(1) The Mississippi Legislature finds the following:(a) For the benefit of the citizens centrally located in the State of Mississippi, including citizens residing or working in the capital city of the State of Mississippi, it is essential to have access to safe, clean and reliable water and wastewater systems at affordable, regulated rates which are just, reasonable and provide an adequate amount of capital to keep such systems in good repair;(b) The availability of safe, clean and reliable water and wastewater systems has vast impacts on health, schools and academic outcomes, crime and safety, state and local government operations, businesses and economic development, the availability of a workforce, tourism and many other critical areas;(c) The availability of safe, clean and reliable water and wastewater systems requires significant financial resources and human capital to engage in the planning, acquisition, construction, maintenance, coordination and operation required to deliver transparent and efficient services which meet and exceed federal and state regulations and requirements;(d) On November 29, 2022, the Department of Justice filed a complaint alleging that the City of Jackson has failed to provide drinking water that is reliably compliant with the Safe Drinking Water Act to citizens within the boundaries of the water system. The Department of Justice simultaneously filed a proposal which would appoint an interim third-party manager to stabilize the City of Jackson’s public drinking water system and build confidence in the water system’s ability to supply safe, clean and reliable water to citizens within the boundaries of the water system. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi issued an interim stipulated order that appointed an interim third-party manager to oversee and operate the water system on November 29, 2022;(e) On or about September 30, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi issued a stipulated order that brought the City of Jackson’s sewer and wastewater systems into the interim third-party managership;(f) The November 29, 2022, order appointing the interim third-party manager for the public drinking water system does not have a termination date and ends only when final judgment is entered by the court;(g) The September 30, 2023, order appointing the interim third-party manager for the sewer and wastewater system terminates on September 30, 2027, unless such order is earlier terminated or extended by the court;(h) Before the termination of the orders by the court, the system must be stable, the financial plan sustainable, and the transition plan approved in order to transition the system to post-interim third-party managership operations;(i) The creation and organization of a structure for future governance requires legislation for it to continue in perpetuity beyond the eventual end of the interim third-party manager’s work and related federal court orders; and(j) The creation and organization of a structure for future governance prior to the date of the conclusion of the interim third-party manager’s work will allow for an orderly transition to ensure minimal disruption in water and wastewater service.
(a) For the benefit of the citizens centrally located in the State of Mississippi, including citizens residing or working in the capital city of the State of Mississippi, it is essential to have access to safe, clean and reliable water and wastewater systems at affordable, regulated rates which are just, reasonable and provide an adequate amount of capital to keep such systems in good repair;
(b) The availability of safe, clean and reliable water and wastewater systems has vast impacts on health, schools and academic outcomes, crime and safety, state and local government operations, businesses and economic development, the availability of a workforce, tourism and many other critical areas;
(c) The availability of safe, clean and reliable water and wastewater systems requires significant financial resources and human capital to engage in the planning, acquisition, construction, maintenance, coordination and operation required to deliver transparent and efficient services which meet and exceed federal and state regulations and requirements;
(d) On November 29, 2022, the Department of Justice filed a complaint alleging that the City of Jackson has failed to provide drinking water that is reliably compliant with the Safe Drinking Water Act to citizens within the boundaries of the water system. The Department of Justice simultaneously filed a proposal which would appoint an interim third-party manager to stabilize the City of Jackson’s public drinking water system and build confidence in the water system’s ability to supply safe, clean and reliable water to citizens within the boundaries of the water system. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi issued an interim stipulated order that appointed an interim third-party manager to oversee and operate the water system on November 29, 2022;
(e) On or about September 30, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi issued a stipulated order that brought the City of Jackson’s sewer and wastewater systems into the interim third-party managership;
(f) The November 29, 2022, order appointing the interim third-party manager for the public drinking water system does not have a termination date and ends only when final judgment is entered by the court;
(g) The September 30, 2023, order appointing the interim third-party manager for the sewer and wastewater system terminates on September 30, 2027, unless such order is earlier terminated or extended by the court;
(h) Before the termination of the orders by the court, the system must be stable, the financial plan sustainable, and the transition plan approved in order to transition the system to post-interim third-party managership operations;
(i) The creation and organization of a structure for future governance requires legislation for it to continue in perpetuity beyond the eventual end of the interim third-party manager’s work and related federal court orders; and
(j) The creation and organization of a structure for future governance prior to the date of the conclusion of the interim third-party manager’s work will allow for an orderly transition to ensure minimal disruption in water and wastewater service.
(2) Therefore, it is the intent of the Mississippi Legislature to:(a) Provide the Metro Jackson Water Authority the ability to lease the existing water and wastewater assets from the city and, upon lease of such assets and termination of the interim third-party managership by the court, or an earlier date as ordered by the court, the water and wastewater assets shall be under the authority’s management and control to ensure all citizens have access to safe, clean and reliable water and wastewater systems at affordable, just and reasonable regulated rates and to provide an adequate amount of capital to keep such systems in good repair;(b) Authorize the Local Governments and Rural Water Systems Improvement Board (LGRWSI), as created in Section 41-3-16, while remaining compliant with all applicable provisions of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, to loan to the authority any funds required in connection with the authority’s acquisition of the leasehold interest in water assets as provided in this subsection (2) at an interest rate of zero percent (0%) with a maximum allowable term per federal Drinking Water State Revolving Fund regulations and applying the maximum principal forgiveness available and allowable per the LGRWSI Board’s intended use plan;(c) Authorize the Department of Environmental Quality to loan to the authority any funds requested in connection with the authority’s acquisition of the leasehold interest in wastewater assets as authorized in this subsection (2) at an interest rate of zero percent (0%) with a thirty-year term applying the maximum principal forgiveness available;(d) Authorize the authority, upon its establishment under this chapter, to issue bonds to refinance the system debts existing as of July 1, 2026, which bonds may be secured by and payable from one or more sources of nonsystem revenues made available to the authority for such purpose, provided that such bonds shall never constitute a debt, liability or loan of the credit of the state or any political subdivision thereof under the Mississippi Constitution and laws of the state or a pledge of the faith, credit or taxing power of the state or any political subdivision thereof; and(e) Authorize the authority and each of the Department of Health, the Department of Environmental Quality, the City of Jackson and other municipalities or governmental entities within the service area of the authority, and any other federal, state or local entity to partner with each other in taking any action necessary under this chapter to ensure all citizens have access to safe, clean and reliable water and wastewater systems, with the understanding that federal and state agencies are solely responsible for regulating, but not operating, the authority.
(a) Provide the Metro Jackson Water Authority the ability to lease the existing water and wastewater assets from the city and, upon lease of such assets and termination of the interim third-party managership by the court, or an earlier date as ordered by the court, the water and wastewater assets shall be under the authority’s management and control to ensure all citizens have access to safe, clean and reliable water and wastewater systems at affordable, just and reasonable regulated rates and to provide an adequate amount of capital to keep such systems in good repair;
(b) Authorize the Local Governments and Rural Water Systems Improvement Board (LGRWSI), as created in Section 41-3-16, while remaining compliant with all applicable provisions of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, to loan to the authority any funds required in connection with the authority’s acquisition of the leasehold interest in water assets as provided in this subsection (2) at an interest rate of zero percent (0%) with a maximum allowable term per federal Drinking Water State Revolving Fund regulations and applying the maximum principal forgiveness available and allowable per the LGRWSI Board’s intended use plan;
(c) Authorize the Department of Environmental Quality to loan to the authority any funds requested in connection with the authority’s acquisition of the leasehold interest in wastewater assets as authorized in this subsection (2) at an interest rate of zero percent (0%) with a thirty-year term applying the maximum principal forgiveness available;
(d) Authorize the authority, upon its establishment under this chapter, to issue bonds to refinance the system debts existing as of July 1, 2026, which bonds may be secured by and payable from one or more sources of nonsystem revenues made available to the authority for such purpose, provided that such bonds shall never constitute a debt, liability or loan of the credit of the state or any political subdivision thereof under the Mississippi Constitution and laws of the state or a pledge of the faith, credit or taxing power of the state or any political subdivision thereof; and
(e) Authorize the authority and each of the Department of Health, the Department of Environmental Quality, the City of Jackson and other municipalities or governmental entities within the service area of the authority, and any other federal, state or local entity to partner with each other in taking any action necessary under this chapter to ensure all citizens have access to safe, clean and reliable water and wastewater systems, with the understanding that federal and state agencies are solely responsible for regulating, but not operating, the authority.