State
AREA 5 APPROVED GROWING WATERS CLOSED TO THE HARVEST OF OYSTERS DUE TO HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS
WXXV
BILOXI, Miss. (WXXV) – Officials with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources
announced Monday that Area 5 Approved growing waters are closed to the harvest of
oysters.
Officials break ground on Museum to Market Trail
WAPT
JACKSON, Miss. — Leaders broke ground Tuesday on the Museum to Market multi-use path in Jackson.
State Government
Gov. Reeves announces COVID-19 Emergency Relief Program
WLBT
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves unveiled the COVID-19 Emergency Relief Program on Tuesday.
Mississippi Capitol outbreak: At least 41 with coronavirus
AP
At least 30 Mississippi legislators and 11 other people who work in the state Capitol are now known to have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the state's top public health official said Tuesday.
Mississippi to get $16M to expand internet access in rural areas
AP
Mississippi is receiving more than $16 million in federal coronavirus relief money to provide broadband access to rural parts of the state, officials announced Tuesday.
Regional
Hog farm strategies weighed
Arkansas Democrat Gazette
State environmental regulators are still weighing how to proceed with a proposed permanent ban on medium and large hog farms in the Buffalo River watershed, one month after the proposal was handed a resounding defeat in the Arkansas Legislature.
National
Cities Join Businesses in Asking EPA for Pandemic-Related Help
Bloomberg
Companies haven’t been the only ones asking the EPA for consideration of their difficulties during the coronavirus pandemic. Cities and counties have petitioned the agency for temporary relief under its relaxed enforcement policy, according to documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
Trump looks to scale back environmental reviews for projects
AP
President Donald Trump is expected to announce a new federal rule to speed up the environmental review process for proposed highways, gas pipelines and other major infrastructure, a move that critics are describing as the dismantling of a 50-year-old environmental protection law.
Trump administration has been underestimating costs of carbon pollution, government watchdog finds
The Hill
The Trump administration has been systematically underestimating the damage caused by carbon pollution, slashing figures used under the Obama administration to weigh the impacts of policy, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
Public resistance and high costs are canceling pipelines across the country
Philadelphia Inquirer
Not long ago, builders of fossil fuel pipelines in the U.S. followed a standard pattern: The operator made a business case for the project, lining up committed shippers, customers, and investors. Regulators obliged by granting a certificate of public need, which includes the power to acquire easements from property owners even if they object.
Colorado Water Officials Create First-Ever Regulations For ‘Forever Chemical’ PFAS
Colorado Public Radio
Colorado has its first policy to regulate so-called “forever chemicals.”
The state’s Water Quality Control Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to enact a policy to put new limits on per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, better known as PFAS.
Seventy percent of Superfund sites are within a mile of public housing, report finds
Philadelphia Inquirer
Federal court overturns EPA decision denying, N.Y., N.J. protection from other states’ air pollution
NYUP.com
A federal court today held that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency acted unlawfully when it denied requests under the Clean Act from the states of New York, New Jersey, the city of New York and others seeking relief from interstate air pollution from coal-burning power plants and other high-emitting pollution sources in nine upwind states.
EPA Says Lack Of State Permit Program Threatens Champlain Water Quality
Vermont Public Radio
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says Vermont's failure to develop a key pollution permit program threatens the health of Lake Champlain.
Environmental Groups Sue DEP Over W.Va. Coal Reclamation Fund
WV Public Radio
A new lawsuit brought by environmental groups raises the alarm over the solvency of a fund that can be used to clean up coal mining operations when mining companies walk away.
15 states pledge emissions-free truck sales by 2050
The Hill
Fifteen states and the city of Washington, D.C., on Tuesday announced an agreement that aims to make all new truck and bus sales emission-free by 2050.
How Absentee Landowners Keep Farmers From Protecting Water And Soil
NPR
Lisa Schulte Moore loves nature. To stand in an old-growth forest, she says, "I can only describe it as healing."
Burger King made its eco-friendly Whopper by changing cows' diets to cut methane
USA Today
Burger King's new menu item aims to tackle the environmental impact of beef.
Press Releases
EPA Announces $6 Billion in New Funding for Water Infrastructure Projects
Funding availability builds on 24 WIFIA loans issued under President Trump financing nearly $12 billion in water infrastructure and creating 25,000 jobs
07/14/2020
WASHINGTON (July 14, 2020) — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the 2020 notice of funding availability under its Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program, including funding for the new State infrastructure financing authority WIFIA (SWIFIA) program.
Governor Tate Reeves and MEMA Launch
COVID-19 Emergency Relief Program
JACKSON — Today, Governor Tate Reeves and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) launched the MEMA COVID-19 Emergency Relief Program to help relieve the financial burdens on counties and municipalities caused by this unprecedented pandemic.
