Prepared By Brunini, Grantham, Grower & Hewes, PLLC
The Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality convened at 9:00 a.m. on April 25, at the offices of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality in Jackson. Vice-Chair Chat Phillips chaired the meeting in Martha Dalrymple’s absence. Minutes from the last meeting held in February 2013 were approved. Following a prepared agenda, items considered were as follows:
BROWNFIELD COMPLETION
On November 21, 2002, the Commission reached a Brownfield Agreement (#4511-02) with Wolverine Tube, Inc. for the remediation of the former Wolverine Tube site in Greenville, Mississippi. On January 30, 2013, Wolverine Tube, Inc. sent a petition to the Commission to make a determination as to the completion of the Brownfield Agreement and as to the issuance of a “no further action” letter by the Executive Director. Following MDEQ’s review of the petition and the required site inspection, the staff determined that Wolverine Tube, Inc. has completed in accordance with the regulations Brownfield Agreement #4511-02. Per the staff’s recommendation, the Commission voted that the Notice of Brownfield Agreement Site be cancelled.
IMMEDIATE RESPONSE ACTION CONTRACTORS
The Commission approved the following as Immediate Response Action Contractors:
(1) SCS Environmental Group, LLC, 114 Bailey Drive, Olive Branch, MS 38654
(2) Singley Construction Co., Inc., 1001 Highway 13 South, Columbia, MS 39429
(3) Walker-Hill Environmental, Inc., 4 South Poplar St., Foxworth, MS 39483
(4) Waste Oil Collectors, Inc., 4001 Old Spanish Trail, Gautier, MS 39553
(5) Performance Oil Equipment, Inc., 920 E. McDowell Road, Jackson, MS 39204
(6) Complete Environmental & Remediation Co., LLC, 37 David Swan Lane, Purvis, MS 39475
(7) Prewett Enterprises, Inc. (dba B&P), 6230 Stateline Rd., Walls, MS 38680
SERENITY LANE (PEARL RIVER COUNTY)
Serenity Lane residents previously requested an evidentiary hearing before the Commission to seek to direct Fort James Corporation to remediate an alleged old dump purportedly caused by Fort James’ predecessor and located in the Serenity Lane Subdivision. MDEQ reviewed the information submitted by Serenity Lane residents and Fort James Corporation and determined in a “no further action” letter that it did not intend to take further action pertaining to the site (MDEQ routinely conducts investigations for the Commission as it serves as staff for the Commission). On October 8, 2012, Chuck Rubisoff, a Special Assistant Attorney General with the Attorney General’s Office, presided over a telephonic hearing to determine whether jurisdiction exists to conduct a Commission hearing related to Serenity Lane residents’ request for an evidentiary hearing. Rubisoff reported to the Commission that he determined that it was at the Commission’s discretion whether an evidentiary hearing should be granted to Serenity Lane residents. The Board voted to adopt Rubisoff’s recommendation to grant the evidentiary hearing and to appoint a hearing officer for the evidentiary hearing.
RENUMBERED AND REFORMATTED COMMISSION AND PERMIT BOARD REGULATIONS WITH STATUTORY AUTHORITIES PURSUANT TO THE ADMINSTRATIVE PROCEDURES ACT
The amended Administrative Procedures Act (APA) requires a statewide administrative code and designates the Secretary of State’s (SOS) office as the official registrar for rules of all state agencies and the publisher of the Mississippi Administrative Bulletin and the Mississippi Administrative Code. The APA amendments specifically require uniform formatting and numbering of all state agency regulations, including the regulations of the Commission and the Mississippi Environmental Quality Permit Board (Permit Board). The APA amendments further require citation to statutory authorities for the regulations. In order to comply with the amended APA, the MDEQ staff is adjusting all of the regulations of the Commission and the Permit Board to be consistent with the SOS’s requirements. Changes to the regulations are not substantive and do not affect content; rather, the changes simply reflect the newly required formatting and numbering and provide recitation of statutory authorities for the regulations. The renumbered regulations are available for public review on MDEQ’s website as of today, April 25, 2013. A public hearing is scheduled for June 4, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. at the MDEQ offices on Amite Street.
CERTIFICATIONS APPROVED
Asbestos: 245 certifications
Lead Paint: 130 certifications
Underground
Storage Tanks: 10 certifications
Wastewater
Operator: 47 certifications
EMERGENCY CLEAN-UP EXPENSES APPROVED
The following three (3) emergency clean-up expenditures occurred since the last report:
United States Environmental Services in the counties of:
Newton, Tishomingo and Hancock.
ADMINISTRATIVE ORDERS APPROVED
Eighteen (18) administrative orders issued by the Executive Director and approved by the Commission included the following matters:
| Program Area |
Number of Orders |
Penalty Range |
|---|---|---|
| Large Construction Storm Water |
1 | $7,500 |
| NPDES | 5 | 0 to $18,000 |
| Solid Waste | 1 | 0 |
| Demolition Operations | 2 | 0 to $3,750 |
| Title V | 1 | $10,500 |
| Other | 3 | 0 to $5,000 |
The remaining six (6) orders were not enforcement-oriented, but rather dealt with the approval of amendments and other routine administrative matters.
The next Commission meeting is scheduled for May 23, 2013.
This Newsletter is a publication of the Environmental Department of the law firm of Brunini, Grantham, Grower & Hewes located in Jackson, Mississippi.
This Newsletter is not designed or intended to provide legal or professional advice, as any such advice requires the consideration of the facts of the specific situation.
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