn't the first place that comes to mind when you think of coastal restoration. In fact, Lake Pontchartrain probably isn't either.


National

States slashed 4,400 environmental agency jobs in past decade: study
The Hill

A new report warns that spending cutbacks at state environmental protection agencies have led to thousands of job cuts at a time when the federal government is rolling back regulations.

EPA ignores health benefits of coal rule it plans to weaken: economists
Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposal to weaken a rule on coal plant pollution fails to consider billions of dollars in health benefits for Americans, economists from universities including Harvard and Yale said on Wednesday.

Songbirds Are Shrinking in Size, Study Finds
WSJ

North American songbirds have been shrinking steadily in size over the past 40 years, according to scientists who measured tens of thousands of the feathered creatures from dozens of different species and attributed the changes to rising temperatures.

Invasive cats, pigs and more plague most US parks, report warns. Can they be stopped?
Sun Herald

National parks across the United States draw visitors with the promise of native wildlife sightings, beautiful landscapes and hiking opportunities.
But invasive species — everything from rats to Burmese pythons — have spread to more than half of national parks, according to new research published this week, which also offers suggestions for stopping non-native animals while safeguarding native species into the future.

Offshore drilling creates these new dangers onshore, environmental report says
Sun Herald

Devastating oil spills of the Deepwater Horizon variety aren’t the only risk posed by expanded offshore drilling in waters off the United States, a new environmental report says.


Opinion

EDITORIAL/Let Gov. Bryant know: No more garbage dumps
Madison County Journal

The deadline to voice opposition to a third smelly garbage dump in south Madison County is Tuesday and everyone should voice opposition on the grounds we’re not the dumping ground of the South.


Press Releases

EPA Moves Forward on Key Drinking Water Priority Under PFAS Action Plan
12/04/2019

WASHINGTON (Dec. 4, 2019) — Yesterday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent the proposed regulatory determination for perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in drinking water to the Office of Management and Budget for interagency review.

EPA Awards $4 Million to Protect America’s Estuaries and Coastal Waters
12/04/2019

WASHINGTON (Dec. 4, 2019) — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a $4 million cooperative agreement with Restore America’s Estuaries to help fund projects supporting National Estuary Program coastal watersheds and estuaries.

EPA Finds That Financial Risks from Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing Industry Does Not Warrant Additional Federal Requirements
12/04/2019

WASHINGTON (Dec. 4, 2019) — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to not impose burdensome and potentially duplicative financial responsibility requirements for the petroleum and coal products manufacturing industry (the industrial sector that transforms crude petroleum and coal into usable products) because the financial risk to the federal government from those facilities is already addressed by various existing federal and state technical and financial requirements and modern material management practices.