The DOJ Is Requesting A Manager Oversee the Jackson, Mississippi Water Crisis Response

Murjani Rawls
·1 min read
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI - MARCH 07: Andre Dyson II prepares to place two cases of water in a vehicle at a water and food distribution drive by College Hill Baptist Church and the World Central kitchen on March 07, 2021, in Jackson, Mississippi. Residents in parts of Jackson, Mississippi, where 80% of the residents are Black, have been without running water since mid-February after the city was hit by back-to-back winter storms. The storms damaged the city’s already crumbling infrastructure and left residents without access to running water.

The Department of Justice and the city of Jackson, Mississippi, have finally reached a tentative agreement to fix the ongoing water crisis. One requirement is that a third-party manager will have to be put in place to oversee the process, according to NBC News. Both the city and state have agreed, and a federal judge will need to give final approval.

This proposal is meant to be a temporary measure while the DOJ, the city of Jackson, and the Mississippi State Department of Health work to find a workable decree to make a sustainable path for better water for the predominately Black capital.

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Currently, the Jackson water system and Water Sewer Business Administration have an interim manager named Edward “Ted” Henifin, who was previously general manager of the Hampton Roads Sanitation District in Virginia. Henifin will oversee 13 projects to sustain Jackson’s water supply in the immediate future.

From ABC News:

“The Department of Justice takes seriously its responsibility to keep the American people safe and to protect their civil rights,” Garland said. “Together with our partners at EPA, we will continue to seek justice for the residents of Jackson, Mississippi. And we will continue to prioritize cases in the communities most burdened by environmental harm.”

The DOJ also filed a complaint against Jackson, Mississippi, on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, stating the city failed to provide drinking water that is reliably compliant with the Safe Drinking Water Act. This litigation will be held for six months while all parties try to improve the water system.

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