Mississippi Phosphates plant regulations

The Mississippi Phosphates Corporation plant has been shut down for years now, but according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, pollution in the area continues to be a problem and they want to add this site to its superfund site which would make it eligible for clean up at the expense of taxpayers.
Since 2014, more than seven hundred million gallons of contaminated waste water has sat at the former phosphate plant in Pascagoula. Because it’s previous owners ran out of money to contain the contaminated water, the federal government stepped in back in February and now wants to add the old fertilizer plant to its list of superfund sites. Steps Coalition Community Organizer Brenna Landis said, “We hope that this can set a precedent for proper permit procedures to be put into place and then proper oversight from our elected officials and from the federal government as well.”
According to the EPA, it costs the federal government around one million dollars a month to contain the waste water, but because South Mississippi sees so much rain there are other issues like leaks that residents in the area have to worry about. “There have been a couple of dike leaks that have happened at the gypsum piles to be specific that the community didn’t know about until after the fact and actually through us, so there wasn’t proper lines of communication taken to let people know about something that’s going on in their backyard,” said Landis.
The old phosphate plant opened its doors in 1950 and closed in 2014. It continues to pollute the area and that’s causing harm not only to the environment, but to the public’s health as well. “Worried about the health of their small children and their elderly people in the community,” said Landis.
To help speed up the process of getting this site added to the superfund list, the mayor of Pascagoula hopes to soon meet with EPA Director Scott Pruitt. As for nearby residents, it’s a step they hope happens sooner rather than later.