Environmental Groups Threaten to Sue Over Massive Utility Plan

Mississippi is in the middle of a massive plan to help rebuild water and waste water systems devastated by Hurricane Katrina, but some of those projects have environmental threatening lawsuits. MPB’s Phoebe Judge reports

At a press conference held yesterday in front of the federal courthouse in Gulfport representatives from the Gulf Coast Restoration Network announced their intent to sue the Mississippi Development Authority and a number of coastal counties utility boards, over nine projects associated with the 600 million dollar Mississippi Gulf Region Water and Wastewater Plan created to help coastal Mississippi recover from Hurricane Katrina. Casey Demoss Roberts with the Restoration Network, says those nine projects do not comply with the Federal National Environmental Policy Act, and are taking place in unnecessary locations which will benefit real estate developers as opposed to families trying to recover,

“It boils down to this, Mississippi communities in need are losing an opportunity. The pie of hurricane recovery funding only has so many slices, and it is clear that the these funds should be helping these community’s recover and should be solving real sewer and water quality problems.”

The opposed projects lie in the northern sections of the coastal counties, which received minimal damage during Katrina. But Lee Youngblood with the Mississippi Development Authority says these are vital projects to ensuring that coastal Mississippi is prepared for the next hurricane,

“These are projects that are enabling people to move out of harm’s way if they choose, to get out of those flood inundation areas. Allowing for housing and other development to be put in places that are safer in the future.”

Roberts says they will give the Mississippi Development Authority and the other listed utility authority’s 30 days to show a good faith effort in complying with the Federal National Environmental Policy Act before they file suit.