Hurricane Nate Mississippi: EPA Releasing 40M Gallons Of Partially Treated Wastewater

PASCAGOULA, MS — Federal environmental officials are releasing 40 million gallons of partially treated wastewater in Mississippi ahead of Hurricane Nate's impending arrival, fearing that a worse spill could result from the storm.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is treating wastewater from a shuttered fertilizer plant to reduce acidity and says it has to create more storage in case Nate brings heavy rain to two giant mounds of gypsum. The material was left over from when the Mississippi Phosphates plant in Pascagoula declared bankruptcy and closed three years ago. The site has had environmentally harmful spills in the past.

Hurricanes have been a problem for environmental regulators at numerous polluted sites this summer. At least seven Superfund sites in and around Houston went underwater during the record-shattering Hurricane Harvey, The Associated Press reported. (For more information on Hurricane Nate and other Jackson stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Nate is currently a Category 1 hurricane that is expected to make landfall late Saturday night as a Category 2 storm. Mississippi's Gulf Coast is expected to be hit hard with the potential for flooding, heavy winds, power outages and tornadoes. On Friday, Gov. Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency for six counties and signed an order authorizing the deployment of the Mississippi National Guard.

By JEFF AMY, Associated Press

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