Series 2696: Water Quality Certification Files. 1974-2008.
Environmental Quality, Dept. of (RG 138).

Series 2696: Water Quality Certification Files. 1974-2008.
Environmental Quality, Dept. of (RG 138).

      Files pertaining to water quality certifications issued by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to individuals, businesses and developers for construction that will impact the state’s water resources, particularly in environmentally sensitive areas such as wetlands. Under section 401 of the federal Clean Water Act, local environmental agencies are responsible for certifying that new construction will not have adverse environmental impacts and for mandating mitigation activities when necessary, such as recreating wetlands. Examples of work requiring a 401 certification include the construction of floating casino barges and related infrastructure, dam construction, dredging river channels or harbors, sinking wells, or filling in parts of swamp, bayous or wetlands. Ultimate responsibility for granting construction permits lies with the Army Corps of Engineers; construction permits cannot be granted without a 401 certification. Mississippi permits are granted by the Vicksburg, Mobile or New Orleans divisions of the Corps, depending on project location.

      The files are organized in three groups: 401 files, casino files, and special projects. The 401 files, which date from 1979-1991, are general permit applications, arranged alphabetically by county, and then alphabetically by individual or developer within county. They consist of correspondence, public notices, photographs and/or slides, and maps, blueprints and aerial photographs.

      Casino files, which date from 1991-1999, contain similar material specifically related to three significant Gulf Coast casino projects. Files are arranged alphabetically by casino. Along with the records types above, casino files also contain transparencies, environmental impact reports, public comments on permit applications and one VHS tape.

      Special project files, which date from 1974-2008, contain files on water quality-related projects originating within and without MDEQ. Examples include work on the Pascagoula and Port Bienville Special Management Areas (SMA); the Special Management Area task force; Mississippi’s applications for Richton to serve as the newest Strategic Petroleum Reserve site (which involved flushing out Richton salt domes with water from the Pascagoula River); water quality certification procedures for a possible NASA Advanced Solid Rocket Motor (ASRM) test facility at the Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, ultimately never built; extensive files on various Delta river maintenance and flood control projects, including the Yazoo Basin backwater reformulation project; and Tallahala Creek Lake oil exploration. Files are organized in two groups by date range, and arranged alphabetically by project within in each group.

      A large number of oversize maps have been relocated in an oversize box, and their removal is indicated in the original file by a relocation sheet. Materials on computer disks have also been relocated and are available to researchers in the media room; see item records for details. Finally, the first folder in box 30692 contains a file-level inventory of all 401 certification files.

Computer Disk Files (in Media Room):