Prepared By Brunini, Grantham, Grower & Hewes, PLLC
The Mississippi Environmental Quality Permit Board (“Board”) convened at 9:00 a.m. on June 8, 2021. This meeting was held through a telephone conference call and the public was invited to listen to the deliberations of the Board. The Board first approved minutes from the previous meeting held on May 11, 2021 and the non-controversial actions/certifications completed by the staff since the February meeting. Then, following a prepared agenda, the Board considered items as follows:
OFFICE OF GEOLOGY
Ron Porter (MDEQ Office of Geology, Mining and Reclamation) presented the MDEQ Staff’s recommendations and Board approved the following:
Surface Mining Bond Release
| Permittee | County | Permit | Staff Recommendation |
| Berg-Cowan Development, LLC | Rankin | P15-009 | Final 90% |
| Berg-Cowan Development, LLC | Rankin | P18-001 | Final 90% |
| Krystal Gravel | Copiah | P87-040T2 | Final 70% |
Waste Division/Solid Waste Permitting Branch & Environmental Permits Division
Air II Branch; Water II Branch; and 401/Stormwater Branch
NCL Waste LLC, North County Line Landfill (“NCL”) – Madison County
Consideration of Denial of:
Solid Waste Mgmt. Permit (SW0450010579
Air Permit to Construct (1720-00088)
NPDES Storm Water Permit (MSS062332)
Waste Water Pretreatment Permit (MSP092399)
401 Water Quality Certification (WQC20180029)
(Items presented jointly between the Waste Division and Environmental Permits Division
MDEQ staff provided a brief history of the permit applications and then discussed Amended Miss. Code Ann. §17-17-227 and 229 and newly codified Miss. Code Ann. §17-17-237 as passed during the Mississippi Legislature’s 2021 Session. Based on the newly passed legislation, MDEQ staff recommended denial of the permit applications. Two members of the public spoke against the permit applications. No representatives for NCL appeared at the meeting; however, it was noted that the Board received a written request for additional time to respond. After some discussion, the Board denied the permit applications by a unanimous vote of all Permit Board members present.
Election of Officers – Chair and Vice-Chair (effective July 1, 2021 to June 20, 2022)
Mr. Furrh MDEQ Chief Counsel noted that is customary that officers rotate among the different state departments which the Board members represent. He further went to say that Les Herrington is currently in the rotation to become Chair for this coming election. He thanked outgoing Board Chair Jennifer Whitman for her service for this last year. New officers will take office effective as of the July meeting to coincide with the State of Mississippi’s fiscal year. Les Herrington was elected as Chairman and David Snodgrass was elected Vice-Chair.
Other Business
Roy Furrh, stated that Permit Board meetings will move back to face-to-face meetings in the near future. Chairman, Jennifer Whittmann offered to host future Board meetings on the Coast.
The next Permit Board meeting will be held on July 13, 2021, at 9 a.m.
This Newsletter is a publication of the Environmental Practice Group 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.
If you have any questions concerning the content of a newsletter, or if you would like further information about the matters addressed in a newsletter, please contact John Milner, the Brunini Firm Environmental Practice Group leader, at jmilner@brunini.com or (601) 960-6842.