PETITION TO GOVERNOR PHIL BRYANT

To Improve WATER QUALITY IN THE MISSISSIPPI SOUND

RESTORE MISSISSIPPI SOUND (RMS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving water quality in the Mississippi Sound using BP settlement funds.  We, along with the undersigned concerned coastal residents, are frustrated with the lack of commitment to clear communication and follow-up action addressing the extremely poor water quality in the Mississippi Sound and the status of BP settlement funds.  The lack of response by the Governor to a petition signed by 350 people sent to him earlier this year shows his indifference to the damages to human health, aquatic life and the coastal economy that the Sound’s water quality causes.

With close to 90 Water Contact Advisories issued thus far in 2016 (as of October 31), a significant decline in the State’s shellfish industry, and a decrease in water recreation-related revenues make the Governor’s inaction inexcusable.  Not only do bacteria continue to pollute the sound in dangerous levels, other hazardous bacteria that cause red tide and the flesh-eating disease, residual dispersant, and oil, all create a toxic stew that only the bravest coastal residents or unknowing tourists dare to come in contact with.  RMS calls on the Governor to immediately take the following action:

1) IMPROVE SIGNAGE IN AREAS WITH HAZARDOUS LEVELS OF BACTERIA.  Notifications and signage related to water advisories are woefully inadequate.  Small, faded orange flags, along with the Advisory signs are posted on only a few of the access points to the beaches covered by the advisory, and the signs are easily missed or misunderstood. To issue an advisory, Mississippi applies an enterococcus threshold value of 104 cfu/100 ml.  An advisory is issued regardless of the level of bacterial concentration – it could be 104 cfu/100 ml. or 10,000 cfu/ml., and signs don’t include information on the bacterial concentration.  Beachgoers have a right to know about the risks that they and their families face when they come in contact with the water in the Mississippi Sound.  We therefore call on the Governor to clarify the nature of the hazard that beachgoers face by installing larger, more noticeable flags on every access point to the affected stretch of beach, changing the word ‘Advisory’ to ‘Danger,’ ‘Warning,’ or ‘Hazard,’ and including an indication of the bacterial concentration level that triggered the warning.

2) CREATE AN ADVISORY COUNCIL representing all affected stakeholders that can speak to, and for, coastal residents, and advise the Governor on problems communities are experiencing with the expenditure of BP settlement funds.

3) CONSOLIDATE THE COMMUNICATIONS AND SCHEDULES OF THE ORGANIZATIONS ISSUING BP SETTLEMENT FUNDS AT THE STATE LEVEL, AND PROVIDE THE INFORMATION TO COASTAL RESIDENTS.  Federal, State, and other groups responsible for issuing the BP settlement funds have different plans, strategies, schedules, and criteria, which has caused tremendous confusion among coastal residents.  The result is a small group of professionals that advise companies who can afford them on the organizations issuing BP funds: NRDA/NOAA, RESTORE COUNCIL, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the Department of Treasury (for environmental restoration and research), and the Mississippi State legislature, represented by the Lieutenant Governor (issuing BP funds for economic restoration), the documents they issue, the public meetings they hold, their schedules for applying for and issuing funding, etc.  Coastal residents deserve to understand ‘the big picture’ – how much money in total is available, and how it is being spent.  We call on the Governor to institutionalize an annual conference on ecological and economic restoration with all organizations involved to discuss schedules, project implementation, and other important issues of concern to coastal communities, and to digitalize the information.

For more information on this petition, contact Sharon Hayes, Director, RESTORE MISSISSIPPI SOUND at hayessehh@hotmail.com.  Visit us on Facebook at RESTOREMISSISSIPPISOUND.