Bill Text: MS HB1587 | 2026 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Department of Environmental Quality; require to approve or deny permits within a prescribed time frame.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Failed) 2026-02-03 - Died In Committee [HB1587 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2026-HB1587-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2026 Regular Session
To: State Affairs
By: Representative Fondren
House Bill 1587
AN ACT TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY TO APPROVE OR DENY PERMITS WITHIN A PRESCRIBED TIME FRAME, AND IF IT FAILS TO DO SO, DEEM THE PERMIT APPROVED TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 49-27-9, 49-27-23, 49-27-37, 51-3-5 AND 53-7-39, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH RELATE TO CERTAIN PERMITS, FOR PURPOSE OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; TO AMEND SECTIONS 49-17-29, 49-17-34 AND 49-27-11, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO MAKE MINOR, NONSUBSTANTIVE CHANGES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) As used in this section, the following words have the meanings as defined in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(a) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
(b) "Permit" means any license, permit, or other
certification issued by the department which is necessary for activities relating to real estate development.
(2) The department shall, upon receiving an application for a permit, determine whether the application is complete, and if not, within fifteen (15) calendar days after receiving the application, respond to the applicant in writing with a description of the deficiencies in the application.
The department shall approve or deny such application within forty-five (45) calendar days after receiving a completed application for a permit.
(3) Unless waived by the applicant, if the department fails to approve or deny an application for permit within the 45-day period described in subsection (2) of this section, the application for the permit shall be deemed approved, and the department shall issue the permit upon the payment of any applicable fee.
SECTION 2. Section 49-17-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-17-29. (1) (a) Except as in compliance with paragraph (b) of this subsection, it is unlawful for any person to cause pollution of the air in the state or to place or cause to be placed any wastes or other products or substances in a location where they are likely to cause pollution of the air. It is also unlawful to discharge any wastes, products or substances into the air of the state which exceed standards of performance, hazardous air pollutant standards, other emission standards set by the commission, or which reduce the quality of the air below the air quality standards or increments established by the commission or prevent attainment or maintenance of those air quality standards. Any such action is hereby declared to be a public nuisance.
(b) It is unlawful for any person to build, erect, alter, replace, use or operate any equipment which will cause the issuance of air contaminants unless that person holds a permit from the Permit Board (except repairs or maintenance of equipment for which a permit has been previously issued), or unless that person is exempted from holding a permit by a regulation promulgated by the commission. Concentrated animal feeding operations may be a source or a category of sources exempted under this paragraph. However, no new or existing applications relating to swine concentrated animal feeding operations within a county shall be exempted from regulations and ordinances which have been duly passed by the county's board of supervisors and which are in force on June 1, 1998.
(2) (a) Except as in compliance with paragraph (b) of this subsection, it is unlawful for any person to cause pollution of any waters of the state or to place or cause to be placed any wastes in a location where they are likely to cause pollution of any waters of the state. It is also unlawful to discharge any wastes into any waters of the state which reduce the quality of those waters below the water quality standards established by the commission; or to violate any applicable pretreatment standards or limitations, technology-based effluent limitations, toxic standards or any other limitations established by the commission. Any such action is declared to be a public nuisance.
(b) It is unlawful for any person to carry on any of the following activities, unless that person holds a current permit for that activity from the Permit Board as may be required for the disposal of all wastes which are or may be discharged into the waters of the state, or unless that person is exempted from holding a permit by a regulation promulgated by the commission: (i) the construction, installation, modification or operation of any disposal system or part thereof or any extension or addition thereto, including, but not limited to, systems serving agricultural operations; (ii) the increase in volume or strength of any wastes in excess of the permissive discharges specified under any existing permit; (iii) the construction, installation or operation of any industrial, commercial or other establishment, including irrigation projects or any extension or modification thereof or addition thereto, the operation of which would cause an increase in the discharge of wastes into the waters of the state or would otherwise alter the physical, chemical or biological properties of any waters of the state in any manner not already lawfully authorized; (iv) the construction or use of any new outlet for the discharge of any wastes into the waters of the state. However, no new or existing applications relating to swine concentrated animal feeding operations within a county shall be exempted from regulations and ordinances which have been duly passed by the county's board of supervisors and which are in force on June 1, 1998.
(3) (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the Permit Board created by Section 49-17-28 shall be the exclusive administrative body to make decisions on permit issuance, reissuance, denial, modification or revocation of air pollution control and water pollution control permits and permits required under the Solid Wastes Disposal Law of 1974 (Title 17, Chapter 17), and all other permits within the jurisdiction of the Permit Board. After consideration of alternative waste treatment technologies available to control air and water pollution and odor, including appropriate siting criteria, the commission may promulgate regulations establishing conditions, limitations and exemptions under which the Permit Board shall make these decisions. Regulations promulgated by the commission which establish exemptions as authorized under this section shall apply to any applicable facility in operation on the effective date of that regulation and to any applicable facility constructed or operated after the effective date of that regulation. The Permit Board may issue multiple permits for the same facility or operation simultaneously or in the sequence that it deems appropriate consistent with the commission's regulations. Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, the Permit Board, under any conditions that the board may prescribe, may authorize the Executive Director of the Department of Environmental Quality to make decisions on permit issuance, reissuance, denial, modification or revocation. The executive director shall not be authorized to make decisions on permit issuance, reissuance, denial, modification or revocation for a commercial hazardous waste management facility or a solid waste management permit for a municipal solid waste landfill or incinerator. A decision by the executive director shall be a decision of the Permit Board and shall be subject to formal hearing and appeal as provided in this section. The executive director shall report all permit decisions to the Permit Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting and those decisions shall be recorded in the minutes of the Permit Board. The decisions of the Permit Board shall be recorded in minutes of the Permit Board and shall be kept separate and apart from the minutes of the commission. The decision of the Permit Board or the executive director to issue, reissue, deny, modify or revoke permits shall not be construed to be an order or other action of the commission.
(b) The Executive Director of the Department of Environmental Quality shall also be the Executive Director of the Permit Board and shall have available to him, as Executive Director of the Permit Board, all resources and personnel otherwise available to him as executive director of the department.
(c) All persons
required to obtain an air pollution control or water pollution control permit,
a permit under the Solid Wastes Disposal Law of 1974 (Title 17, Chapter 17) or
any other permit within the jurisdiction of the Permit Board shall make
application for that permit with the Permit Board. The Permit Board, under any
regulations as the commission may prescribe, may require the submission of
those plans, specifications and other information as it deems necessary to
carry out Sections 49-17-1 through 49-17-43 and Title 17, Chapter 17, or to
carry out the commission's regulations adopted under those sections. The
Permit Board, based upon any information as it deems relevant, shall issue,
reissue, deny, modify or revoke air pollution control or water pollution
control permit or permits required under the Solid Wastes Disposal Law of 1974
(Title 17, Chapter 17) or any other permit within the jurisdiction of the
Permit Board under any conditions as it deems necessary that are consistent
with the commission's regulations. The Permit Board's action of issuance,
reissuance, denial, modification or revocation of a permit as recorded in its
minutes shall constitute a complete decision of the board. All permits issued
by the Permit Board shall remain in full force and effect until the board makes
a final determination regarding any reissuance, modification, or revocation
thereof. The Permit Board shall take action upon an application within one
hundred eighty (180) days following its receipt in the board's principal
office. No action which affects revocation of an existing permit shall take
effect until the thirty (30) days mentioned in * * * subsection (4)(b) of this
section has expired or until a formal hearing as prescribed in that paragraph
is held, whichever is later.
(d) The Permit Board may adopt rules of practice and procedure governing its proceedings that are consistent with the commission's regulations. All hearings in connection with permits issued, reissued, denied, modified or revoked and all appeals from decisions of the Permit Board shall be as provided in this section.
(e) Upon any conditions that are consistent with the commission's regulations and subject to those procedures for public notice and hearings as provided by law, not inconsistent with federal law and regulations, the Permit Board may issue general permits and, where appropriate, may consolidate multiple permits for the same facility or operation into a single permit.
(f) The Permit Board shall not issue any permit for a new swine concentrated animal feeding operation or the expansion of an existing swine concentrated animal feeding operation before January 1, 2000, unless the department received the application for that operation's new or modified permit before February 28, 1998, or except as provided in this paragraph (f). In issuing or modifying any permit for which the department received an application before February 28, 1998, the Permit Board shall apply those siting criteria adopted or used by the commission before February 28, 1998, unless federal law or regulations require more stringent criteria. The moratorium established in this paragraph shall not apply to the issuance of any permit for a new swine concentrated animal feeding operation or the expansion of an existing swine concentrated animal feeding operation that uses an animal waste management system which the applicant demonstrates to the Permit Board is innovative in significantly reducing the effects of the operation on the public health, welfare or the environment and which is approved by the Permit Board. The Permit Board shall not issue or modify more than five (5) permits under this innovative animal waste management system technology exemption to the moratorium.
(g) Each applicant for a permit for a new outlet for the discharge of wastes into the waters of the state who is required to obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Public Service Commission for such wastewater system shall submit financial and managerial information as required by the Public Utilities Staff. Following review of that information, the Executive Director of the Public Utilities Staff shall certify in writing to the executive director of the department, the financial and managerial viability of the system if the Executive Director of the Public Utilities Staff determines the system is viable. The Permit Board shall not issue the permit until the certification is received.
(4) (a) Except as required by this section, before the issuance, reissuance, denial, modification or revocation of any air pollution control or water pollution control permit, permit required under the Solid Wastes Disposal Law of 1974 (Title 17, Chapter 17) or any other permit within its jurisdiction, the Permit Board, in its discretion, may hold a public hearing or meeting to obtain comments from the public on its proposed action. Before the issuance, reissuance, denial, modification pertaining to the expansion of a facility, transfer or revocation of a permit for a commercial hazardous waste management facility or a solid waste management permit for a commercial municipal solid waste landfill or incinerator, the Permit Board shall conduct a public hearing or meeting to obtain comments from the public on the proposed action. That hearing or meeting shall be informal in nature and conducted under those procedures as the Permit Board may deem appropriate consistent with the commission's regulations.
(b) Within thirty (30) days after the date the Permit Board takes action upon permit issuance, reissuance, denial, modification or revocation, as recorded in the minutes of the Permit Board, any interested party aggrieved by that action may file a written request for a formal hearing before the Permit Board. An interested party is any person claiming an interest relating to the property or project which is the subject of the permit action, and who is so situated that the person may be affected by the disposition of that action.
The Permit Board shall fix the time and place of the formal hearing and shall notify the permittee of that time and place.
In conducting the formal hearing, the Permit Board shall have the same full powers as to subpoenaing witnesses, administering oaths, examining witnesses under oath and conducting the hearing, as is now vested by law in the Mississippi Public Service Commission, as to the hearings before it, with the additional power that the Executive Director of the Permit Board may issue all subpoenas at the instance of the Permit Board or at the instance of any interested party. Any subpoenas shall be served by any lawful officer in any county to whom the subpoena is directed and return made thereon as provided by law, with the cost of service being paid by the party on whose behalf the subpoena was issued. Witnesses summoned to appear at the hearing shall be entitled to the same per diem and mileage as witnesses attending the circuit court and shall be paid by the person on whose behalf the witness was called. Sufficient sureties for the cost of service of the subpoena and witness fees shall be filed with the Executive Director of the Permit Board at the time that issuance of the subpoena is requested. At a hearing, any interested party may present witnesses and submit evidence and cross-examine witnesses.
The Permit Board may designate a hearing officer to conduct the formal hearing on all or any part of the issues on behalf of the Permit Board. The hearing officer shall prepare the record of the formal hearing conducted by that officer for the Permit Board and shall submit the record to the Permit Board.
Upon conclusion of the formal hearing, the Permit Board shall enter in its minutes the board's decision affirming, modifying or reversing its prior decision to issue, reissue, deny, modify or revoke a permit. The Permit Board shall prepare and record in its minutes findings of fact and conclusions of law supporting its decision. That decision, as recorded in its minutes with its findings of fact and conclusions of law, shall be final unless an appeal, as provided in this section, is taken to chancery court within twenty (20) days following the date the decision is entered in the board's minutes.
(c) Within twenty (20) days after the date the Permit Board takes action upon permit issuance, reissuance, denial, modification or revocation after a formal hearing under this subsection as recorded in the minutes of the Permit Board, any person aggrieved of that action may appeal the action as provided in subsection (5) of this section.
(5) (a) Appeals from any decision or action of the Permit Board shall be only to chancery court as provided in this subsection.
(b) Any person who is aggrieved by any decision of the Permit Board issuing, reissuing, denying, revoking or modifying a permit after a formal hearing may appeal that decision within the period specified in subsection (4)(c) of this section to the chancery court of the county of the situs in whole or in part of the subject matter. The appellant shall give a cost bond with sufficient sureties, payable to the state in the sum of not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), to be fixed by the Permit Board and to be filed with and approved by the Executive Director of the Permit Board, who shall forthwith certify the filing of the bond together with a certified copy of the record of the Permit Board in the matter to the chancery court to which the appeal is taken, which shall thereupon become the record of the cause. An appeal to the chancery court as provided in this section shall not stay the decision of the Permit Board. The aggrieved party may, within twenty (20) days following the date the board's decision after a formal hearing is entered on the board's minutes, petition the chancery court for an appeal with supersedeas and the chancellor shall grant a hearing on that petition. Upon good cause shown, the chancellor may grant that appeal with supersedeas. If granted, the appellant shall be required to post a bond with sufficient sureties according to law in an amount to be determined by the chancellor. Appeals shall be considered only upon the record as made before the Permit Board. The chancery court shall always be deemed open for hearing of an appeal and the chancellor may hear the same in termtime or in vacation at any place in the chancellor's district, and the appeal shall have precedence over all civil cases, except election contests. The chancery court shall review all questions of law and of fact. If no prejudicial error is found, the matter shall be affirmed. If prejudicial error is found the decision of the board shall be reversed and the chancery court shall remand the matter to the Permit Board for appropriate action as may be indicated or necessary under the circumstances. Appeals may be taken from the chancery court to the Supreme Court in the manner as now required by law, except that if a supersedeas is desired by the party appealing to the chancery court, that party may apply for a supersedeas to the chancellor of that court, who shall award a writ of supersedeas, without additional bond, if in the chancellor's judgment material damage is not likely to result thereby; but otherwise, the chancellor shall require a supersedeas bond as the chancellor deems proper, which shall be liable to the state for any damage.
SECTION 3. Section 49-17-34, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-17-34. (1) Within fifteen (15) days after receipt by the Department of Environmental Quality an application for any initial or modified air or water permit required under the Mississippi Air and Water Pollution Control Law that is submitted after April 16, 1993, the Department of Environmental Quality shall acknowledge in writing receipt of such application. Except for good cause shown, within forty-five (45) days after receipt of a permit application, the Department of Environmental Quality shall notify the applicant that the application is complete or of the major components required to complete the application.
(2) All rules, regulations and standards relating to air quality, water quality or air emissions or water discharge standards promulgated by the commission after April 16, 1993, shall be consistent with and shall not exceed the requirements of federal statutes and federal regulations, standards, criteria and guidance relating to air quality, water quality or air emission or water discharge standards that have been duly promulgated pursuant to the federal Administrative Procedures Act, including, but not limited to, the identity and scope of air pollutants included as air toxics or air quality or emission standards, the identity and scope of water pollutants included as water quality or discharge standards and the numerical and narrative limitations of such standards.
(3) If there are no federal statutes or federal regulations, standards, criteria or guidance that have been duly promulgated pursuant to the federal Administrative Procedures Act addressing matters relating to air quality or water quality, or air emission or water discharge standards, the commission may promulgate regulations to address these matters in accordance with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Act, when the commission determines that such regulations are necessary to protect human health, welfare or the environment.
(4) For any initial or modified air or water permit issued from and after January 1, 1994, except with the written consent of the permit applicant, no provision or condition imposing any duty, responsibility or liability on the permittee shall be included in such permit, the direct basis for which has not been first promulgated as a regulation by the commission in accordance with the requirements of the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Act. "Direct basis" shall mean that such permit provisions or conditions shall not exceed the scope, coverage and effect of the regulation upon which it is based including, but not limited to, frequency or time limit of action, technology, identity and scope of pollutants regulated, numerical or narrative standards or limitations.
SECTION 4. Section 49-27-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
49-27-9. (1) No regulated activity shall affect any coastal wetlands without a permit unless excluded in Section 49-27-7. Any person proposing to conduct or cause to be conducted a regulated activity shall file an application for a permit with the commission in such form and with such information as the commission may prescribe. An application fee in an amount of Fifty Dollars ($50.00) for residential type regulated activity and Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) for commercial and industrial type related activity shall accompany each application and shall be payable to the commission. No permit shall be required for a regulated activity as defined in Section 49-27-5(c)(v) if such activity is an activity by a water dependent industry, nor shall a permit be required pursuant to Section 49-27-5(c)(v) of any individual who seeks to construct a home, fishing camp or similar structure on his own property.
(2) If the commission determines that the activity, area or entity is exempt or requires no permit, and that the activity, area or entity complies with the notification requirement and the coastal wetland policy as required under Section 49-27-7, the commission may reduce the application fee by fifty percent (50%).
SECTION 5. Section 49-27-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-27-11. (1) A complete application shall include the following:
(a) The name and address of the applicant;
(b) The names and addresses of the present owners of record of adjacent land, as determined by current tax assessment rolls and of known claimants of riparian or water rights in or immediately adjacent to the coastal wetland, or a certification that after diligent search and inquiry the names and addresses could not be found;
(c) A detailed description of the proposed activity and a map, drawn to an appropriate and uniform scale showing by section, township and range, or by latitudinal and longitudinal coordinator, the location and area of the coastal wetlands to be affected, indicating the location and area of existing and proposed fill, excavation or other regulated activities; showing the location, width, depth and length of any proposed channel and dredge spoil disposal site; showing all existing and proposed structures, sewage collection and treatment facilities, utility installations, roadways and related appurtenances or facilities, including those on adjacent uplands; describing the type of equipment to be used and the means of equipment access to the activity site;
(d) An estimate of the cost of the activity;
(e) The primary and secondary purposes of the project, including contemplated future projects;
(f) A description of any public benefit to be derived from the proposed project dependent upon the proposed activity;
(g) A complete description of measures to be taken to reduce detrimental off-site effects to the coastal wetlands during and after the proposed activity;
(h) The completion date of the proposed activity and of the project dependent upon the activity;
(i) An appropriate written report or statement of the environmental impact of the proposed regulated activity and of the final project dependent on it upon the affected coastal wetlands and the life dependent upon them, provided that an environmental impact statement treating the same activity in the same area and supplied to another federal or state agency for considering a permit shall satisfy this requirement if submitted by the applicant; and
(j) A certification that a permit from the Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality has been applied for or that such permit is not required; that a permit from the United States Corps of Engineers has been applied for or that such permit is not required; that permits or other certificates of compliance with applicable municipal or county building codes and zoning ordinances have been applied for or are not required.
(2) If the applicant alters
or amends the information provided in compliance with paragraph (c) of
subsection (1) of this section, the review periods provided for in Sections 49-27-15
and 49-27-37 shall begin on the date that the new information is provided to
the department. The date of receipt for a completed application begins on the
date of the last amendment made in accordance * * * with paragraph (c) of subsection (1)
of this section.
(3) Any person filing an application to dredge an existing channel for navigational purposes shall complete an application for such activities in accordance with application procedures required in this section.
SECTION 6. Section 49-27-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
49-27-23. The commission may grant, issue, reissue, modify, deny, suspend or revoke permits and may prescribe limitations and conditions on permits. When taking such action on any permit, the commission shall consider the effect of the proposed activity with reference to the public policy expressed in Section 49-27-3 of this chapter. A permittee under this chapter must obtain a permit from the Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality if required by that commission under Sections 49-17-29 through 49-17-43, and nothing in this chapter is intended to waive the requirements and standards of such commission. A Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality permit granted to an applicant under this chapter shall be proof of the applicant's meeting any water quality standard considered by the commission under this chapter. Any conflict under this chapter between the commission and the Commission on Environmental Quality shall be resolved in favor of the Commission on Environmental Quality. The commission may undertake studies regarding water quality and submit the results of such studies to the Commission on Environmental Quality.
SECTION 7. Section 49-27-37, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
49-27-37. (1) The commission shall send a copy of any order in issuance, denial, revocation or suspension of a permit to the parties stated in Section 49-27-17, and such orders must be sent within ninety (90) days from the receipt of a complete application, or within ninety (90) days from an amendment to the application as provided by Section 49-27-11(2), in the case of granting or denying or thirty (30) days from the date of the hearing in the case of suspension or revocation, unless an extension is requested as provided in subsection (2) and approved by the commission.
(2) An applicant may request, in writing, additional extensions up to ninety (90) days for the processing of an application.
SECTION 8. Section 51-3-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
51-3-5. (1) No person who is not specifically exempted by this chapter shall use water without having first obtained a permit as provided herein and without having otherwise complied with the provisions of this chapter, the regulations promulgated hereunder and any applicable permit conditions.
(2) All persons having acquired a right to use surface water prior to April 1, 1985, are entitled to continue such use, provided that such right shall be contingent upon filing a notice of claim to such use with the commission on a form promulgated by the commission. Any person who shall fail to file said notice within three (3) years of April 1, 1985, shall be deemed to have abandoned such use and the right to such use shall automatically terminate without further action of the board.
(3) Any person using groundwater prior to April 1, 1985, for a beneficial use shall be entitled to continue such use upon the filing with the commission of a notice of claim on a form promulgated by the commission within three (3) years from April 1, 1985. Any such person failing to file said notice of claim within the prescribed period shall be deemed to have abandoned such use and the right to such use shall automatically terminate without further action by the board.
(4) Notwithstanding rights as envisioned in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, all users of water shall continue to be subject to regulations promulgated by the commission regarding the use of surface water and groundwater for the benefit of the health and public welfare of citizens of this state.
(5) As soon as practicable after April 1, 1985, the board shall give notice to all persons affected by the provisions of subsections (2) and (3) of this section regarding the requirement to file the notices of claims mentioned therein. If the names and mailing addresses of such affected persons are available to the board, actual written notice, by certified mail, shall be given by the board. If such names and mailing addresses are not available to the board, notice shall be given by publication at least one time per week for not less than three (3) consecutive weeks in one or more newspapers of general circulation in each county of the state.
SECTION 9. Section 53-7-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
53-7-39. (1) The department shall conduct an initial review of a completed permit application within thirty (30) days following receipt of the completed application. The department shall make a recommendation to the Permit Board on the permit application no later than the next regularly scheduled Permit Board meeting following the thirty-day initial review period, unless a public hearing is held on the application or the applicant agrees in writing to an additional time frame. If a public hearing is held, the department shall make its recommendation at the next regularly scheduled Permit Board meeting following the public hearing, if practicable.
(2) An on-site inspection of the proposed affected area shall be made by the department within the thirty-day time period specified in subsection (1) of this section, and before a permit is issued.
SECTION 10. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.
