Filed Date: Nov. 29, 2022
Case Ongoing
Clearinghouse coding complete
This is a case about unsafe public drinking water in Jackson, Mississippi. On November 29, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") filed a complaint against the city of Jackson, Mississippi ("the City"), on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. The DOJ sued the city of Jackson under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Prior to this lawsuit, in February 2020, the EPA found infrastructure problems indicating that the City was not providing drinking water that was reliably compliant with the Safe Drinking Water Act. As a result of that finding, in July 2021 the City and the EPA entered into a consent order requiring the City to make changes to move its water systems toward compliance. The DOJ's November 2022 complaint alleged that the City had failed to comply with that consent order and that its drinking water continued to pose health risks to the people served by the City's water system. The DOJ sought injunctive relief and civil penalties.
On the same day the complaint was filed, Judge Henry T. Wingate entered an interim stipulated order appointing an interim third-party manager who would "operate, maintain, manage and control" the City's water system in compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act. That manager would oversee the improvements described in the order's priority project list, abating as much as possible the conditions that were endangering the quality of Jackson's water. The improvements included, for example, winterizing the system, repairing chemical, intake, and treatment facilities, and implementing an alternative water source plan. The order required the City to fund and cooperate with the improvements. The order also stayed all litigation for six months.
As of December 2022, this case was ongoing with litigation stayed until May 2023.
Summary Authors
Christina Van Wagenen (12/22/2022)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/66571454/united-states-v-the-city-of-jackson-mississippi/
Last updated March 20, 2023, 3 a.m.
State / Territory: Mississippi
Case Type(s):
Public Benefits/Government Services
Key Dates
Filing Date: Nov. 29, 2022
Case Ongoing: Yes
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
United States (DOJ Environmental and Natural Resources Division, Environmental Enforcement Section) on behalf of EPA
Plaintiff Type(s):
U.S. Dept of Justice plaintiff
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
The City of Jackson, Mississippi (Jackson), City
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: None Yet / None
Nature of Relief:
Preliminary injunction / Temp. restraining order
Source of Relief:
Order Duration: 2022 - None
Content of Injunction:
Implement complaint/dispute resolution process
Issues
General: