Monday, January 18, was the deadline for introduction for general bills for consideration in the Mississippi State House and Senate. Bills are referred to committees, with the next major deadline is for Committees to report General Bills/Constitutional Amendments out of their own chamber (i.e., House or Senate). Many bills “die in committee.” Nearly all Environmental bills are referred to the Conservation and Water Resources Committee or Marine Resources Committee in the House and the Environmental Protection, Conservation, and Water Resources Committee in the Senate. Below you will find a listing of Environmental Bills referred to their respective Committees with links to the Bill itself as of January 21, 2021:
House Conservation and Water Resources Committee
- HB178 The establishment of a pilot program for students in Lee and Monroe Counties called the Natural Resource Camp which is to teach students the importance of the soil, water, plants, animals and air; the need to maintain a healthy environment; and the importance of land ownership and the wealth that is obtained through owning property.
- HB218 An Act to require the MDEQ to adopt such regulations as may be necessary to prohibit the curbside collection of items of solid waste which are too large to be contained in a curbside pickup waste disposal storage container and to require real property landlords to be responsible for transporting items of solid waste that are too large for curbside pickup to an approved solid waste disposal facility.
- HB637 An Act to create a Flood Prevention and Control Task Force for the City of Jackson, Mississippi, to examine policies, programs and other issues related to flooding and flood prevention and control throughout the Jackson area.
- HB949 An Act to amend Section 17-17-227, Mississippi Code of 1972, to provide that no solid waste management plan shall include any proposed new nonhazardous solid waste sanitary landfill if the new landfill is located within a county having two or more existing permitted nonhazardous solid waste landfills, unless a referendum election has been conducted and approved.
House Marine Resources Committee
- HB309 An Act to amend Section 49-15-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, to remove requirement that members of the Department of Marine Resources Enforcement Officers’ Reserve Unit shall serve without pay and without certain benefits and other related concerns.
- HB594 An Act to amend Section 49-27-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, to amend the Coastal Wetlands Protection Act to define “ordinary high water mark” to mean a mark on the shore determined by the Department [of Marine Resources] staff, established by fluctuations in water level and indicated by physical or biological characteristics and to revise the definition of “coastal wetlands” as further described in the Bill.
- HB1043 An Act to create Section 29-15-8, Mississippi Code of 1972, to provide a procedure for the removal of submerged logs on Public Trust Tidelands and related changes regarding Public Trust Tidelines as further described in the Bill.
Senate Environmental Protection, Conservation and Water Resources Committee
- SB2393 An Act to authorize the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality to enter into an agreement with a public or private entity for the purpose of conducting an environmental impact study on the effects associated with concentrating a certain number of poultry houses within a defined square mileage.
- SB2491 An Act to require that no Solid Waste Management Plan shall include any proposed new solid waste management facility if the new facility is located within one mile of an existing permitted solid waste management facility and related requirements.
- SB2780 An Act to amend Section 17-17-227, Mississippi Code of 1972, to provide that no solid waste management plan shall include any proposed new nonhazardous solid waste sanitary landfill if the new landfill is located within a county having two or more existing permitted nonhazardous solid waste landfills, unless a referendum election has been conducted and approved.
- SN 13 Senate Nomination of Christopher Glenn (Chris) Wells, P.E., Pearl, Mississippi, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality as the Executive Director, term effective October 20, 2020 and the appointee shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor.
Contributed by:
Trey Hess, P.E.
Brownfield Redevelopment Director, Jackson, MS Office
(601) 956-8233