The Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality convened at 9:00 a.m. on April 22, at the offices of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality in Jackson. Jack Winstead opened the meeting as Chairman. Billy Van DeVender was not in attendance. Minutes from the last meeting held in January were approved. Following a prepared agenda, items considered were as follows:
COMMISSION APPROVAL OF MINE WORKER SAFETY TRAINING FEES
In December 2009, the Commission amended the Mississippi Surface Mining and Reclamation Rules and Regulations (GEO-1), reflecting amendments to the Mississippi Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (Miss. Code Ann. Sections 53-7-1, et seq.). This amendment allows the Commission to assess and collect fees for Mine Worker Safety Training conducted by MDEQ. Federal funds cover 80% of this federally required training. Another 20% has to be obtained through the fee process. The staff presented a proposed fee schedule to cover this 20%. The staff expects to train between 300 and 800 individuals per year, collecting between $200-$500 per person depending on the location of the training sessions. Following some discussion, the Commission approved the fee schedule.
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LIGNITE MINING FEES
The staff requested a Liberty Fuels Company, LLC Lignite Mining Fee in the amount of $12,500 per month for the months of March through June in the state 2010 fiscal year. Although the mine is not presently in operation, the staff reported that it is working on water-related permits and preparing for a mining permit submittal for the approximately 18,200 acre mine for the Liberty Fuels Mine in Kemper and Lauderdale Counties.
The staff further recommended the establishment of a Liberty Fuels Company, LLC Lignite Mining Fee in the amount of $150,000 for the 2011 state fiscal year.
The staff also recommended that Lignite Mining Fee for the 2011 state fiscal year for the Mississippi Lignite Mining Company for the Red Hills in Choctaw County be set at $100,000, a decrease of $50,000 from the previous year. This amount will cover approximately 60% of the anticipated cost of administering the federally-approved coal mining program in Mississippi. The remaining approximately 40% of the cost will be covered by a federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) grant. These fees will cover 100% of the anticipated cost of administering the program above the amount of the federal OSMRE grant. The staff recommended that the Commission delegate the authority to sign the Orders to the Executive Director. The Commission approved all fees and other matters.
FY 2011 – TITLE V FEE REQUIREMENTS
The Public Hearing on the FY-2011 Title V fee was held on February 23, 2010, and no comments were received. The Commission adopted the same fee for FY-2011 as was collected in FY-2010.
APPROVAL OF BROWNFIELD AGREEMENT
The staff provided a brief presentation on the planned construction of the South Delta Interpretive Center in Rolling Fork, Mississippi. The site is identified as a Brownfield site because there is remediation of motor fuel contamination in soil and groundwater at the site near Rolling Fork, on US Highway 61 South in Sharkey County. The motor fuel contamination resulted from years of filling farm equipment from an above ground motor fuel tank and remote dispenser. The site, referred to as the “Mound Plantation Red Barn Site," is subject to an Environmental Covenant pursuant to the Uniform Environmental Covenants Act (UECA), Miss. Code Ann. § 89-23-1, et. seq. (Rev. 2008). The Commission approved the Brownfield Agreement between the Commission and Mound plantation L.P. and the project upon the staff’s recommendation.
APPROVAL OF BROWNFIELD CONSULTING FIRMS
The Commission approved applications from two consulting firms requesting to be listed as Brownfield Consulting Firms:
Brown and Caldwell
501 Great Circle Road, Suite 150
Nashville, Tennessee 37228-1051
P.E. LaMoreaux & Associates, Inc.
1009 A 23rd Avenue
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35401-2332
MADISON COUNTY SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN
MDEQ staff, Mark Williams and Roy Furrh, provided the Commission with a lengthy briefing on the recent ruling of the Hinds County Chancery Court affirming the Commission’s 2005 decision to approve Madison County’s amendment to include the proposed NCL (Bilberry) Municipal Solid Waste Landfill in the Madison County Solid Waste Management Plan. Hinds County has recently appealed the ruling to the Mississippi Supreme Court. In addition, the staff provided an update on the status of the two operating existing landfills, the NCL landfill, and a fourth proposed solid waste management facility on North County Line Road. The presentation by staff was for informational purposes only with no action by the Commission. No comments or statements from audience members were permitted.
GRENADA COUNTY SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN
On July 28, 1994, the Commission approved the Grenada County Solid Waste Management Plan which included plans for a municipal solid waste landfill to be constructed and operated by J. Ryan Inc. at a site off of Highway 7 in Holcomb, MS. The proposed landfill was permitted by MDEQ in February of 1997 but was never constructed. In 2001, J. Ryan Inc. filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Mississippi. Since that time, there have been attempts to acquire the site by other companies for the development of the proposed landfill. In September 2009, the Grenada County Board of Supervisors voted to revise and amend the Grenada County Solid Waste Management Plan to remove the J. Ryan Inc. Landfill from the approved plan. MDEQ staff recommended that the Commission approve the County’s amendment.
A statement in support of the staff’s recommendation and action of the Grenada County Board of Supervisors was made by one of the county supervisors. A statement opposing the recommendation and action of the Board of Supervisors was made by Jack Bobo, an attorney representing SeaLand Waste, who now owns the J. Ryan site. After hearing both statements, the Commission approved the action of the Board of Supervisors based on the staff’s recommendation.
OTHER BUSINESS
Keith Harkins, head of the Office of Administrative Services of MDEQ, was appointed by the Commission to serve as the MDEQ’s representative to the Pearl River Basin Development Authority.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT
Trudy Fisher reported that the agency’s state appropriation for the upcoming fiscal year (FY2011) had been finalized by the legislature. She stated that the agency’s appropriation had been cut 22%, rather than 18% as the Governor had recommended.
Rankin, Smith, Union, Jackson, Hancock, Tunica, Scott, Hinds, Tippah, Pearl River, and Lafayette.
*The Commission approved 18 emergency expenditures incurred since the last report.
Twenty-one administrative orders issued by the Executive Director and approved by the Commission included the following matters:
The remaining nine Orders were not enforcement-oriented, but rather dealt with adoption of regulations, approvals of Solid Waste Management Plan amendments, Brownfield projects, and other routine administrative matters.
The next Commission meeting is scheduled for May 27, 2010 at 9:00 a.m.
