Prepared By Brunini, Grantham, Grower & Hewes, PLLC
The Mississippi Environmental Quality Permit Board convened its regular monthly meeting at 9:00 a.m. on February 12, 2013, at the offices of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality in Jackson. Jan Boyd chaired the meeting attended by all but one Board member. Minutes from the January meeting were approved, as were all non-controversial permits issued by the staff since the last meeting. Following a prepared agenda, items considered were as follows:
OFFICE OF POLLUTION CONTROL
Nicholson Water and Sewer Association (Pearl River County)
Reissuance of NPDES Permit MS0033871
Nicholson Water and Sewer Association applied for the reissuance of its NPDES permit. The domestic wastewater treatment facility includes a three-celled area lagoon where 180,000 gallons of wastewater is treated each day and discharged into the McCall River. A public notice was issued in June 2012, and the MDEQ staff received one letter of concern regarding potential pollution to the McCall River, flooding of the wastewater treatment facility and required buffer zones for the facility. Following an inspection of the facility and a review of the application, the MDEQ staff stated that the permit was technically acceptable for issuance and recommended the Board’s approval. The Board voted to approve the permit.
Mississippi Power Company
Plant Victor J. Daniel, Gypsum Storage Facility
(Jackson County)
Issuance of 401 Water Quality
Certification for construction
& operation of facility WQC2011047
Issuance of Solid Waste
Management Permit SW0300040559
Issuance of Underground
Injection Control Permit MSI1006
The above permits are for an electric-steam generating plant as a portion of the facility’s air pollution control initiatives. A public hearing was held on January 22, 2013 in Jackson County. Representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers, MDEQ and Mississippi Power Company attended the public meeting to address any questions from the public. No one appeared at the meeting to make comments to oppose the proposed permits. However, MDEQ did receive three letters of concern from one individual this past Sunday evening. The MDEQ staff addressed each concern expressed and reported to the Board that the applicant has met all permit application requirements and received clearances from the appropriate state and federal agencies. Following an agreement by the Board and the applicant on minor modifications to monitoring requirements under the permit for the solid waste site, the Board voted to approve all three permits listed above.
OFFICE OF GEOLOGY
Surface Coal Mining Permit Renewal:
Mississippi Lignite Mining Company,
Red Hills Mine (Choctaw County)
MS-002 Renewal 1
Mississippi Lignite Mining Company applied for a five-year term renewal of Surface Coal Mining Permit MS-002 Renewal 1 in Choctaw County, on December 21, 2011. The application was declared administratively complete on October 15, 2012. The application for permit renewal and notice of a public hearing were advertised in the Jackson Clarion Ledger and Choctaw Plaindealer newspapers. The public hearing was held on December 13, 2012, in Ackerman, Choctaw County, Mississippi. Public comments were received during the public hearing and by letter before and after the hearing. The MDEQ staff responded to all comments received. Per the MDEQ’s staff recommendation, the Board voted to approve the permit.
Surface Mining Bond Releases:
Hill Brothers Construction Co., Inc.
Lee P09-023
Eutaw Construction Company, Inc.
Pontotoc P11-021
Eutaw Construction Company, Inc.
Pontotoc P11-022
RaCON, Inc.
Lowndes P10-007
RaCON, Inc.
Lowndes P11-015
RaCON, Inc.
Lowndes P11-025
John E. Hodges
Lee P94-102
Surface Mining Permits to Rescind:
Delta Construction & Land Co., LLC
Hinds P95-088T1
Delta Construction & Land Co., LLC
Hinds P99-060TA
The surface mining bond releases and permits to rescind listed above were approved in accordance with the staff’s recommendation.
The next Permit Board meeting will be held on March 12, 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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