JACKSON, Miss. (AP) 鈥� The independent manager working to fix the will also be assigned to oversee repairs to the city鈥檚 deteriorating sewer system, under an order filed Wednesday.
Officials from the U.S. Justice Department, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and the city of Jackson all agreed to give the extra duties to Ted Henifin.
Henifin had decades of experience running water systems in other states before U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate appointed him late last year to run the Jackson system.
Wingate had that he was considering putting Henifin in charge of the sewer system, as well.
Todd Kim, assistant attorney general in the Justice Department鈥檚 Environment and Natural Resources Division, said in a statement Wednesday that the new agreement will lead to faster steps to improve problems, including 鈥渟ewage discharges that threaten public health and the environment.鈥�
鈥淭his action shows the continuing commitment of the Justice Department to seek justice, health and safety for the residents of Jackson, Mississippi, and to prioritize enforcement in the communities most burdened by environmental harm,鈥� Kim said.
Jackson has for decades. The in the water system after many of the city's 150,000 residents and many businesses were left without running water last August and September after heavy rains exacerbated problems at a water treatment plant. in Jackson as some businesses were temporarily forced to close for lack of safe drinking water.
Henifin told Wingate during a hearing in June that Jackson's water is safe to drink, but that instilling public confidence in the system is a challenge. Crews have been repairing broken water lines.
Jackson also has longstanding problems with its sewer system. The city a consent decree in 2012 with the EPA to prevent the overflow of raw sewage and bring the city into compliance with the Clean Water Act. Reports required by the consent decree more than 4 billion gallons of untreated or partially treated wastewater were dumped into the Pearl River between March 2020 and February 2022.
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This story was first published on July 26, 2023. It was updated July 27, 2023 to correct that the order appointing an independent manager to oversee repairs was filed in federal court, but the judge did not sign it when it was filed.
Emily Wagster Pettus, The Associated Press
