By Jennifer Jacob Brown / jbrown@themeridianstar.com
The Meridian Star
MERIDIAN —
At the same time as they are investigated by the state auditor's office, Lauderdale County is facing fines from another state agency — the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
MDEQ is fining the county $12,000 for failure to use sediment control at a county road project, but Road Manager Neal Carson said the sediment controls were there.
According to MDEQ spokesman Robbie Wilbur, MDEQ found that a road project in Toomsuba did not have the proper sediment controls to prevent run-off into Roasted Hog Creek.
Wilbur said sediment run-off affects water quality, and can make its way downstream from creeks like the one in Toomsuba, eventually contaminating the watershed.
"We're still waiting on a response from the county," Wilbur said. "We've sent them a notice of violation."
Carson said the county has not yet received official notice of the $12,000 fine, but that he did attend a hearing regarding the violation. Carson said he feels the county did everything they were supposed to do.
"We did put up erosion control. We used hay bales. We used rip rap (large rocks) around the box culvert, and that's permanent erosion control," Carson said. "We don't feel like we violated the permit."
"We've been up there and inspected it ourselves after the rains, and I couldn't find any appreciable run-off," he added, "and to my knowledge we've had absolutely zero complaints about it."
Carson said county officials have not yet determined whether they will contest the $12,000 fine. "We'll just see where we go from here," he said.
