JJ is not the only one who noticed the EPA rushing to town at the behest of the Lumumba administration. U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate had a few questions for the EPA at a scheduled status conference on Jackson's water/sewer system yesterday. WLBT's Anthony Warren reported:
A federal judge on Thursday attempted to get to the bottom of what spurred on two community meetings called by the Environmental Protection Agency to discuss Jackson water.
The meetings were slated for Thursday and Friday this week, with the EPA and U.S. Department of Justice seeking information on the improvements being made to the water system, as well as the mid and long-term future of it.
At a status conference held hours before the first session was set to get underway, U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate asked an attorney for DOJ whether the meetings were called in response to a March 2023 letter from Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba.
“It seems the mayor is not a friend to the endeavor to straighten out this mess,” Wingate said. “I hope I’m wrong. He’s been antagonistic before, but I hope he realizes we’re here to work for the betterment of the public.”...
Henifin told Wingate that several of the topics the EPA is seeking comment on, mirror the mayor’s statements, including the EPA’s desire to hear from residents about “communications improvements” they’d like to see implemented.
Karl Fingerhood, senior counsel for the Justice Department’s Environmental Enforcement Section, however, refuted that, saying the questions being raised are “concerns we’ve heard for some time.”
“We wanted to get the public’s thoughts as far as what improvements they’ve seen, if they’ve had issues with not getting notified if there’s a boil water notice associated with some construction work, things like that,” he said. “It’s just feedback the EPA is going to use for its own purposes.”...
Wingate also asked how regulatory officials would use the information gleaned at the meetings, and how they would vet it for accuracy.
“How will you know if the majority of [the attendees] won’t be political hacks? How will you know that?” he asked. “You don’t know what motive they have or whether they have a water issue at all.”
Fingerhood said individuals would not be required to give their names or addresses to speak, but that officials would follow up with speakers who raised specific concerns if need be.
Wingate also was concerned the sessions would be less about addressing the future of Jackson water and more about criticizing the third-party manager. Rest of the article.
Kingfish note: Hizzoner likes to complain Receiver Ted Henifin will not meet with him. Um, Henefin meets with Chief Administrative Officer Louis Wright every week, usually for breakfast but the Mayor usually doesn't let facts get in the way when he is shooting off his mouth.
39 comments:
Hey, chowke and ruekia, the high judge is on to y'all's bull$h!+.
Horn will be a slightly more congenial Lumumba.
Wingate's insight into the Lumumbas' tactic of manipulating the EPA with race mongering exhibits Solomon's wisdom. The very proposal of using Sister Rukia's belly bouncing, "Free The Water" tee shirted street mobs to select members of a future Water Board is transparently absurd for all who know the radical antics of this poser-mayor.
In five or ten years this will all be water under the bridge.
Didn’t Lumumba’s chief of staff take credit for setting up these town halls with the EPA and DOJ?
Still wonder why some of us are paying for 40% of jacksonanians who pay nothing.
Tired of paying that subsidy.
It looks like theft by the city from those of us who pay our bills.
Judge Wingate clearly has the mayor’s number; thank God.
The mayor and his toadies should please proceed until they earn their contempt citings!
Seems like it’s more than about water, Right! Mayor don’t make this a battle, we’d sure like for you to concentrate on the crime problems in the metro and getting our youth off the streets and in productive jobs/programs.
Rukia must have lawyers on speed dial to threaten anyone who besmirches her "honor" seeing the edit in the article. When are you going to pay your taxes Rukia?
The "Environmental Justice" wing of a certain party has been tied for decades to wringing out personal and political gain for lead, water, and corporate pollution. It's no accident that the huge payouts in Flint MI led to a rush for both steering remediation contracts to friends but to Jackpot Justice money grabs. Anyone else noticed the last several years of ambulance chaser solicitations for "water injuries?" Just look at the recent Camp Lejeune payouts and this personal injury industry donations to a certain party and their folks.
One side bleats "Mah taxes is too high" and the other bleats, "Mah neck hurts...." Follow the money.
Perpetual victimhood pays.
1:52, Please tell us about those "recent Camp Lejeune payouts."
Unseal the indictments!
He will be a return to the normal ineptitude we had before Chokwe. But that will be a huge improvement.
I am glad Judge Wingate perceives what is going on here. Smart man.
The way I read it, all the judge did was blow a little smoke amid a cloud of steam. I had hoped he would tell them to get the hell out of town. Doesn't a federal judge trump a Justice Department appointed attorney?
Winner!!
12:52 Good point. I wonder if the EPA is concerned about those of us who always pay their water bills every month subsidizing those who do not. That should be a top priority but guess what, it’s not even on the radar.
No, a USDJ cannot tell an Executive Branch not to hold public hearings. He did the right thing, although I agree with your sentiment.
PS, 2:52, don't be a sharpshooter and do your own research. For the lazy or disingenuous crew, Flint paid out 626 million. LeJeune is estimated to potentially pay 21 BILLLION.
These stratospheric ambulance chaser payouts are closing corporations and shipping jobs overseas. Hell, we have a trillion plastic water bottles polluting the world because of false fears over water already, and now we have ambulance chasers leaving a greasy ring around the hot tubs and pools. There's your water pollution.
Putz Et Al and their Dem politico buds smell the equivalent of 20 lottery jackpots and the sharks are starting to bite each other in the ensuing frenzy.
Thank you, again, Judge Wingate. We are so very very tired of having to deal with this mayor, his minions, and his sister. They do not represent the majority but the majority has to deal with it. We are so very grateful that you see and understand just what is going on here. Its like having someone slap you behind closed doors----you tell people crap is going on, nobody gets it, then FINALLY someone does. Thank you, Judge, for trying to help us.
How high is the water Mama .... five feet high and rising .... Johnny Cash
5:37: You obviously do this for a living. See you Monday.
The judge is a good man. I hate he has to deal with Chuck. At least he knows what kind of low life our mayor is.
Cudos to Judge Wingate for being honorable for boys and girls to aspire to be. The Mayor and his sister are shameful for our youth. Yes if you study hard in school, work hard and read your Bible, God will bless and prosper you. Prosper does not always mean wealth as the worldly people want you to believe. Ted has done an excellent job with the help of hard working people and we are thankful to have him help the COJ Residents!
When one references “EPA” it is important to differentiate between EPA Region IV in Atlanta or EPA Headquarters in D. C. These two EPA offices have not sung from the same sheet of music in regards to Jackson’s water system. Region IV has been more about holding Jackson accountable and D. C. has been more about casting blame on anyone and everyone—except the city of Jackson.
Can anyone remember when the water system was within a few days of total catastrophic failure? It took the governor to gather an experienced group to get it functioning again. The mayor could never have done that. Now that Ted is controlling the water situation we have seen it prosper. He is still getting the job done even when the epa in Washington took his authority away for him to pay the bills to vendors/contractors that were performing the work. That move has Bennie Thompson written all over it. Yes, Ted needs a huge thank you! The right person was selected to perform that task. Now, just think of the governor had not stepped in.
Wingate treading very closely to first amendment issues and exercising judicial power over executive power. Wingate is exactly what in this scheme? Hes an article 3 judge now overseeing the implementation of an emergency contract via the epa from Congress. At what point is it no longer an emergency? When does the control move back to regular channels? I realize it’s a feeding frenzy for federal dollars but at some point the city gets to take control of these funds.
Drinking water free of dangerous lead and “corpoarate pollution” (whater that is) is what most of you outside of Jackson get to drink out of your faicet, and, apparently, is taken for granted by many.
It has nothing to do with victim thinking. Flint MI’s water was fine, until a cost cutting measure removed the chemicals that kept the lead on the walls of the pipes and out of the water. Hence lead was reintroduced into the water by boneheaded decisions, just like Lamumba makes, except these were Republicans. Then they whined about fixing the problem they created, and are still whining as evidenced here, and it’s not even your state.
Everybody deserves safe drinking water.
“It seems the mayor is not a friend to the endeavor to straighten out this mess.” Truer words have rarely been spoken.
@7:28 AM is spot on. The people from EPA HQ are political hacks pushing the far left agenda. The Regional folks are civil servants just trying to do their job.
"Wingate treading very closely to first amendment issues and exercising judicial power over executive power."
I think this is more an issue of federalism than it is separation of powers, i.e., federal power over a political subdivision of the state.
... but at some point the city gets to take control of these funds.
NEVER happens while Mayor Clown Show is in office. Never.
At the last town halls about a year ago, EPA disclosed that in the two years between March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2022, the city release 4.5 BILLION gallons of untreated/undertreated wastewater into the Pearl River.
https://jacksonadvocateonline.com/jackson-water-users-speak-out-in-support-of-new-sewer-clean-up-decree/
That should be EPA's primary concern, not whether and when Lumumba can get his hands on the federal grant money, or how to kiss Chockwe's butt so he won't throw everyone under the racism-bus (which he will do anyway, because that's what he does).
My understanding is the legislation does not allow Jackson to get it's hands on the money. Lumumba s problems with Henifin began when H fired the mayors spy
" we’d sure like for you to concentrate on the crime problems in the metro and getting our youth off the streets and in productive jobs/programs."
So when do they start concentrating on crime issues and getting youth off the streets and into productive jobs/programs? I'm not holding my breath.....
@3:30 PM, I always find it amusing that the folks downstream are quick to become flustered about the prospect for a new lake impoundment of the Pearl up here, but never scream their lungs out about the massive raw sewage pollution also passing their locales on the way to the gulf. In fact, you never hear a thing out of the One Lake opponents here about Jackson's polluting crimes.
Judge Wingate is a fair man who lives in the City he only wants what is best for the City of Jackson.
Following up on 5:40: Under Jackson's supervision, One Lake was projected to be a huge, open-air sewage lagoon.
October 12, 2024 at 8:16 AM
The city should not get any control of this considering the multi-DECADE negligence.
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