Mississippi News
Hattiesburg plant proposed as hazardous waste site
EPA looking to prioritize old Hattiesburg facility for hazardous waste clean-up
The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to add a defunct chemical manufacturing plant in Hattiesburg to its priority list of hazardous waste sites around the country.ย ย
Hercules, Inc. produced hundreds of chemical products, such as paints, varnishes, and pesticides in the city from 1923 until 2009. Since its closure, multiple EPA inspections have turned up benzene and over a dozen other contaminants in the underlying groundwater.ย
After its most recent inspection in 2021, the agency proposed in March to add Hercules to its Superfund National Priorities List.
In 2016, the Delaware-based company, since bought by Ashland Global, settled a lawsuit with the City of Hattiesburg for $3 million after the city alleged that the factory โknowingly and improperly disposed of hazardous waste.โ Two years before that, the EPA ordered Hercules to spend $1 million for groundwater remediation in the city.ย ย
After its 2021 visit, the EPA said that the groundwater contamination extends outside of the Hercules property line, underneath an industrial complex and into a residential area.ย
The City of Hattiesburg maintains eight drinking wells within two miles of the site. While the EPA hasn’t found any impact to those wells, it said it will continue sampling the residential area, which includes several apartment complexes within a mile radius of the old factory.ย ย
The agency is receiving comments from the public until June 16, and will hold a public meeting on May 19 at the C.E. Roy Community Center in Hattiesburg at 6 P.M. The EPA will then take the comments into consideration as to whether or not to add the old Hercules site to its National Priorities List, or NPL.ย
Doing so would initiate an EPA-lead remediation process, after which the agency would work with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and local stakeholders to redevelop the site.ย
Hercules would become the second location in Hattiesburg to make the NPL. In 2000, the EPA added Davis Timber Company, a wood-preservation facility, after detecting contaminants from the company in dead fish at a nearby country club in the 1970s and 1980s.ย
The redevelopment effort there resulted in an animal shelter at the site that opened in 2013, joined a few years later by a dog park called Fields of Barktopia. The EPA finally removed it from the NPL in 2018.
If added to the NPL, Hercules would become the ninth current site on the list in Mississippi, all but one of which were either a wood or chemical product facility. The other eight are mapped below:
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This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi News
Mississippi sees 5th largest increase in fatal crashes: study
SUMMARY: A recent study highlights a troubling rise in road fatalities in Mississippi, with a nearly 31% increase in fatal accidents from 2012 to 2021, ranking it fifth highest in the country. The Mississippi Highway Patrol reported a spike during the 2024 Labor Day holiday, responding to seven fatal crashes resulting in 15 deaths, compared to only three crashes and six deaths in 2021. Additionally, a 2023 report showed Mississippi had the highest per capita fatal crashes during the Christmas period. Young drivers are particularly affected, as Mississippi ranks fifth for teenage driving fatalities nationwide.
The post Mississippi sees 5th largest increase in fatal crashes: study appeared first on www.wjtv.com
Mississippi News
Vicksburg man charged with assaulting woman in domestic dispute
SUMMARY: In Vicksburg, Mississippi, a domestic assault led to the hospitalization of a man and woman on November 2. Police were alerted by Merit Health River Region after a 28-year-old man, Daron Evans, arrived with a stab wound. Authorities dispatched to the scene found the woman, who had also been assaulted. After receiving treatment, Evans was arrested and charged with aggravated assault domestic violence; he is held without bond until his court appearance. The woman is in stable condition at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. An investigation is ongoing.
The post Vicksburg man charged with assaulting woman in domestic dispute appeared first on www.wjtv.com
Mississippi News
Cloudy and humid weekend – Home – WCBI TV
SUMMARY: In Columbus, Mississippi, humid and cloudy weather is expected, with temperatures remaining above average in the lower 80s for the upcoming week. Rain is forecasted for Election Day on Tuesday, continuing into the week with isolated showers likely. This Saturday will see patchy fog in the morning, clearing by midday, with a high around 80 degrees. Sunday will bring similar humidity, with a high in the lower 80s and mild overnight lows in the mid-60s. Throughout the week, expect persistent clouds and humidity alongside mild temperatures.
The post Cloudy and humid weekend – Home – WCBI TV appeared first on www.wcbi.com
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