Environmental Quality, Department of

Each year the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality presents a report to the governor on programs and initiatives promulgated by the agency to further its mission to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of present and future generations of Mississippians by conserving and improving the environment and fostering wise economic growth through focused research and responsible regulation. The Department of Archives and History has paper copies of the reports dating from 1990 and electronic (PDF) copies from 2006.

The series contains site files from the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) Uncontrolled Sites Section (USS) program. Included are environmental assessments, corrective action plans and reports, and monitoring reports of sites with real or perceived contamination across the state. Electronic files for the Vicksburg Chemical Company in Vicksburg, Warren County, Mississippi, 1978-2009, were transferred to MDAH in July 2015.

The Groundwater Assessment and Remediation Division (GARD) of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality is responsible for protecting Mississippi's groundwater resources, the public health, and the environment through managing and overseeing site assessments and cleanups and by developing priorities that enhance their protection. This series includes environmental assessments, corrective action plans, and monitoring reports of sites with real or perceived contamination across the state. The Department of Archives and History has electronic (PDF) scans of reports dating 1970-2016, created by the Department of Environmental Quality and arranged by site name.

A subset of these files, related to the Underground Storage Tank (UST) Program, are available at MDAH as Series 254: Groundwater Assessment and Remediation Division, Underground Storage Tank Program Files.

The Underground Storage Tank (UST) Program of the Groundwater Assessment and Remediation Division (GARD) of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality involves records related to disbursements from the Mississippi Groundwater Protection Trust Fund, which was created by the Mississippi Underground Storage Tank Act of 1988 to reimburse eligible tank owners for the assessment and remediation of environmental problems due to motor fuel release from underground storage tanks.

The Department of Archives and History has digital photographs (JPEG files) that were submitted to GARD with other UST documentation in 2003-2004. These images are arranged by site number. Other GARD files may be found in Series 2844: Groundwater Assessment and Remediation Division Files.