The Midwestern Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2008 is intended to assist with the recovery from the severe weather that affected the Midwest during the summer of 2008. The Jobs, Energy, Families, and Disaster Relief Act of 2008 includes some similar provisions, but these are not limited to the Midwest disaster. The disaster relief in the three bills is similar to that provided to assist with the recovery from the 2005 hurricanes and the 2007 Kansas tornadoes. This report broadly discusses the disaster relief provisions in other relevant legislation.

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Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) are known to be produced as a byproduct of hydrocarbon production in Mississippi. The presence of NORM has resulted in financial losses to the industry and continues to be a liability as the NORM-enriched scales and scale encrusted equipment is typically stored rather than disposed of. Although the NORM problem is well known, there is little publically available data characterizing the hazard. This investigation has produced base line data to fill this informational gap. A total of 329 NORM-related samples were collected with 275 of these samples consisting of brine samples. The samples were derived from 37 oil and gas reservoirs from all major producing areas of the state. The analyses of these data indicate that two isotopes of radium ({sup 226}Ra and {sup 228}Ra) are the ultimate source of the radiation. The radium contained in these co-produced brines is low and so the radiation hazard posed by the brines is also low. Existing regulations dictate the manner in which these salt-enriched brines may be disposed of and proper implementation of the rules will also protect the environment from the brine radiation hazard. Geostatistical analyses of the brine components suggest relationships between the concentrations of …

This Final Synthesis Report summarizes a four-year program to characterize and monitor carbonate mounds on the Mississippi/Alabama outer continental shelf.