Jackson, MS Sewer System

Stipulated Order for Sewer Repair

The United States Department of Justice, the EPA, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and the City of Jackson, MS, agreed to a stipulated order, lodged in federal district court July 26, 2023 , to expedite needed sewer system repairs and to address spills of raw and undertreated sewage into homes, businesses, streets, yards and waterways.  On September 30, 2023, U.S. District Court Judge Henry Wingate of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi entered a final stipulated order in the Clean Water Act matter. 

The final order appointed interim third-party manager Ted Henifin to manage, operate and maintain the City’s sewer system. Henifin has been serving as interim third-party manager over the City’s drinking water system and Water and Sewer Billing Administration since November 2022.

The order requires implementation of programs and capital projects to improve the sewer system’s condition, operations, and maintenance that are anticipated to bring near-term relief to the city’s residents and businesses.  The order is an interim measure until the parties negotiate modifications to an existing 2013 judicially enforceable consent decree to achieve the sewer system’s long-term compliance with federal and state regulations.

The EPA, DOJ and MDEQ hosted three public meetings during the 30-day public comment period to receive input on the proposed order. Those meetings drew hundreds of residents and, in consideration of comments received regarding transparency and oversight, the parties agreed to make changes to the order to require additional financial reporting. EPA also worked with the court to disclose certain public comments to Henifin so that he may investigate the individual drinking water and sewer concerns raised. 

The order acknowledges that the City failed to achieve significant progress under a 2013 settlement among the parties that was entered by the federal court as a consent decree, and that the sewer system has further deteriorated over the last 10 years, resulting in violations of the settlement, the federal Clean Water Act (CWA), the Mississippi Air and Water Pollution Control Law (MAWPCL) and the city’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits associated with the sewer system.

The order requires to remediate over 200 locations with current, ongoing SSOs. Most of these locations have SSOs due to broken pipes. The order also requires specific sewer rehabilitation projects, assessment and rehabilitation of two wastewater treatment plants (Trahon and Savanna WWTPs), and annual sewer pipe cleaning requirements. 

Public Participation

The order requires the interim third-party manager to hold a public meeting within thirty (30) Days after filing each Quarterly Status Report. The goal is to provide to the public routine updates of the progress of the implementation of the requirements of the stipulated order. The order also requires the interim third-party manager to establish and maintain a public website to inform the public of its work, post Status Reports, post requests for proposals, and post other information pertinent to public disclosure. 

Links

• Final Stipulated Order on Sewer System (pdf) (669.88 KB)
• DOJ, EPA, MDEQ Orden estipulada sobre el sistema de alcantarillado de la ciudad de Jackson Hoja informativa del período de comentarios (pdf) (292.64 KB)
• DOJ, EPA, MDEQ Stipulated Order on City of Jackson, MS Sewer System Comment Period Fact Sheet – August 2023 (pdf) (334.33 KB)
• Interactive Map of the Sewer Overflows

For more information about City of Jackson, MS drinking water, please visit the EPA Jackson drinking water web page at https://www.epa.gov/ms/jackson-ms-drinking-water.