State
Backwater pumps could take five years to build, Corps engineer says
Vicksburg Post
If the Environmental Protection Agency gave its blessing to install the Steele Bayou pumps immediately, it would be five years before they would be ready to relieve backwater flooding, a Corps of Engineers official said Saturday.
Inspector: Do away with dam at Robins Lake Road
Natchez Democrat
NATCHEZ — State dam inspectors recommend that Adams County officials do away with the Robins Lake Dam and consequentially the adjacent 50-acre lake.
Crossgates Lake in Brandon has dropped several feet. Here’s why
WLBT
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Crossgates Lake is no stranger to the Brandon Community.
The popular spot is a go-to for people to fish and hangout.
Supervisors begin efforts to clean-up state-owned property on Oak Ridge Road
Vicksburg Post
A disagreement that started last week during a work session of the Warren County Board of Supervisors spilled over to Monday’s regular session, when one member of the board strongly disagreed with a move to possibly use county resources to clean up an eyesore.
...During last Monday’s work session, Herring said he had been working through the Secretary of State’s office and the Department of Environmental Quality to clean up the site of a former convenience store that had fallen into state ownership and disrepair.
Eagle Lake debris clean-up bid approved
A months-long process to find the most effective — and cost-effective — way to dispose of more than 200,000 cubic feet of debris from the Eagle Lake community was finalized Monday when supervisors awarded a bid to Preferred Clean Out Service of Nesbit.
ELECTRIC PRODUCING COMPANY TO POSSIBLE BUILD IN LOWNDES COUNTY
WCBI
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A $200 million electric producing company could soon build in Lowndes County.
Ole Miss & Millsaps partner to offer dual degree programs
NewsMS
Students at the University of Mississippi and at Millsaps College soon will be able to simultaneously receive bachelor’s degrees from each, thanks to a partnership agreement between the two institutions.
The 2020 Spring Turkey Hunting State-by-State Forecast
Outdoor Life
Mississippi
Subspecies: Eastern
Estimated population: 225,000 to 275,000
Oil Spill
BP oil spill cash rebuilds eroded Louisiana pelican island
AP
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Louisiana island that provides a crucial nesting ground for pelicans and other seabirds is being restored to nearly its former size after decades of coastal erosion and the devastating blow of an offshore oil spill 10 years ago.
BP Is Still Paying for the Deepwater Horizon Spill
Bloomberg
The Origin
On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil well, operated by BP Plc in the Gulf of Mexico, suffered an enormous explosion, killing 11 workers and spewing 130 million gallons of oil.
BP boosts dividend as profit tops forecast and CEO bows out
Reuters
LONDON (Reuters) - BP (BP.L) raised its dividend and said it had completed a $1.5 billion share buyback program in a sign of confidence in its growing oil and gas business on the last day in office for Chief Executive Bob Dudley.
Regional
The Investigators: One family owes Shelby County over $1 million in property taxes for Collierville toxic site
WMC
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) -Shelby County relies on property taxes to fund schools, roads and public safety.
Invasive Asian carp upsetting natural balance in Tennessee River
WRCB
Asian carp are currently a big problem for some lower portions of the Tennessee River, including Kentucky and Pickwick Lakes. The carp have moved upstream from the Mississippi River to the Ohio River and into the Tennessee.
EPA targets lead contamination in Georgia schools, homes
AJC
Georgia schools have received a grant of $1.1 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to identify sources of lead in drinking water at schools or child care facilities.
The Georgia Department of Education will use the funds for testing in high-risk communities across the state.
National
DOD watchdog will review military use of cancer-linked chemical
The Hill
The Pentagon’s internal watchdog will review the military’s response to a cancer-linked chemical spread in part by its use of firefighting foam.
The woman who wants to reinvent recycling
The Hill
Cities have gone from making a profit with their recycling programs to losing cash or even stockpiling goods while waiting for the market to rebound.
The Auto Industry Wanted Easier Environmental Rules. It Got Chaos.
WSJ
When Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. called the president last spring, he was hoping to defuse what was looking like a lengthy legal battle over the nation’s fuel-economy regulations for vehicles.
Natural Gas Won’t Decarbonize Shipping, but the Fuel Is Here to Stay
WSJ
Shipping is going through its biggest change since switching from coal to heavy oil more than a century ago, as it looks for new fuels that will drastically cut the industry’s carbon footprint.
Race is on to find uses for wastewater from fracking
Sante Fe New Mexican
CARLSBAD — In the Permian Basin, now the most prolific oil field in the world, hundreds of miles of plastic pipelines snake along dirt roads, drilling pads and the edges of farm fields. But they are not carrying oil. They’re transporting an another precious commodity in this arid region on the New Mexico-Texas border: water.
$1.5 million from GE settlement to fund 6 Housatonic River watershed restoration projects
MassLive
A plan is in place to use $1.5 million from a 2000 settlement over General Electric’s contamination of the Housatonic River to restore brook trout habitat, launch an environmental education program and pay for several other habitat restoration and land conservation projects.
Generate Capital Raises $1 Billion for Clean-Energy Investments
WSJ
Generate Capital has raised $1 billion in new funding for clean-energy projects across North America, amid growing corporate and government interest in lowering carbon emissions.
Press Releases
EPA at 50: EPA Celebrates Progress in Protecting America’s Waters
02/03/2020
WASHINGTON (February 3, 2020) — As part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 50th anniversary commemoration, the agency is kicking off a month-long look at progress in protecting America’s waters. This month the agency will highlight its efforts related to protecting America’s waters, including clean water infrastructure, safe drinking water, surface water protection, and emerging challenges.
USDA-NRCS IN MISSISSIPPI ANNOUNCES ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PROGRAM SIGN-UP
JACKSON, MS, January 31, 2020 — Mississippi's USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) State Conservationist Kurt Readus announced the statewide deadline for the first application period of fiscal year 2020 Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) funding.
