2026-07-27 Mississippi Environmental News

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MDEQ in the News The Commercial Appeal • July 27, 2026 • 10:01 AM From lawsuits to space data centers, the latest on xAI in Mid-South Permit appeal to be determined In March, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) approved a Prevention of Significant Winona Times • July 27, 2026 • 2:38 PM Legislative AI Task Force hears complaints, positive impacts of data centers appeared before the task force. Chris Wells, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, said the agency has WDBD-TV FOX 40 News • July 24, 2026 • 10:54 PM Chapel Ridge continues to deteriorate, months after judge directs property to be secured, boarded up Board of Supervisors to act. It also prompted the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to send a notice of violation to

Mississippi The Clarion-Ledger • July 23, 2026 • 3:40 PM Changes to federal protections may harm MS wildlife. Here's how very unique tortoise." Longleaf pine forests are found in South Mississippi. They are very sparse forests with grasses that grow below the Northside Sun • July 25, 2026 • 4:07 AM Pascagoula sewage spill plugged but larger fix needed, Jackson County officials say in 2006. Before then, the utility was part of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Regional Wastewater Authority, which was established in 1981. The Sun Herald • July 27, 2026 • 12:14 PM It isn’t just the Mississippi Coast’s biggest cities that are growing the city secured a $1.764 million grant from the Gulf Coast Restoration Fund for the design phase of the Cowart Street Improvements Project, WLBT-TV • July 27, 2026 • 3:34 PM Ridgeland conference center and hotel project moves forward, city officials say City of Ridgeland officials say plans are moving forward on a new conference center. WCBI-TV • July 24, 2026 • 10:09 PM MSU scientist recognized internationally for wood engineering research WTOK-TV • July 27, 2026 • 3:48 PM Vancleave man loses leg to Vibrio infection after Fourth of July fishing trip Man speaks out on 70th birthday, urges public awareness of bacteria risk in coastal waters. SuperTalk Mississippi Media • July 23, 2026 • 8:14 PM USDA to purchase $20 million in catfish, benefiting Mississippi catfish producers WTVA-TV • July 27, 2026 • 3:38 PM Golden Triangle Regional Airport completes $12M expansion Airport and local officials said the expansion is aimed at modernizing the facility and increasing economic growth in north Mississippi. WAPT-TV • July 27, 2026 • 3:28 PM Mississippi Wildlife Extravaganza brings outdoor lovers together WCBI-TV • July 24, 2026 • 9:04 PM MSU biologists win prestigious NSF CAREER awards to explore genetic errors, invasive species SuperTalk Mississippi Media • July 24, 2026 • 2:55 PM Mississippi to open fifth grant cycle for Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund with $15 million available SuperTalk Mississippi Media • July 24, 2026 • 10:09 PM Mississippi Aquarium to host ‘Shark Weekend’ ahead of Discovery’s ‘Shark Week’ WXXV-TV • July 27, 2026 • 3:35 PM Growth seen throughout the City of D’Iberville - WXXV News 25 D’Iberville has grown faster than any other city on the Mississippi Gulf Coast since 2010. City leaders say they are investing millions in roads and utilities to keep that growth from outpacing the city’s infrastructure. Justin Glowacki with the Roy Howard Community Journalism Ce WXXV-TV • July 25, 2026 • 2:00 PM Major improvements completed at Long Beach harbor WXXV-TV • July 24, 2026 • 6:00 PM Construction underway on improvement project in Downtown Pascagoula

Regional The Cool Down • July 24, 2026 • 4:06 PM Florida dumped 500,000 tons of old shells into the Gulf, and sandy seafloors came alive have declined because of overharvesting or disasters such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Shell-recycling efforts at seafood businesses Pensacola News Journal • July 27, 2026 • 10:03 AM Pensacola's curbside recycling hits signup and contamination targets across recycling programs in Florida, and the national average, according to the Recycling Partnership, is between 17% and 25%,” Reeves said Saving Seafood • July 24, 2026 • 6:07 AM Deep Diving and Innovation to Restore the Gulf’s Mesophotic Corals to the Gulf’s food web. In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill injured extensive areas of this delicate environment. Today, scientists WLOX-TV • July 27, 2026 • 4:02 AM Congress Holds Roundtable with topics on Bonnet Carré Spillway Impacts to Mississippi Sound Congress Holds Roundtable with topics on Bonnet Carré Spillway Impacts to Mississippi Sound WXXV-TV • July 27, 2026 • 12:00 AM Congressional Roundtable set for Tuesday to discuss Mississippi Sound issues are coming to the Coast Tuesday to discuss water issues impacting South Mississippi. At Congressman Mike Ezell’s invitation, the House

National Associated Press • July 27, 2026 • 2:00 AM As Indonesia cuts methane emissions, life atop a mountain of garbage begins to change the new policy will eventually create safer formal jobs in recycling and composting. “Today they are practically racing against our North Carolina Health News • July 25, 2026 • 9:00 AM State budget eliminates Office of Environmental Education access to these resources. “In the late ’90s, when the fish kills happened on the Neuse River, the staff got an appropriation to do an Pasadena Now • July 27, 2026 • 12:34 PM Pasadena’s Tetra Tech Wins $49 Million Army Corps Contract for Southeastern Water Infrastructure The five-year deal covers flood management, navigation, and coastal restoration from Alabama to South America North Dakota Monitor • July 27, 2026 • 2:40 PM Proposed North Dakota pig iron plant to turn Minnesota mine waste into steel, a first for US monitored regularly, Rockeman said. The department’s Division of Solid Waste also will evaluate the project, Rockeman said. Both reviews The Philadelphia Inquirer • July 27, 2026 • 10:02 AM Is building a data center on a Superfund site safe? Construction has started on one in Chester County. the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Priorities List, an inventory of the nation’s most serious hazardous waste sites. As of KVLY-TV • July 27, 2026 • 10:32 AM 212 Fish Kill Reports and Counting: Minnesota DNR Warns of Deadly Summer for State’s Fish Otter Tail Lake in Otter Tail County. This is the second wave of fish kills this summer. The first hit Twin Cities area lakes in June after Sun Herald • July 26, 2026 • 10:06 AM U.S. military bases delay cleanup of toxic "forever chemicals" we're doing it at Biddle," said William Myer, Biddle's environmental restoration program manager, at a public meeting held July 16. "We're Apple Academic Press • July 24, 2026 • 6:38 AM Microplastics in Wastewater were initially recognized in marine ecosystems, recent research has demonstrated that wastewater is a major conduit for their entry into World Today Journal • July 27, 2026 • 8:50 AM How Nature’s Sights and Sounds Boost Mental Health and Reduce Stress and other things in nature. Future Directions in Environmental Restoration Research As academic inquiry into environmental psychology