EPA civil rights case targets Mississippi over Jackson water

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS, MATTHEW DALY and AARON MORRISON
Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced it is investigating whether Mississippi state agencies discriminated against the state’s majority-Black capital city by refusing to fund improvements for its failing water system.

The announcement came days after leaders of two congressional committees said they were starting a joint investigation into a crisis that left most homes and businesses in Jackson without running water for several days in late August and early September.

The EPA is conducting a civil investigation of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and the Mississippi State Department of Health. The federal agency could withhold money from the state if it finds wrongdoing.