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(AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN)
State 'Ag-Gag' Laws Spreading, Protect Misdeeds from Scrutiny
While a Tennessee governor vetoed "ag-gag" legislation in that state, bills criminalizing the collection of information about abuses in livestock operations are still being pushed in other states — and the mechanism may be extended to stifle reporting on other environmental abuses.
"Study: N.C. Too Slow To Warn About Yadkin Fish Contamination"
"RALEIGH — Fish in one of North Carolina’s largest watersheds are more polluted by an industrial contaminant than previously reported, and state health officials have failed to expand warnings against eating PCB-contaminated fish, according to a new study."
"Arkansas Residents Sick From Exxon Oil Spill Are on Their Own"
"The Arkansas Department of Health says people with dizziness, nausea and headaches have the option to leave, and it is their personal choice."
BP's $340 Million To Restore 4 Barrier Islands, Build 2 Fisheries Labs
"Louisiana will receive $340 million from BP in early Natural Resource Damage Assessment money for four projects to restore barrier islands and to finance two coastal science centers, Gov. Bobby Jindal announced Tuesday in a news conference in Jean Lafitte. The money comes from $1 billion that BP set aside in 2011 to build early projects to compensate for damages to natural resources resulting from the three-month flow of oil resulting from the blowout of BP's Macondo well in April 2010."
"No Trace Left of Three Types of Butterflies Native To South Florida"
"After six years of searching, an entomologist has concluded that three varieties of butterflies native to south Florida have become extinct, nearly doubling the number of North American butterflies known to be gone."
""These are unique butterflies to Florida. This is our biological treasure. Each unique species that we lose, we won't ever get that back again," Marc Minno, who conducted the survey for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District, told Reuters on Monday.
"Three Injured in Fuel Barge Explosion In Mobile River"
"MOBILE, Alabama -- Three people were hurt in a fuel barge explosion on the east side of Mobile River on Wednesday night, Mobile Fire-Rescue reported.
Ark. Oil Spill Probe Falls to Understaffed Agency With Industry Ties
"Underfunded agency faces the challenge of finding answers to key questions: When did Exxon's pipeline rupture and when did the company learn of the spill?"
"Pinellas Beginning To Assess Risks of Sea-Level Rise"
"CLEARWATER -- Despite warnings from scientists, rising sea levels still seem little more than a distant, imperceptible threat, a phenomenon whose change is measured in centimeters over decades."