It’s been over one week since the boil water notice was lifted on Mississippi’s capital city, with Governor Tate Reeves announcing that most short-term solutions have been resolved at the O.B. Curtis Water Plant.
Now, House appropriators in D.C. are discussing spending $200 million to address Jackson’s water crisis as officials attempt to create long-term solutions for the water treatment facility.
According to documents obtained by POLITICO, the appropriators plan to send the city money directly through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prevent the funds from going through the state government. The draft legislation language would allow the city to use the funding to pay for water infrastructure projects as well as previous water debts.
In the past, Democrats, including Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., have accused state officials of withholding funds from the primarily Black city. Thompson has stated that despite the lack of a plan from Jackson officials on how to resolve the failing water infrastructure, the amount of funding is “what appears to be reasonable” at this time.
So far, the Jackson City Council and Hinds County supervisors have allocated the remaining American Rescue Act Plans (ARPA) funds to resolve the city’s remaining water and sewage issues.
