Series 1307: Major Economic Impact Authority (MEIA) Files. 1989-2006.
Miss. Development Authority (RG 76)

Series 1307: Major Economic Impact Authority (MEIA) Files. 1989-2006.
Miss. Development Authority (RG 76)

      Files pertaining to projects initiated and funded through the Major Economic Impact Authority (MEIA), the economic authority created by the Legislature in 1989 to secure locations for major area development projects that would “significantly contribute to the employment base and scientific and educational growth” of Mississippi citizens (Code of 1972, Title 57, Chapter 75, Section 3).

      The files included in this series are for projects primarily located in the northeast corner of the state (an area first targeted for development by the Tennessee Valley Authority in the 1970s as the site for a nuclear power plant, and in 1988 selected as the site for a NASA Advanced Solid Rocket Motor Plant). Bonds for MEIA projects were issued in 1989, and again in 1991, and the resultant funds used primarily in eleven counties in the northeast portion of the state (the Northeast Mississippi, Three Rivers, and Golden Triangle Development Districts). Projects such as improvements to community sewer and waste water management, and construction (or enlarging) of educational, recreational and medical facilities were undertaken, with a project’s duration variable (from several months to several years).

      Additions to these files, Yellow Creek/NASA MEIA Files, concern projects that were directly tied to the proposed NASA Advanced Solid Rocket Motor plant. These files repeat many of the same MEIA grant numbers, some of which are of the same project and some of which are of different projects than are listed in the initial files that were received from the Miss. Development Authority. Researchers are cautioned to do a thorough search of all pertinent files to uncover all information available on a particular project.