SEPTEMBER 30, 2023 - STIPULATED ORDER ON SEWER SYSTEM (CWA CASE)
On September 29, 2023, the United States and State of Mississippi moved for entry of a Stipulated Order in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. The Stipulated Order places the operation of the City?s sewer system under the temporary control of an Interim Third-Party Manager and is intended to put the City on a pathway to compliance with the federal Clean Water Act and the Mississippi Air and Water Pollution Control Law. On September 30, 2023, the judge entered the Stipulated Order.
On March 1, 2013, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi entered a comprehensive Clean Water Act settlement (consent decree) with the City of Jackson, MS. Jackson has agreed to make improvements to its sewer systems to eliminate unauthorized overflows of untreated raw sewage and unauthorized bypasses of treatment at the Savanna Street Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), the City?s largest WWTP. When wastewater systems overflow, they can release untreated sewage and other pollutants into local waterways, threatening water quality and contributing to beach closures and disease outbreaks.
The consent decree requires Jackson to implement specific programs designed to ensure proper management, operations and maintenance of its sewer systems. In order to address the problems of wet weather overflows of raw sewage from the sewer lines, Jackson will develop and implement