State
Starkville considering another water/sewer rate increase
Commercial Dispatch
Starkville will increase water and sewer rates and adjust its rate structure to help fund more planned infrastructure upgrades, a long-term project that started two years ago.
Vicksburg District temporarily closes gates, Highway 301 at Arkabutla Lake due to sinkhole
KTVE/KARD
VICKSBURG, Miss. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District temporarily closed the dam’s gates and Highway 301 at Arkabutla Lake, located in Tate and DeSoto counties in north Mississippi, due to the discovery of a sinkhole July 19.
2.3 magnitude earthquake detected near Clarksdale, Miss.
WLBT
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - A 2.3 magnitude earthquake rattled in north Mississippi Monday.
Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Executive Director Greg Michel said that it happened at 6:45 a.m. about 30 miles north of Clarksdale.
Contractors begin repairs on Maddox Road well while residents remain under conserve water advisory
WLBT
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Parts of the Capital City are under a water conservation advisory on this hot summer day. The advisory is caused by issues at the Jackson Maddox Well System.
State Government
MS governor extends coronavirus mask mandate and adds 10 counties to list
Sun Herald
Gov. Tate Reeves announced Monday that he is extending his Safe Return order and adding 10 counties to the list of places where he has implemented a mask mandate and required stricter social distancing.
Dr. Dobbs: There is no ‘goosing’ of the numbers related to coronavirus deaths in Miss.
WLBT
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - In Monday’s press conference, Dr. Dobbs revealed that nearly 40% of all ICU cases in Mississippi are coronavirus related. “That’s a phenomenal number,” Dobbs said. “And it continues to grow. Friday it was only 31-percent.”
Ex-Hattiesburg public works director, Jones County foreman charged in fraud, embezzlement scam
Hattiesburg American
A Jones County employee and a former city of Hattiesburg employee were among three people arrested Monday on charges of fraud and embezzlement and conspiracy to defraud the state, according to a report from State Auditor Shad White.
Oil Spill
Mississippi Aquarium’s new residents start moving in
WLOX
GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) - Before guests get to walk around the 80,000 square-foot Mississippi Aquarium, staff members are slowly introducing some of its residents to their new home.
Regional
Louisiana fisheries, coastal agencies working on initial oyster recovery strategy
NOLA.com
Oysters are such a mainstay of Louisiana cuisine that when President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited in 1937, Antoine's proudly served up a plate of them in the restaurant's signature Rockefeller style.
Destroying a Way of Life to Save Louisiana
NYT
Kindra Arnesen’s middle school was a plot of marsh a hundred yards off the southern coast of Louisiana. At 12, after her mother lost her job, Arnesen began skipping school to walk to the harbor in Buras, a town near the mouth of the Mississippi River. A dredge boat ferried her to Bay Adams, where she met a crew of oystermen. They gave her a flatboat, rubber boots, burlap sacks and a hatchet. With a rope looped around her waist, she trudged through the marsh, between the mud banks and the tufts of saw grass, tugging the boat behind her.
National
U.S. Takes On Settlement Deals With Polluters
WSJ
A tactic used to extract additional concessions from polluters in legal settlements is being challenged by the Trump administration, which says the practice subverts Congress’s authority over spending.
20 states sue EPA over weakened justification for power plant regulation
The Hill
A coalition of 20 states, several cities and a county are suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over a regulation that undermines the justification for certain clean air standards.
States, groups sue to block federal coal leasing program
The Hill
Four states, as well as a coalition of environmental groups and tribes, are challenging the Trump administration in an attempt to prevent it from moving ahead with leasing federal lands to coal companies.
Bayer Loses Roundup Weedkiller Appeal
WSJ
Bayer AG BAYRY 0.74% lost an appeal in the first case to go to trial linking its Roundup weedkiller to cancer, though the California court greatly reduced the amount of damages awarded to $20.4 million.
EPA wants feedback on coal ash cleanup plan at former NIPSCO Bailly plant
Chicago Tribune
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants public feedback for a cleanup plan at the eastern part of the former NIPSCO Bailly Generating Station. It believes buried coal ash is seeping via groundwater into the Indiana Dunes National Park threatening surrounding plants and wildlife.
EPA Signs Off On Standards To Reduce Phosphorus Pollution In The Wisconsin River Basin
Wisconsin Public Radio
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved site-specific criteria to reduce phosphorus pollution in several lakes within the Wisconsin River basin. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources proposed site-specific standards as part of efforts to address impaired water quality in Castle Rock Lake, Petenwell Lake and Lake Wisconsin.
EPA announces plans to fund clean Great Lakes, Toledo waterways
WTOL
TOLEDO, Ohio — The US Environmental Protection Agency announced its plans to help with cleaning up Lake Erie Monday morning.
Press Releases
Governor Tate Reeves Extends Safe Return Order and Adds 10 Counties to Stricter Measures to Protect Public Health
JACKSON — Today, Governor Tate Reeves announced that he has extended his Safe Return and county-specific executive orders, adding ten counties under the tighter social distancing measures to help limit transmission and protect public health.
EPA at 50: Managing Waste Across the Nation
07/20/2020
WASHINGTON (July 20, 2020) — This week, as part of EPA’s 50th anniversary celebration, the agency is highlighting the progress made on promoting responsible waste management, preventing contamination from hazardous waste, and cleaning up contamination from underground storage tanks.
