New federal funding will help bolster Mississippi's efforts to track down, clean up and tackle pollution from orphaned oil and gas wells.
The Department of the Interior recently allocated $37 million in initial formula grants from President Joe Biden's Investing in America agenda to Kentucky, Mississippi and Missouri to address legacy pollution.
Jess New, executive director of the Mississippi Oil and Gas Board, said the state will continue plugging and repairing orphaned well sites with every dollar provided through Phase Two of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
"We were just awarded another $6.8 million through the formula grant phase," New pointed out. "With those funds, we are in the process now of actively locating, identifying and characterizing orphan well sites, orphan well project sites that we will move to plug and remediate and restore."
New noted Mississippi received an initial $5 million grant to plug and remediate wells last year. More than 41 projects, including plugging operations at 15 well sites and surface restoration efforts at 26 others, were completed.
New stressed the funding will also open new employment opportunities for Mississippians.
"What this orphan program also does, it enables us to put contractors to work in the field plugging and remediating these sites," New explained. "As we continue to add project sites to our orphan well list, we will certainly be hiring third-party contractors to plug and remediate those sites."
New emphasized the importance of plugging orphan oil and gas wells as it reduces methane emissions and protects and safeguards groundwater and surface water from potential contamination.
"The abandoned and orphaned infrastructure has been out there for a long period of time," New acknowledged. "It's a safety hazard. And so by us going out there and removing the infrastructure, and just the salvage that might be on site, we are also getting, we're removing a potentially very unsafe hazard on these sites."
New emphasized the board's focus for the next five years will be to identify and address orphan wells as part of its strategic plan. He added they will also continue to regulate the industry and promote exploration and production daily.
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In celebration of Pollinators Month, Charlotte is using its Bee City USA designation to emphasize the crucial role pollinators play in our ecosystem.
Partnering with local beekeepers, the city is working to educate the community, enhance habitats and reduce pesticide use.
Victoria Aguilar, assistant city arborist for the City of Charlotte, noted while supporting pollinators is simple, many people are unaware of their importance to everyday life.
"One out of every three bites of food that we eat is pollinated by an insect," Aguilar pointed out. "So you think about all the vegetables that you eat, most of those need insects in order to pollinate in order to create that fruit."
They also aid in plant reproduction and diversity, and include not just bees but also ants, butterflies and hummingbirds.
Charlotte's efforts are part of the Keep Charlotte Beautiful program, with staff and community partners advancing Bee City USA commitments. The committee includes members from the Wildlife Federation and CleanAIRE NC.
Charlotte's celebration includes several events this week. Tonight is Moth Night, and residents can explore nocturnal wildlife with naturalist Lenny Lampel. Tomorrow is Summer Wedding Days, where volunteers can help maintain pollinator-friendly gardens at local schools. Friday evening, a Movie Night will feature a wildlife film, offering more education about pollinators.
In addition to education, Aguilar stressed anyone can contribute to pollinator conservation by creating a space for pollinators.
"There are a lot of native plants that you could use if you want shrubs that you can prune into a nice formal sphere but that also have benefits to the native pollinators, the native insects here," Aguilar suggested. "Or you can go with a meadow where you throw out a wildflower mixed with seeds and see what comes up."
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Some Tennessee school districts are among 41 in the Southeast receiving funding from the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean School Bus rebate program.
Created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the program invests $5 billion through 2026 to replace older, diesel school buses with cleaner alternatives.
Dory Larsen, senior electric transportation program manager at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said the rebate program transforms how school districts transport the state's most precious residents.
"In the United States, transportation and electricity generation are the leading sources of both unhealthy air and also pollutants that cause climate change," Larsen pointed out. "This amount of funding coming to Tennessee is $12 million, coming to several school districts to bring 37 electric school buses."
Larsen noted eight districts got EPA funding to order their electric school buses and charging infrastructure, which is crucial for under-resourced districts. The buses are set to roll out for the 2025 school year. Across the Southeast, more than 300 electric buses will be deployed, part of 3,400 nationwide.
Larsen emphasized kids who ride electric buses to school are getting a healthier trip, since the buses are zero-emission and do not have a tailpipe.
"We know that diesel exhaust exposes children to dangerous pollution that can impact their developing lungs, their well-being," Larsen explained. "Studies have shown that it impacts school attendance and even academic performance."
Larsen added electric school buses have less than half the greenhouse gas emissions of diesel or propane-burning buses, which helps lower the risk of a warming planet.
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Farm producers and landowners have until the end of this week to apply for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency's Grasslands Conservation Reserve Program.
More than 2 million acres of Nebraska land are enrolled in one of three CRP programs. Nearly three-fourths of it in Grassland, which is unique among the CRP programs since the land is allowed to remain productive through grazing or haying.
Zach Ducheneaux, administrator of the Farm Service Agency, called the program "the essence" of the USDA's working lands conservation initiative. He said grazing on CRP land often involves more "hands on" practices.
"That are really aimed at enhancing soil health through the use of livestock in a way that will eventually lead to increased productivity, and producers will see more biodiversity," Ducheneaux explained. "They'll end up seeing better production from the land for their livestock."
Since 1985, landowners have voluntarily taken acres out of production through the Conservation Reserve Programs. They receive a rental payment in return, currently a minimum of around $13 an acre. Environmental benefits include preserving and enhancing the soil, promoting carbon sequestration and protecting wildlife habitat and diversity.
The deadline for 2024 applications is June 28.
Nebraska landowners added more than 400,000 new acres to the program last year, second only to Colorado.
Ducheneaux noted most land suitable for grazing is appropriate for the program, but it must meet an "environmental benefit index" threshold to be accepted. In addition to the rental payment, landowners can receive financial assistance to improve their land.
"They have access to cost-share dollars that can help them do infrastructure development that maybe makes that land a little more productive," Ducheneaux outlined. "Better fencing, pollinator habitat, perhaps water development, if it's needed."
Ducheneaux stressed a great deal of thought goes into the environmental impact of land use; for example, if a landowner plans to use it for haying.
"Since it's a mechanical harvesting in most cases, it can create a vulnerability in some of the bird habitat," Ducheneaux pointed out. "We try to encourage the haying to happen in a certain way, or after the nesting season, which is set on a state level."
Program enrollment has grown considerably during the Biden-Harris administration, which considers it a major tool for countering the effects of climate change.
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