Wednesday, September 30, 2020

News Clippings September 30, 2020

State

MDEQ: Fish kill possibly due to low oxygen in water
Vicksburg Post

Low oxygen in the water caused by opening the gates at the Steele Bayou Control Structure is believed to be the cause of a fish kill in the Yazoo River that extended to the Yazoo Diversion Canal in Vicksburg, a Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality spokesman said.

Low oxygen levels kill thousands of fish in Yazoo River
WLBT

VICKSBURG, Miss. (WLBT) - The banks of the Yazoo River riddled with bloated, decaying fish Tuesday.

MDEQ Lifts Beach Water Contact Advisory in Gulfport
WXXV

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), through its Beach Monitoring Program, lifted a water contact advisory Tuesday for Station 8 (Gulfport West Beach).


Oil Spill

New development coming to Downtown Pascagoula
WLOX

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (WLOX) - The four-story building on Magnolia Street across from City Hall used to be a Hancock Bank, but the plan is to convert the building into what will be known as the City Centre.

$215M in BP oil spill money to restore Louisiana marshes
AP

Louisiana will get nearly $215 million in BP oil spill money for two projects planned to restore more than 4,600 acres of marsh and other habitat in the New Orleans area, Gov. John Bel Edwards said.

Hurricane Sally leaves oil on Florida beach; could it be from 2010 BP spill?
WWL

NEW ORLEANS — Miles of what appears to be weathered oil was found washed up on Perdido Key near the Florida-Alabama state line last weekend, prompting questions about whether Hurricane Sally’s powerful storm surge had unearthed remnants of the BP oil spill from more than 10 years ago.


Regional

Fair Grounds sent horse manure, urine into drainage system, violating Clean Water Act
NOLA.com

For at least six years, the Fair Grounds has been diverting horse manure, urine and untreated wastewater into New Orleans' drainage system, which sends the pollution into the London Avenue Canal, Lake Pontchartrain, the Mississippi River and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico.

Six dolphins found dead in ‘historic’ stranding in Alabama after Hurricane Sally
Sun Herald

Six dolphins were found dead in an Alabama marsh last week in what experts call an “historic mass stranding.”


National

BP Bets Future on Green Energy, but Investors Remain Wary
WSJ

BP BP -2.81% PLC has unveiled the most aggressive plans yet by a major oil company to pivot toward cleaner energy. But the revamp has so far failed to ignite enthusiasm among investors despite growing interest in renewables.


Press Releases

EPA to Award up to $73 million for Clean Diesel Projects
In Minneapolis, Administrator Wheeler announced more than $800,000 to Minnesota projects
09/29/2020

St. Paul, Minn. (September 29, 2020) — Today, at a press conference in Minnesota, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced over $73 million in grants and funding expected to be awarded to support numerous clean diesel programs and projects across the country at the state and local level.

EPA Awards $353,516 Grant to Shelby County to Fund Community-Scale Air Toxics Monitoring in Memphis, Tenn.
09/28/2020

MEMPHIS, TENN. – (SEPTEMBER 28, 2020) Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the selection of the Shelby County Health Department Pollution Control Section as part of a total of 11 air toxics monitoring projects to receive funding under the agency’s Community-Scale Air Toxics Ambient Monitoring grants program.




Tuesday, September 29, 2020

News Clippings September 29, 2020

State

Jackson Jambalaya

The Gold Coast Commodities wastewater lagoon in Rankin County produced a strong cloud of Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) gas in July that sickened neighbors, knocked out employees, and sent some employees to the hospital.

Traffic Alert: Several accidents on I-10W near Hwy 613 causing delays
WLOX

MOSS POINT, Miss. (WLOX) - A Monday afternoon accident, and several crashes that followed, are causing some significant delays for drivers on westbound I-10 between the two Moss Point exits.
...The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality was called in after first responders realized the big rig was leaking diesel.

Fire breaks out in oceanography building at USM Gulf Coast Research Lab
WLOX

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (WLOX) - We are working to learn more about a fire that broke out late Monday at the USM Gulf Coast Research Lab in Ocean Springs.


State Government

Gov. Reeves joins Trump for “gamechanging” rapid test announcement
NewsMS

Governor Tate Reeves joined President Trump at the White House this afternoon as the administration announced that the rollout of over 100 million rapid tests to states has begun.


Regional

Floating fish farms in Gulf of Mexico could get green light with Congressional bill
NOLA.com

A new bill in Congress would open the Gulf of Mexico and other federal waters to offshore fish farming, a controversial idea backed by President Donald Trump’s administration but opposed by environmental groups and elements of the seafood industry that depend on wild fisheries.

Oil washes up along five-mile stretch of Florida beach in wake of Hurricane Sally
PNJ

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Oil washed up along parts of a five-mile stretch of a beach on Florida's Perdido Key on Saturday, less than two weeks after Hurricane Sally made landfall in the area.


National

EPA Raises Legal Questions About California’s Plan to Ban New Gas-Powered Cars Starting in 2035
WSJ

WASHINGTON—The Environmental Protection Agency raised concerns about California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to ban sales of new gasoline and diesel-powered passenger cars in the state by 2035, arguing that the mandate is impractical and possibly illegal.

Agency proposes protections for 2 Eastern US mussel species
AP

Federal regulators Monday proposed listing as threatened two freshwater mussel species native to many eastern U.S. rivers and streams.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality file a lawsuit against the City of Corpus Christi
KIII

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Friday a federal agency along with the state of Texas filed a lawsuit against the city of Corpus Christi. The lawsuit accusing the city of violating the Clean Water Act and the Texas water code.


Press Releases

EPA Announces $5 Million in Community-Scale Air Toxics Monitoring Grant Winners
09/28/2020

WASHINGTON (September 28, 2020) — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the selection of 11 air toxics monitoring projects to receive $5 million in funding under the agency’s Community-Scale Air Toxics Ambient Monitoring grants program.




Monday, September 28, 2020

News Clippings September 28, 2020

State

Hurricane Sally damage to Florida facility impacts Coast recycling programs
WLOX

SOUTH MISSISSIPPI, Miss. (WLOX) - Recycling programs on the Coast are in limbo after Hurricane Sally damaged a recycling center in Florida.

Katrina Key: Mississippi's largest artificial reef, popular fishing spot is getting bigger
Clarion Ledger

Katrina Key, located near the southeast end of Deer Island, is Mississippi's largest artificial reef and thanks to construction on the coast, the popular fishing spot is growing.

Battling wild hogs: Ag Department taking applications for use of 'smart' traps
Clarion Ledger

The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce is taking applications for the use of hog traps in its Wild Hog Control Program.

Mississippi Aquarium offers car tags for sale
WXXV

The Mississippi Aquarium is offering a specialty tag license plate to help support conservation.

Turtle soup almost wiped out wild terrapin on the Mississippi Coast
Sun Herald

Not all animal hibernations can be claimed by cold-weather states. Even on the tepid Mississippi Gulf Coast and in the Louisiana marshes, the Diamondback Terrapin takes a winter snooze.

'Legacy' of pine plantations falls short of projections
Commercial Dispatch
 
For the uninitiated, it might be assumed the terms "timber" and "lumber" are interchangeable, different words to describe the same segment of the forestry industry.


State Government

Mississippi’s lottery is making more money than expected. It could soon go to education.
Sun Herald

Sales of lottery tickets are averaging $10 million or more a week statewide, and if that trend continues, education will get some of the proceeds from the Mississippi Lottery this fiscal year.


Regional

Feds: Relax protections for woodpecker endangered since 1970
AP

The red-cockaded woodpecker, a bird declared endangered in 1970 and surviving today in 11 states' scattered longleaf pine forests, has recovered enough to relax its federal protection, officials said Friday.


National

New rule may strip pollution protections from popular lakes
AP

WILMINGTON, N.C. — Nearly 50 years ago, a power company received permission from North Carolina to build a reservoir by damming a creek near the coastal city of Wilmington. It would provide a source of steam to generate electricity and a place to cool hot water from an adjacent coal-fired plant.

E.P.A. to Promote Lead Testing Rule as Trump Tries to Burnish His Record
NYT

WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to overhaul the way communities test their water for lead, a policy change that will be pitched ahead of Election Day as a major environmental achievement for a president not noted for his conservation record.

1 In 7 Americans Have Experienced Dangerous Air Quality Due To Wildfires This Year
NPR

Wildfires near cities have become commonplace in the Western United States, but this year the reach and intensity of the dangerous air pollution they produce has been the worst on record.

Farm to table to dirt to farm: This local business wants to make composting the next recycling
WCPO

When Ben Bessler graduated with an accounting degree from Northern Kentucky University, he didn't expect his work would one day have him shoveling dirt and food scraps in his parents' backyard. But what began as a hobby at home has grown into a budding business addressing an environmental challenge alongside an emerging consumer demand.


Press Releases

Trump Administration Proposes Downlisting of Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Under Endangered Species Act
DOI
9/25/2020

FORT BENNING, Georgia – U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and Fort Benning Garrison Commander, Col. Matthew Scalia, were joined by public and private representatives today to celebrate the proposed downlisting of the red-cockaded woodpecker from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).



Friday, September 25, 2020

News Clippings September 25, 2020

State

enHance: Assessing and Reducing Workplace Risk
MDEQ and MMA invites you to join an enHance webinar on October 7 to discuss assessing and reducing workplace risks. Register here: https://bit.ly/3kIpQ9G

Detention ponds coming to the City of Pearl to help reduce flash flooding problems
WLBT

PEARL, Miss. (WLBT) - Some of the worst flooding events in the City of Pearl have caused major destruction in the past.

Aberdeen city officials discuss business initiative campaign
Monroe Journal

…Also during citizen’s input, Herb Hatfield shared concerns he and his neighbors have about a three-and-a-half-acre patch of trees recently cut down alongside Meadowlane Drive. He said since being cut, it has been an eyesore, caused standing water to attract mosquitoes. He added a Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality study found the presence of E. coli in a stream in the area.

Deer season 2020 in Mississippi: What you need to know before you go hunting
Clarion Ledger

Deer season is just around the corner with archery season opening Thursday, but due to hunter concerns over the herd population and management of chronic wasting disease, regulations have been evolving more often in recent years.

City of Oxford, Army Corps of Engineers sign Project Partnership Agreement
Oxford Eagle

The City of Oxford’s Regional Water Supply and Treatment Project received a boost last week.


State Government

Adranos locating rocket motor research & development in Stone, creating 20 jobs
NewsMS

Adranos Incorporated has become the latest company in Mississippi to announce an expansion. 

Sun-n-Sand named one of most endangered historic places in America
WLBT

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - The Sun-n-Sand Motor Hotel is one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2020, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.


Oil Spill

Senators look forward to more communication for future GCRF grant projects
WLOX

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) - Gulf Coast businesses and organizations are getting a little more guidance for submitting projects for potential funding from the BP oil spill settlement.


Regional

Alabama beaches remain closed
WTOK

BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. (WTOK) - Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has agreed to keep Baldwin County’s beaches closed until Friday, Oct. 2.


National

State regulators issue new restrictions on ‘forever chemicals’
Boston Globe

After years of research showing the dangers of so-called forever chemicals, state regulators Thursday joined a growing number of their counterparts in other states in issuing significant new limits on the human-made compounds in drinking water, a move hailed by environmental advocates.

Get outdoors: You can visit a national park for free this weekend. Here’s what to know
Sun Herald

If you’re trying to get in a trip to the national parks this fall, you could do it for free one day this weekend.

Piping plover recovery program survives COVID-19
Record-Eagle

HONOR — The cheery and charming Great Lakes piping plovers seen flitting along the shores of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore were at the brink of extinction before one of the most intense conservation programs in the nation buoyed its population.


Press Releases

EPA Celebrates 25 Years of Success with the National Environmental Performance Partnership System
09/24/2020

WASHINGTON (September 24, 2020) — Today, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) celebrates the 25th anniversary of the National Environmental Performance Partnership System (NEPPS).

EPA Hosts Small Business Week 2020
09/24/2020

WASHINGTON (September 24, 2020) — This week President Trump issued a proclamation for National Small Business Week (NSBW), celebrating American businesses, entrepreneurs and workers.

EPA Settles with Starbucks Corporation for local Chemical Emergency Planning Violations
09/24/2020

SEATTLE - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has settled alleged civil chemical accident prevention and preparedness violations with Starbucks Corporation of Kent, Washington.