Washington DC -May 19- NOAA has extended the boundaries of the closed fishing area in the Gulf of Mexico into the northern portion of the loop current as a precautionary measure to ensure that seafood from the Gulf will remain safe for consumers.

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Washington DC -May 18- The U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced they have authorized BP to use dispersants underwater, at the source of the Deepwater Horizon leak. Oil spill dispersants are chemicals that attempt to break down the oil into small drops and prevent it from reaching the surface or the U.S. shoreline.

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Washington DC –May 17- In conjunction with the announcement today that the Department of the Interior and the Council on Environmental Quality will review the Minerals Management Service’s (MMS) procedures under the National Environmental Policy Act, Interior will also review the process through which offshore oil and gas operations are reviewed under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

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Washington DC -May 11- Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr., (NJ-06), Senator Robert Menendez, along with Senator Frank Lautenberg, and representatives John Sarbanes (MD-03), Albio Sires (NJ-13), Rush Holt (NJ-12), Steven Rothman (NJ-09), Donald Payne (NJ-06) and Elijah Cummings (MD-07) Monday sent a letter requesting Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell withdraw support for Big Oil and any offshore drilling in the state.

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Washington DC -May 11- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced funding to help clean up the Great Lakes as part of the Administration’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will provide financial and technical resources to 8 states to improve water quality in the region.

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Washington DC -May 11- The Deepwater Horizon explosion and BP oil spill presents us with challenges on a number of fronts – from capping the flow at the well head and containing the spill on the ocean’s surface, to controlling the impact of the oil on the coastal shoreline and on the precious wetlands and fisheries in the area.

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Washington DC -May 10- Trustees for the Hudson River dredging project today announced their support for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plans to remove PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) from the river.

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Washington DC -April 19- JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that the mayor and public works superintendent in Stover, Mo., were indicted by a federal grand jury today on charges related to violating the Safe Drinking Water Act.

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Washington DC - April 14 - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) reported that three months of analysis by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has yielded no new evidence that Asian carp have bypassed the electric barrier in the Chicago Ship and Sanity Canal.

To read the entire report, CLICK HERE

Washington DC - April 12 - The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) has voted to conduct full five-year (”sunset”) reviews concerning the antidumping duty orders on frozen warmwater shrimp from Brazil, China, India, Thailand, and Vietnam.

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Washington DC - March 30 - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is working with state health officials from Mississippi and Louisiana to notify consumers, food service operators and retailers nationwide about an outbreak of norovirus associated with oysters recently harvested from an area near Port Sulphur, La.

To read the entire report, CLICK HERE

Washington DC - March 30 - Field crews from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (DNR), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers intensively sampled throughout the entire Chicago Area Waterway System and no Asian carp were observed or collected.

To read the entire report, CLICK HERE

Washington DC - March 19 - A proposal to protect Atlantic bluefin tuna under Appendix I of CITES, sponsored by the Principality of Monaco, and strongly supported by the United States,was not adopted by the Parties.

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Washington DC - March 2 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack launched USDA’s Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers Program to help American agricultural producers adjust to the current, challenging economic environment.

To read the entire report, CLICK HERE

Washington DC - February 25 - Scientists from the NOAA-funded Gulf of Maine Toxicity project issued an outlook for a significant regional bloom of a toxic alga that causes ‘red tides’ in the spring and summer of this year, potentially threatening the New England shellfish industry.

To read the entire report, CLICK HERE