Friday, May 28, 2021

News Clippings May 28, 2021

State

Water quality advisory in effect for parts of Pearl River, creeks in Jackson
WJTV

JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality issued a water quality advisory on Tuesday, May 25 for areas of the Pearl River near the Savanna Wastewater Treatment Plant and for 11 creeks in Jackson.

17 Mississippi beaches under water contact advisories
WJTV

JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), through its Beach Monitoring Program, issued two beach water contact advisories on Thursday for Station 11A (Edgewater Beach) and Station 20 (Pascagoula Beach East). 

North Carolina company hired for Vicksburg tornado debris cleanup
Vicksburg Post

A North Carolina-based company has been hired by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen to remove trash and debris in the city left from a May 4 tornado that hit Vicksburg and the rest of Warren County.

IT COULD TAKE 2022 BEFORE MOST REPAIRS ARE COMPLETE AT CITY'S TWO WATER TREATMENT PLANTS
Northside Sun

It could be 2022 before the city of Jackson can correct all of the issues with its water treatment plants found in an inspection last year.


State Government

PEER report examines financial soundness of Mississippi pension system
WLBT

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Mississippi’s pension fund is going through a routine financial checkup. The state’s legislative watchdog agency is looking at the system’s stability and what may need to change to keep it up.


Regional

State’s top environmental official resigns. He had been leading Piney Point response
Miami Herald

Florida’s top environmental official is stepping down. Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Noah Valenstein’s resignation is effective June 4, according to a letter he sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis.


National

EPA restoring state and tribal power to protect waterways
AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the latest reversal of a Trump-era policy, the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency is restoring a rule that grants states and Native American tribes authority to block pipelines and other energy projects that can pollute rivers, streams and other waterways.

Why Biden’s EPA chief stepped into a Chicago permit controversy
Chicago Sun-Times

A sustained protest by community activists, a civil rights investigation and data showing the Southeast Side is one of the most polluted areas in the country drew President Joe Biden’s administration into a city permitting controversy involving the relocation of car-shredder General Iron.


Press Releases

EPA Takes Action to Bolster State and Tribal Authority to Protect Water Resources
05/27/2021

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its intent to revise the 2020 Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 Certification Rule after determining that it erodes state and Tribal authority.

EPA Announces $10 Million Available for States, Tribes and Territories to Address Environmental Challenges
$8.5 million available for D.C., states, and territories, and $1.5 million available for tribes
05/27/2021

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of Multipurpose Grant (MPG) funding to support states, Tribes and territories in addressing high-priority environmental issues, including PFAS, environmental justice and climate change. 



Thursday, May 27, 2021

News Clippings May 27, 2021

State

Water advisory affects kayak business
WAPT

JACKSON, Miss. — One local business has had to make adjustments after the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality issued a water contact advisory.

A CONVERSATION WITH JOHN SIGMAN ON BARNETT RESERVOIR
Northside Sun

John G. Sigman is the general manager at the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District (PRVWSD), the state agency created to construct and manage the 33,000-acre Barnett Reservoir and the 17,000 acres surrounding the lake.

How one utility in the Delta is using teamwork to keep faucets flowing
MPB

Water providers in some rural communities across the region often fail to deliver clean and reliable water. Black Bayou Water Association is addressing that issue by connecting small utilities. 

Cause of water well pump failure discovered
WLBT

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Jackson officials report that a contractor for the city has discovered the cause of a water pump failure at the TV Road well.

Water association asks for federal funds
Madison County Journal

Leroy Lacy of the East Madison Water Association attended the Madison Board of Supervisors’ May 17 meeting to report that the association that serves the Ratliff Ferry area of the county is in need of funding for improvements to the system.

Waveland residents evacuated after ‘major’ natural gas leak
WLOX

WAVELAND, Miss. (WLOX) - Authorities in Waveland evacuated nearly 30 residents Wednesday following a major natural gas leak along Waveland Avenue near the American Legion.

Girls Softball Team, Students, Awarded for Anti-Litter Efforts
Chickasaw Journal

Winners of the “Houston Clean Up Challenge” and “Anti-Litter Meme Contest” held back in March were presented with their awards last week.

Charter boat captains ready to reel in successful 2021 summer
WLOX

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - After back-to-back summers of sorrow, charter boat captains here in South Mississippi are looking for business to rebound in 2021.

Seabee base to get first civil engineering degree program on Coast
WLOX

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) - Seabees build things. That’s what they do, and a civil engineering degree is a national path. Starting this fall, the first civil engineering degree program on the Coast will be offered at the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport, specifically designed for Seabees.


Regional

Environmentalists want NC governor to halt pellet plants
AP

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Advocates for environmental justice and eastern North Carolina residents urged Gov. Roy Cooper on Wednesday to block permits for future wood pellet plants and pay more attention to their effects on health.

TVA to begin aquatic plant management program on Lake Guntersville
WHNT

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala.- The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is getting ready to kick off its seasonal aquatic plant management program.


National

Republican state treasurers say they'll weigh banks' fossil fuel stance in contracting decisions
The Hill

Fifteen Republican state treasurers say they will consider whether banks are willing to lend to fossil fuel companies when making contracting decisions, an attempt to counter reported attempts by the Biden administration to push banks to be more climate-friendly. 
 
Report: EPA officials improperly influenced dicamba decision
AP

O’FALLON, Mo. (AP) — Environmental Protection Agency officials improperly influenced a decision to re-approve use of dicamba, a herbicide blamed for crop damage in hundreds of lawsuits, during the Trump administration, according to an internal agency report.
 
Bayer to Rethink Roundup Formula for U.S. Consumers
WSJ

Bayer AG said it will evaluate whether to continue using the active ingredient in its popular Roundup weedkiller in the residential U.S. market, in the wake of a court setback Wednesday in the company’s efforts to limit future liability over whether the product causes cancer.
 
Shipping’s Carbon-Cutting Fuel Tanks So Far Remain Empty
WSJ

Imagine going to a car dealership for a new vehicle that’s climate friendly and being told that it isn’t clear what clean fuels will be available to fill it up, or how much those fuels will cost. You probably would walk away or opt for a car that runs on gasoline.
 
Shell, Exxon Decisions Highlight Rethink in Energy Investment
WSJ

A Dutch court’s demand that Royal Dutch Shell PLC slash carbon emissions is casting a spotlight on how investors approach oil companies and their strategies to manage climate risks.
 
  
Press Releases

HYDE-SMITH PROMOTES FOREST SERVICE-USDA EFFORTS TO DELIVER COVID RECOVERY HELP TO TIMBER HARVESTERS, HAULERS
Senator Also Resumes Press for Forest Service Action on Okhissa Lake Land Transfer

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today encouraged continued interagency cooperation on the delivery of COVID-19 economic recovery resources appropriated by Congress last year for timber harvesting and hauling businesses.

Air Pollution Trends Continue to Link Clean Air and Strong Economy
05/26/2021
 
WASHINGTON (May 26, 2021) — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its annual interactive report tracking America’s progress in controlling air pollution since the passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970.
 
EPA Announces Public Listening Sessions on the Risk Management Plan Rule
05/26/2021
 
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced two upcoming virtual public listening sessions on the Agency’s Risk Management Plan (RMP) rule.
 
EPA Implements Court Decision Overturning Restrictive Trump-Era Rule; Reaffirms Commitment to Use Best Available Science
05/26/2021
 
WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the finalization of a rule that effectuates the vacatur of the previous administration’s rulemaking titled “Strengthening Transparency in Pivotal Science Underlying Significant Regulatory Actions and Influential Scientific Information.” 
 
 

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

News Clippings May 26, 2021

State

Update on lawsuit against Bonnet Carre Spillway opening
WXXV

At the Biloxi Town Hall meeting today, the Mississippi Sound Coalition updated Biloxi city leaders on the litigation against the Army Corps of Engineers.

Mayor gives green light for cash-strapped city to use over $500K for debris removal from May 4 storms
WLBT

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Three weeks after 13 tornadoes touched down in Mississippi, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba has directed city leaders to use existing funds to begin removing storm debris in Jackson

Recreational, commercial harvests set to open, close
WXXV

Officials with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources announced Tuesday the openings and closings of recreational and commercial harvest in Mississippi territorial waters for Gag, Greater Amberjack and Gray Triggerfish.

Beach crews working to prepare Coast beaches for holiday weekend
WLOX

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - Last week’s severe winds lashed sand all across South Mississippi. With a busy Memorial Day weekend expected, MDOT is working diligently to clean the roadways while sand beach crews are hard at work preparing our shores.


State Government

‘Line-to-Line’ initiative to beef up MHP presence on I-55
WLBT

JACKSON, Miss. (WDAM) _ Drivers traveling Interstate 55 for the next few days can expect to see a heightened law enforcement presence.


Regional

Another Louisiana bayou is added to list of waterways with mercury-laden fish
NOLA.com

Despite a shrinking budget and an uncertain future, Louisiana's fish testing program is still finding waterways where fish might be unsafe to eat.
 
Multiple injuries in gas well fire near St. Mary Parish
WAFB

MORGAN CITY, La. (WAFB) - At least seven people were injured after a natural gas well caught fire in a marshy area along the Louisiana coast on Tuesday, May 25, authorities said.


National

EPA-referred enviro crime prosecutions continue decline - report
Reuters

The prosecution of environmental crimes resulting from Environmental Protection Agency referrals to the Department of Justice are on track to drop nearly 10% compared to the same period a year prior, according to a study by Syracuse University researchers.

New Mexico rules to curb oil industry emissions take effect
AP

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s new rules to limit most venting and flaring in the oilfield as a way to reduce methane emissions are now in effect.

Hack prompts new security regulations for US pipelines
AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government will issue cybersecurity regulations in the coming days for U.S. pipeline operators following a ransomware attack that led to fuel shortages across much of the Eastern Seaboard.

Pope launches green initiative, decrying "predatory attitude" toward planet
Reuters

Pope Francis launched an initiative on Tuesday to make Catholic institutions ranging from families to universities to businesses environmentally sustainable in seven years, saying a "predatory attitude" toward the planet must end.


Press releases

Recreational, commercial harvests set to open, close
May 25, 2021
 
BILOXI, Miss. – Officials with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources announced today the openings and closings of recreational and commercial harvest in Mississippi territorial waters for Gag, Greater Amberjack and Gray Triggerfish. 

Dr. John Davis, IV Appointed to State Board of Health
MSDH

JACKSON, Miss. - John Daniel Davis, IV, MD, of Flowood has been appointed by Governor Reeves to complete the six-year term of Dr. Ed D. "Tad" Barham on the Mississippi State Board of Health.

EPA Seeks Input on the Review of Oil and Natural Gas New Source Performance Standards
05/25/2021
 
WASHINGTON (MAY 25, 2021) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invites small businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations to serve as Small Entity Representatives (SERs) to a possible Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) panel.

EPA Opens Application Period for Grants Dedicated to Sustainable Pest Control in Agriculture
05/25/2021

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is accepting applications for a $1 million dollar grant initiative through the Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program (PESP) that encourages smart, sensible, and sustainable pest control in agriculture.