A Guide to Hazardous Pollution in Hattiesburg, Mississippi

River Network conducted a review of hazardous pollution sources in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The Related Files section (below and to the right) provides links to this information.

River Network chronicled a number of dischargers in the Hattiesburg area. Two in particular seem to be problematic: Hercules Inc., and the Hattiesburg South Lagoon Waste Water Treatment Facility (WWTF).

A number of toxic substances that exceed Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MS DEQ) targeted remedial clean-up goals were found at the Hercules site. However, it appears that the site clean-up plan was limited to Monitored Natural Attenuation or MNA. MNA basically means monitoring the waste and waiting for natural processes to degrade it. NMA makes sense in some situations, but can be very risky and counterproductive in other situations. In fact, a River Network review of the monitoring data at this site not only suggests that natural attenuation is not working, but that the problem may be getting worse.

A review of the Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs) as required under National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program of the Clean Water Act shows numerous violations at the Hattiesburg South Lagoon WWTF. This supports residents' complaints of foul odors in the area of the plant. River Network is working with our regional partners, the Gulf Restoration Network, to pursue legal strategies to encourage compliance.

River Network is simultaneously spearheading an effort to establish an ongoing cooperative partnership between area industry, the City and residents to cooperatively resolve pollution problems in Hattiesburg.