January 08, 2021
By:
Walter G. Wright
Category:
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
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The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (“MDEQ”) issued a public notice for proposed revisions to its General Permit for:
. . . Delta Agriculture and Wildlife Water Use (“Draft Permit”)
The permit is required to be obtained from the Mississippi Environmental Quality Permit Board before any person can use waters of the state (excepting domestic use or uses of small exempted quantities).
Three Mississippi agencies have the statutory responsibility/authority to ensure maximum sustainable beneficial uses of Mississippi waters and to conserve and prevent waste or unreasonable use of such waters. Those agencies include:
- MDEQ
- Mississippi Environmental Quality Permit Board
- Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality
A focus of these agencies has been the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer which supplies water for irrigation, aquaculture, and wildlife habitat enhancement in the Mississippi Delta. Declining water levels in this aquifer has been a key concern.
Proposed changes in the General Permit include:
- Reducing the time to implement conservation practices from three years to one year
- Adding descriptions of conservation practices
- Informing the permit holder that the permitted acreage may be inspected for compliance with the permit requirements
A copy of the draft General Permit can be downloaded here.
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