Mississippi Business Journal » ecosystem

EPA looking to minimize chemical releases during hurricanes

MBJ Staff — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:00:23 +0000

GULF OF MEXICO — As hurricane season approaches, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a Hazardous Weather Release Prevention and Reporting alert to remind facility operators of certain regulations that require minimization of chemical releases during process shutdown operations. This alert is designed to increase awareness among facility operators about their obligation to [...]

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Bill exempting small farms from fuel storage regs passes Senate

MBJ Staff — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:11:26 +0000

WASHINGTON — Legislation to exempt small farms from Environmental Protection Agency fuel storage requirements has been incorporated into the Senate-passed Water Resources Development Act of 2013 (WRDA), according to a release from U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.). The Senate passed WRDA legislation (S.601), and with it also approved all the provisions included in the Farmers [...]

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Hatchery releases largemouth bass fingerlings in three rivers

MBJ Staff — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:07:11 +0000

SOUTH MISSISSIPPI — The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MDMR) Lyman Fish Hatchery has released 49,592 Florida largemouth bass fingerlings in the Pascagoula, Tchoutacabouffa and Jordan rivers. The fish have a fast growth rate, growing up to three pounds a year and reaching weights of well over 10 pounds. “This release is a benefit to [...]

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County, association want to dredge Rotten Bayou oxbow

MBJ Staff — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:04:56 +0000

DIAMONDHEAD — The Hancock County Board of Supervisors and Diamondhead Property Owners Association have filed an application for a wetlands permit with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MDMR) requesting authorization to excavate and dredge accreted sediment in Devil’s Elbow, an oxbow of Rotten Bayou, in Diamondhead. Accelerated sedimentation, due to a lack of upland [...]

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Hearing to be held on proposed deepening of port channel

Associated Press — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:38:26 +0000

GULFPORT — A public hearing is scheduled for tomorrow on the state port’s proposal to study deepening the ship channel to as much as 47 feet. The port has asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study the feasibility of a deeper ship channel as part of an ongoing environmental assessment of port expansion. [...]

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Real estate company paying $1M for compromising wetlands

Associated Press — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:48:58 +0000

HANCOCK COUNTY — A Mississippi corporation has pleaded guilty to illegally filling wetlands near Bay St. Louis. Hancock County Land, LLC entered the plea yesterday and agreed to pay a $1-million fine and take remedial measures for two felony violations of the Clean Water Act., said U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis and Assistant U.S. Attorney [...]

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Senator: Is federal bioenergy program undercutting foresters?

MBJ Staff — Mon, 13 May 2013 11:30:33 +0000

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) is questioning whether a U.S. Department of Agriculture bio-based marketing program amounts to a bias against traditional forest products and whether such policies are fair. Cochran broached the topic at a Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee hearing to review the FY2014 budget request for the USDA. The USDA BioPreferred [...]

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Foodservice company draws MDEQ fine for wastewater

Associated Press — Sun, 12 May 2013 20:22:04 +0000

PEARL — A foodservice company is paying an $18,000 civil fine for dumping wastewater into Jackson’s sewer system for 11 years without a permit. Valley Services agreed in March to pay the fine to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. An order published by the department says the company’s Pearl facility has been discharging wastewater [...]

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Governor unveils Coast projects funded by BP money

Associated Press — Thu, 02 May 2013 23:52:49 +0000

MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST — BP PLC is paying $69 million for interactive exhibits at a Hancock County science center, a concrete pathway on the beach at Pascagoula, up to six miles of shoreline and improvements at a park as part of Mississippi Gulf Coast restoration from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Gov. Phil Bryant said. [...]

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MSU study: Residents willing to pay for coastal restoration

Associated Press — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:42:40 +0000

GULF COAST — A new survey Mississippi State University finds more than 60 percent of Americans are willing to pay to restore Louisiana’s rapidly eroding Barataria-Terrebonne estuary. The Courier reports the survey found that respondents were willing to pay between $909 and $1,751 per household for coastal restoration projects. Added up, that could generate between [...]

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