VICKSBURG, Mississippi, May 20 -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Vicksburg District issued the following news release: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Vicksburg District entered into Project Partnership Agreement (PPA) with the City of McComb, Mississippi, May 19 as part of the Mississippi Environmental Infrastructure Program (Section 592). The City of McComb's sanitary sewer and utility improvements will be rehabilitated at a cost of $1 million. The project will include the design and con  more

ROCK ISLAND, Illinois, May 18 -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Rock Island District issued the following news release: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, has released the Lock and Dam 22 Fish Passage Improvement Project Implementation Report with Integrated Supplemental Environmental Assessment and is seeking public review through June 19. A digital copy of the report and a video presentation about the project are available online at: https://www.mvr.usace.army.mil/Miss  more

ST. PAUL, Minnesota, May 22 -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-St. Paul District issued the following news release: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, recently awarded a $2.4 million contract to Water Works Dock & Boat Lifts, Inc. of Stoddard, Wisconsin, to repair a Mississippi River habitat restoration project approximately 40 miles south of La Crosse, Wisconsin, that was damaged by recent flooding events. Consecutive years of high water, including record flows in 2019, res  more

WASHINGTON, May 21 -- Sen. Bill Hagerty, D-Tennessee, issued the following news release on May 20, 2021: United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, today thanked Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg for sending Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) personnel to Memphis to help with the I-40 bridge situation and for his cooperation in working to repair and reopen the major thoroughfare for people across the Mid-South. Deployment of the FHWA team c  more

WASHINGTON, May 13 -- The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, House and Urban Development and Related Agencies issued the following statement by Rep. Jim Hagedorn, R-Minnesota, as part of a virtual member's day hearing on transportation infrastructure: * * * Minnesota's First Congressional District * Twenty-one county district which spans from South Dakota to Wisconsin along the Iowa border. * A mostly rural district consisting of several major highway networks, internationa  more

WASHINGTON, May 13 -- The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change issued the following testimony by Earthjustice Staff Attorney Amanda Goodin as part of a virtual hearing entitled "The Climate Leadership and Environmental Action for our Nation's Future Act: Superfund Proposals to Advance Cleanups, Equity, and Climate Resilience": * * * My name is Amanda Goodin, and I am a Staff Attorney at Earthjustice, the nation's oldest and largest non-profit environmental l  more

WASHINGTON, May 13 -- The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources issued the following testimony by Cynthia Sarthou, executive director of Healthy Gulf, as part of a remote hearing entitled "Protecting Coastal Communities and Ocean Resources from Offshore Drilling": * * * I am Cynthia Sarthou, Executive Director of Healthy Gulf. Healthy Gulf is a nonprofit organization that has been working with communities on threats to the Gulf of Mexico's natural resources since  more

LONDON, England, May 21 (TNSPar) -- The World Resources Institute issued the following news release on May 20, 2021: HSBC, in partnership with World Resources Institute (WRI) and WWF, today unveils their Climate Solutions Partnership to unlock barriers to finance for companies and projects that tackle climate change. The partnership's three workstreams focus on start-up firms developing carbon-cutting technologies, projects that protect and restore biodiversity, and initiatives to help transiti  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, May 20 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news on May 19, 2021: Gov. John Bel Edwards today announced three large scale coastal restoration projects are now under construction to restore more than 2,900 acres of beach, dune, marsh and ridge in four parishes in Southeast Louisiana. The Spanish Pass marsh restoration near the town of Venice, the West Grand Terre barrier island restoration near Grand Isle, and the Golden Triangle marsh restoration e  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, May 21 (TNSJou) -- Louisiana State University issued the following news release: Oysters live and grow in saltwater. However, the saltiness of their habitat can change dramatically, especially where the mighty Mississippi River flows into the Gulf of Mexico. Louisiana oysters from the northern Gulf of Mexico may experience some of the lowest salinity in the world due to the influx of fresh water from the Mississippi River. In addition, increased rainfall and large-scale   more

ARLINGTON, Virginia, May 19 (TNSOps) -- The Nature Conservancy issued the following news release on May 18, 2021: The Nature Conservancy's (TNC) Gulf of Mexico Program today released its recommendations for ongoing Gulf of Mexico restoration--Our Future Gulf 2.0. This document is an update of The Conservancy's recommendations for actions to advance restoration of the Gulf of Mexico. First published in 2016, Our Future Gulf (OFG) is based on the extensive experience of TNC's staff and volunteers  more

WASHINGTON, May 21 -- Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Missouri, issued the following column: With thousands of miles of shoreline along the Lake of the Ozarks, Mississippi River, Missouri River, and Osage River, Missouri's Third District has seen more than our fair share of flooding over the years. We are at Mother Nature's mercy with the amount of rain and snow we receive, but making sure our area is well-equipped with the necessary resources to handle flooding is always at the top of my priority l  more

WASHINGTON, May 21 -- Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Missouri, issued the following news release on May 20, 2021: Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-03) reintroduced four bills to provide commonsense reforms to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). "With thousands of miles of shoreline along the Lake of the Ozarks, Mississippi River, Missouri River, and Osage River, Missouri's Third District has seen more than our fair share of flooding over the years. We are at Mother Nature's mercy with t  more

WASHINGTON, May 18 -- Sen. Bill Hagerty, D-Tennessee, issued the following news release on May 16, 2021: United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) today sent a letter to President Joe Biden expressing frustration with his Administration's handling of the closure of the Interstate 40 bridge in Memphis, which has been closed since Tuesday, and calling on President Biden to convene the White House's National Economic Council immediately to ensure maximum coordination across federal agencies and th  more

WASHINGTON, May 19 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement on May 18, 2021, at a hearing on infrastructure financing: * * * These days you'd have trouble getting members of Congress to agree on the proper way to butter toast, but just about everybody agrees on upgrading America's infrastructure. The sorry state of our infrastructure is a danger to individuals, for example, you cannot cross the Mississippi River on a bridge that's cr  more