After striking out with the Biden EPA, the Jackson NAACP and other plaintiffs accuse the state of Mississippi of intentionally crippling Jackson's water/sewer system by depriving the City of Jackson of much-needed funding in a federal lawsuit.
The NAACP, Doris Glasper and Nsombi Lambright sued State Treasurer David McRae, DFA Director Elizabeth Welch, and MDEQ Executive Director Christophe Wells in U.S. District Court Friday. Half-bright is the local Director of the NAACP while Glasper is a tenant at the infamous Blossom Apartments.
The plaintiffs charged the state intentionally and repeatedly crippled Jackson's water system for 30 years:
1. Defendants have intentionally deprived residents of the City of Jackson of access to federal relief funds currently in the Capital City Water/Sewer Projects Fund of the State Treasury— via a state pass-through grant program of American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”) funds —which were promised to Jackson in order to address the water infrastructure crisis. Plaintiffs seek declaratory judgment that Defendants’ law withholding ARPA funds from Jackson—2022 Senate Bill 2822 (“S.B. 2822”)—is both facially discriminatory and the result of discriminatory purpose. Plaintiffs ask this court to enjoin Defendants from permanently diverting those funds away from Jackson’s ongoing water crisis.
Jackson's water crisis allegedly began in the 1990s and culminated in the August 22, 2022 failure of the water system. The state exacerbated the problem by its refusal to help Jackson even as poverty increased.
The NAACP did not take kindly to the state joining a federal lawsuit against the city of Jackson for Clean Water Act violations in 2022. The complaint charges:
To date, Jackson still has not received the $35.6 million in ARPA funds, which the Defendants received over four years ago and promised Jackson almost three years ago.
The lawsuit resulted in the stipulated order placing Jackson's water system under the receivership of JXN Water Manager Ted Henifin.
The complaint continues with the NAACP's version of history:Beginning in the mid-1990s, Jackson’s first black mayor, Harvey Johnson, Jr., repeatedly requested that the State provide the City with a payment in lieu of taxes or make loans available to repair the City’s aging infrastructure, because Jackson, as Mississippi’s capital city, hosts state agencies on extensive tax-exempt properties. The State refused, and instead, diverted federal highway and bridge funds meant for predominantly black Hinds County (in which Jackson is the county seat) to the surrounding counties of Madison and Rankin, which remain predominantly white
while the NAACP resurrects this particular misrepresentation:
Mayor Chokwe Lumumba wrote to Mississippi’s Governor and Legislature with a detailed request for $47 million in emergency funding to ensure the integrity of the City’s drinking water system.The State did not provide the requested funds. Instead, the legislature provided only $3 million.
Jackson actually received the $47 million in emergency funding. While Jackson's request was on the table at the legislature, Congressman Bennie Thompson obtained $44 million in funding. The legislature appropriated $3 million to make up the difference, thus giving Jackson its $47 million. More misrepresentations follow:
40. MDEQ received funds from the EPA as part of a “historic opportunity to correct longstanding environmental and economic injustice”, and despite being aware of Jackson’s severe needs, distributed to the City only a small fraction and disproportionately low amount. From fiscal year 2015 through 2022, the EPA awarded MDEQ’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund over $81 million in capitalization grants and the Mississippi State Department of Health awarded nearly $265 million in Drinking Water State Revolving Fund loans to all its loan recipients combined; $51 million in loans were awarded to Jackson from 2016 through 2021.
Similar allegations were made in a complaint to the EPA's Environmental Civil Rights Division. The only problem was the MDEQ and the Health Department showed they approved every single loan request submitted by Jackson. The EPA noted such as it dismissed the complaint.
The NAACP also claimed JXN Water Receiver Ted Henifin said $35.6 million in ARPA funds were not distributed to Jackson.
The complaint takes issue with the legislature's matching fund requirement:
S.B. 2822 allowed Mississippi’s larger municipalities and cities like Jackson to apply for funding for water and sewer projects with a one-to-one match using their own direct ARPA funds, while smaller municipalities receiving less than $1 million in ARPA funds could request two-to-one matching.
63. Although applied to all applicants in the first of two rounds of applications, the matching requirement was subsequently waived for the second round—76% of MCWI applicants. Recipients of MCWI awards during the first round of applications were not permitted to seek additional funding in the second round. Consequently, Defendant Wells and MCWI effectively operated two competitions—one for Jackson, and a separate one for the majority of applicants....
Other states such as Alabama and Louisiana did not require matching funds to receive ARPA funds. The complaint protests the Legislature's placement of funds into an escrow account for Jackson:
90. While defending another bill impacting the City of Jackson, Mississippi State Representative Trey Lamar very plainly stated: “We're not going to turn over hundreds of millions of dollars to a city government over the last several years that's theme is this: no water, no sewer, no garbage collection, no attempt to collect the necessary fees that operate those systems.”
Four years have passed and the NAACP alleges the water system did not receive its ARPA funds as they are held in the Capital City Water/Sewer Projects Fund at the Mississippi Department of the Treasury.
The complaint alleges more proof of state discrimination against Jackson: Governor Bryant considered taking over a failing JPS, the airport takeover bill, and the requirement of a Commission if the city wanted to increase sales taxes to fund infrastructure improvements.
The NAACP charges the defendants with race-based discrimination under color of law, violation of the Equal Protection Clause, and violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The plaintiffs ask the Court to stop the state from "retaining" Jackson's ARPA funds and to disburse the ARP SRLF relief.
JXN Water stated it has the ARPA funds in a press release:
JXN Water received the $23 million in ARPA funds held by the City of Jackson as match for the Municipality and County Water Infrastructure Grant program. This occurred at the time responsibility for the systems transferred to JXN Water as a result of the federal stipulated orders.
JXN Water applied for and received grant approvals for a drinking water grant and a wastewater grant. Projects associated with those grants are underway. The State has approved and paid the matching funds as JXN Water has submitted invoices.
JXN Water does not know the details of the lawsuit against the State. From JXN Water's perspective, the State has met its obligations to the City of Jackson's water and sewer systems through JXN Water.
The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate. The Southern Poverty Law Center represents the plaintiffs.
62 comments:
Glad its before Judge Wingate.
Totally fatigued!
Would the Marxist NAACP like some cheese with their whine?
How would they know if the funds were
paid out or not?
Indeed. "Judge shopping fail."
Same song, second verse….yada yada racism
I'm going with Jxn Water's statement.
You have to apply for the funds with
MDEQ
The city only ask for $35.6 million They
could have ask for more.
Jackson blaming other things and other people for its problems. This reminds me of the Texaco station on Medgar Evers a while back when so much crime was happening around it and even robberies and murders. Kenneth Stokes blamed the Texaco station and said it should be forced to close. Stokes supporters came out with signs in hand demanding Texaco close. They never said a word about the criminals doing the crime. The criminals had even robbed the Texaco, but still Stokes and company blamed the station for the crime in the neighborhood. That's the level of sense this makes.
If Jxn Water got the funds then isn't
their lawsuit moot?
Johnson could have got loans if he applied for them. They don't just hand
over the money.
Judge Wingate all things water.
“ Victims” whining.
When the well runs dry, play the race card.
The NAACP only has 1 play in their playbook. I wonder when they will ever realize that it doesn't work.
The always scream injustice when the true word is incompetence.
They will never blame Lumumba
for not doing his job.
Dang, this is getting old.
Who's paying for the lawsuit?
No problem.
If the NAACP and SPLC wish to control Jackson's water ... let em' have it.
They want payment in lieu of taxes. It's a common request....but water isn't paid for by taxes. The state pays for its water usage. I can see a PILOT for potholes and streets and law enforcement, but not water. And now with the Capitol Police, not law enforcement.
I hope Judge Wingate sees through
this.
This sounds just like the recent Katrina documentary that was just released. Blaming everyone else for the failure of their own people to have basic competence and having no accountability. It's the state government's fault. It's the Feds' fault. It's the white people's fault. No, it's the fault of who has been in charge of the city.
Shout out to Sister R!
What doing?
Aren't we due another screed from Danyelle about now?
NAACP = National Association for the ADVANCEMENT of Colored People. I suppose the incompetence of the leaders in the City of Jackson is proof of the “advancement”.
It's everybody fault but Lumumba.
If you removed all of the factual errors from this filing, all that would remain would be the punctuation marks.
This is an easy case - did Jacktown get the ARPA funding, or not?
From the DEQ website:
“ 45. How will Applicants receive reimbursements? What needs to be submitted to receive
reimbursement? MCWI is a reimbursement grant program. Recipients will only be reimbursed
for costs after submission of detailed invoices and cost reports, including receipts, that
substantiate all costs to which they seek to have reimbursed. All requests must be substantiated
on the record with proper documentation. Projects must be undertaken and completed in a
manner that is technically sound, meaning that they must meet design and construction methods
and use materials that are approved, codified, recognized, fall under standards or acceptable
levels of practice, or otherwise are determined to be acceptable by the design and construction
industry. Specific standard operating procedures to be determined prior to grant award will
further detail specific requirements of the grantees.”
Detailed invoices? Cost reports? Substantiated costs? This language is just dripping with systemic racism.
Derrick Johnson the NAACP president wife is running for mississippi senate.
Y’all bigots about to PAY UP!
Not sure why these people are afraid to fight crime. Let’s close the business rather than fight the criminals. A bunch of intelligent people running that operation.
We can’t put blame on the incompetence of the people in charge. It’s always someone else’s fault, that is the only hand they know to play.
We can’t put blame on the incompetence of the people in charge. It’s always someone else’s fault, that is the only hand they know to play.
We up here in Jackson got us a problem. Now what all y’all going do about it?
This is crazy 6:24 is correct as funds had to be requested. Biden Alone paneled this. Remember Lumumba touted what a Great Leader Biden was?
Somebody please tell the NAACP they can stand down; Jackson now has clean, reliable water.
The NAACP should change its name to the NAAGP, i.e., the National Association for the advancement of Grifter People.
With their White Liberal partners (that Malcom warned us about), Democrats use chaos and violent crime to create and keep the flight required to control cities like Jackson forever. And when the tax base collapses? They cry racism then “Blame (the) Jackson Water Problems on (the) State.”
High violent crime not only secures control of cities like Jackson and Chicago for Democrats via votes, said crime also comes with “over $4 billion in (federal) grants nationwide to support violence reduction, victim services, and criminal justice reform initiatives;” i.e., TO SO-CALLED NON-PROFITS.
Which is why Democrats are in almost unanimous opposition to receiving any help at all getting crime under control from the federal government. Keep that so-called non-profit grifter money coming, and dead children, be damned.
Does anyone know how they know
the funds have not been given to
Jxn Water? Have the ones they are
suing responded yet to the lawsuit?
Truth will come out in court. Is there a
court date for this yet?
This is bullcrap. Mayors and Councilmen have to do their jobs. They have to hire employees to do a job and hold them accountable. Employees have to come in and do the job they are paid to do. They have to manage, work, plan, maintain, etc. That's how a water/sewer system is operated. They failed at that. And they can't admit it. I manage a water/sewer utility. I know how this works. If we fail, it's our fault, not the government's fault.
If Jxn Water got the funds, why are they
suing?
Due to the negative connotation of the phrase "colored people," the NAACP is thinking about changing their name to reflect more modern terms like "African Americans"
But then they said NAAAA.
"The State refused, and instead, diverted federal highway and bridge funds meant for predominantly black Hinds County (in which Jackson is the county seat) to the surrounding counties of Madison and Rankin, which remain predominantly white". This is true. I20 in Rankin County was 6-laned and I55 in Madison county was 6-laned before I55-south in south Jackson.
They are currently considering NARRC. National Association for the Raising of the Race Card.
It's correct the state is not responsible
for a city's water system.
As some point, filing lies in a pleading becomes sanctionable conduct.
That's why politicians, who happen to be (crappy) attorneys, get in trouble when they try to practice law.
It seems clear that the only way those people can hide their incompetence and avoid its consequences is by adopting a shrill, screeching attack on the claim of racism. Really, except for refuting the factual claims these people make, they should be ignored in the same way a toddler’s temper tantrum should be ignored. But with that said, I’d love to see notables like David Archie and Chock at the fore of this squall. Maybe they can explain how the NCAAP has standing to bring this temper tantrum to court
10:02 have you driven on I-55 around the Pearl River in the past year? What county is that? I do agree that they haven't replaced the copper that was stolen out of the lights on I-20 in West Jackson. Damn the State...
The state legislature should not give Jackson any funding, it will be wasted. Why not take over the police department entirely or take over public works.
The water sewer systems in about every city and town in this nation has been "neglected". Politicians want to fix what we can " see" and "ignore" fixing what we can't. It was bad in 1979. And all you yahoos who throw crap into the Reservoir ain't helping!
The NAACP trying to take on MDEQ Director Wells in federal court. That’s laughable. This is going to be fun to watch.
The water meters were never calibrated to the billing system. Whoever installed the meters were not Einstein. Therefore, Jackson will never recouped the money. Start over with new billing system and sync all meters. Start with a clean slate. Harvey Johnson Mr no it all and his buddies. This is awful.
Jxn Water rebuilt the billing system
and installed new meters. It's not
like when the city had the water
system.
Jackson (and their friends, the naacp) makes it sound like a water system is more complicated than the space shuttle. Funny how every town in America from the biggest to the smallest has been running water billing systems for over a hundred years with no problems. It's NOT rocket science. Also funny how Siemens has been involved in a large number of those water systems throughout the country over the years but only flubbed up the one in Jackson. What are the odds?
"I didn't get my fried catfish at Thalia Marah, dammit."
"Did you order and prepay for it?"
"I voted Lamumba, bought a ticket, where's my fried fish!"
Always blaming it on someone else
and not the right person.
The state not responsible for a water
system.
The mayor crippled Jackson's water
system. Never will blame him.
Where did that get this information?
They said Jxn Water got $3.8 million
of the arpa funds in August 2022. Jxn
Water was not even here in August 2022.
Post a Comment