Feds: Water authority act doesn’t infringe on existing Jackson water lawsuits
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) — A controversial water authority act does not infringe on a federal court’s ability to oversee Jackson’s water and sewer systems.
This according to a filing submitted to U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate on Monday.
The parties in the city’s ongoing Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water cases were ordered to brief the judge on the impact H.B. 1677, the Metro Jackson Water Authority Act, would have on the suits by Monday.
The federal government’s nine-page response states that rather than infringing, the act would be subject to the court’s jurisdiction.
“The court … will continue to have jurisdiction over both matters, and whatever entity is operating the systems [when] both the drinking water system and the sewer system come into full compliance,” the government states. “The Metro Jackson Water Authority Act does not encroach.”
The filings come about a month after Gov. Tate Reeves signed H.B. 1677, which creates a regional authority to take over the city’s water and sewer systems once the federal receivership ends.
The city sought a temporary injunction, saying the measure would infringe on the two existing federal suits.
[READ: Jackson seeks injunction to block controversial water authority act]
In response to the city’s request, on April 30, U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate issued a temporary injunction blocking the law from moving forward until he could determine whether that was the case.
Wingate also directed the parties involved in the Safe Drinking Water and Clean Water cases to brief him on the law. Those briefs were due on Monday.
As of 5:30 p.m., responses from the U.S. government, state of Mississippi, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, and JXN Water were available on the U.S. District Court’s website.
It was not known if Jackson had responded. The filing was not available at the time this story was published.
In its response, JXN Water agreed with the federal government, saying that the authority would not assume control over water and sewer until the receivership ends, and until Wingate approves a transition plan allowing the authority to step in.
JXN Water is the company set up by Interim Third-Party Manager Ted Henifin to oversee the water and sewer systems. Henifin was appointed manager over water and sewer in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
“The act requires only that the city and the authority enter into negotiations for the lease, and if this court is concerned with the terms of that arrangement, it could require the city and the authority to report on those lease negotiations and potential terms,” JXN Water wrote.
City leaders have come out against 1677, in part, because of the makeup of the authority’s governing board. Jackson will have direct say over just three of the nine appointees, meaning it will not have majority control once the authority is operational.
The authority would not be able to take over Jackson’s water system unless it enters into a lease with the city to do so. Under the legislation, the city does not have to agree to a lease.
Instead of infringing, JXN Water says the authority is a “non-mandatory option” the state has provided to the court to consider when looking at options to transition away from the receiver.
As part of the sewer stipulated order, Henifin is required to create a transition plan, with the input of the city. Any plan then must be signed off on by Wingate.
John Sneed, an assistant in the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office also says the law doesn’t interfere with the court, the work of the ITPM, or the lawsuits themselves.
“To the contrary, H.B. 1677 repeatedly and expressly recognizes that the water and sewer systems are now subject to this court’s orders and provides that the MJWA’s assumption of management and control is contingent on action by this court,” he wrote.
He also pointed out that the authority would only assume management after the third-party manager’s terms end.
“In other words, if the court terminates the ITPM’s authority over different systems or functions at different times, the MJWA assumes control only over that system or function for which the court terminates ITPM management,” he added. “Thus, the court controls the timing of any transition, how any transition should occur, and the ultimate selection of the entity to which a system should transition.”
MDEQ reiterated a point made during an April 30 hearing that Jackson’s motion for temporary injunction was improper.
“Jackson failed to state a cause of action that could serve as the basis for an injunctive remedy and failed to include any party to this lawsuit [for] which injunctive relief… would be appropriate,” attorney Laura Gibbes wrote. “Accordingly, Jackson’s motion for injunction should be denied.”
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