We stretch our minds. We roll up our sleeves. And since we don't know our limits, we don't seem to have any.
Obtaining environmental permits in Mississippi is simplified since most state and federal permits are issued by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and most of Mississippi's environmental regulations are identical to federal regulations. In fact, the DEQ is the designated authority to issue almost all federal environmental permits.
Permits are obtained from the office located in Jackson, where senior agency management is accessible to discuss your environmental needs.
Mississippi has exceptionally clean air and abundant water resources; these environmental conditions make almost every area of the state ideal for greenfield industrial sites. Mississippi in one of the few states that meets all of the national ambient air quality standards for protection of public health and welfare. There are no nonattainment areas in the state.
Mississippi is a water-rich state, having more than 84,000 miles of streams, 24,000 miles of which are perennial streams that flow year-round. The state is bordered by some of the most important water bodies in the world - the Mississippi River, the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway and the Gulf of Mexico. The state has hundreds of publicly owned lakes, reservoirs and ponds with a combined area of approximately 500,000 acres. Freshwater wetlands cover an area of more than four million acres, and tidal wetlands cover approximately 66,000 acres.
Water quality in the state has not declined in recent years. Waters in the state either fully or partially support their designated uses.
In addition to permits obtained from the Department of Environmental Quality, other agencies issuing environmental permits are the Mississippi Oil and Gas Board, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Permits issued by the DEQ are approved by the Environmental Quality Permit Board, which is composed of a technical member of the staff of the Office of Geology, the Office of Land and Water Resources, the Department of Agriculture and Commerce, the State Oil and Gas Board, the Department of Health, and two from the Department of Wildlife,Fisheries and Parks. The Permit board meets bimonthly.
