BY Elizabeth Reid
Contributing Writer, Delta Business Journal

  Charles H. Chisolm, recently appointed as the new chief of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, took time from his hectic schedule to answer questions about challenges in the Delta and other relevant issues.

DBJ: What particular challenges does your department face in the Delta, particularly in the
agricultural arena?

CC: First let me note that over the last 12 to 15 years there has been considerable environmental improvement in the Delta.  Many farmers have implemented practices to reduce run-off of solids into streams and lakes; water withdrawal from surface water and groundwater is now regulated; and safer agricultural chemicals are being used.  However, there is still a
lot to do.
  To have an improved environment and increased economic development opportunities, the Delta must deal successfully with two very complex and intertwined environmental issues: water quantity and water quality.  MDEQ has a major role to play in addressing these issues, but the leadership and citizens of the Delta have a much larger role to play.
  With regard to water quality, our role is to secure the necessary information about surface water and groundwater conditions in the Delta so that we can accurately predict the effects of various water consumption scenarios on available water supplies. However, it is the Delta residents themselves, especially the local and state elected officials and the agricultural
and business leaders, who with our help, will then have to make the hard decisions about how to manage their businesses and farms and towns so everyone will have enough water.
  The roles in the water quality issue are similar. We have the responsibility under law to set water quality standards that will protect human health and the environment.  We also have the responsibility to establish what are called Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for pollutants that cause the waters not to meet the established standards.  But, again, the local leaders then have the much harder task of helping us develop practical implementation plans to meet the TMDL requirements.
  The water quantity and quality issues we face in the Delta can only be solved by more collaboration and joint problem solving than we at MDEQ have ever before had to utilize. Simple enforcement of regulations and permit conditions alone cannot deal with these challenges; we must all work together to collectively implement strategies that will benefit
the Delta and its citizens.

DBJ: Because a number of buildings, particularly schools, have serious indoor air quality problems, do you have a plan to address indoor air quality?

CC: Unless the building is contaminated by hazardous waste, hazardous materials, or is being impacted by neighboring properties, MDEQ has no role in indoor air quality/contamination.  In Mississippi, it is the Department of Health that has the responsibility for indoor air programs.

DBJ: Environmentalists have made note that DEQ is understaffed and under funded to adequately enforce stormwater regulations already in place. With a second phase in the offing, will your department receive increased staffing and funding?

CC: It does not appear likely that additional funding or staffing is forthcoming this legislative session.

DBJ: What other federal regulations are coming down the pipeline that the business community may not be aware of?

CC: The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality is constantly addressing new environmental challenges that are primarily a result of ever changing federal environmental regulation.  These regulations ultimately affect the entire state of Mississippi and its citizens.  Among those that we see on the horizon that will require attention from MDEQ, state and local government, business, and industry are, first, additional water quality management requirements associated with determination of maximum daily pollutant levels; Second, Phase II Stormwater regulations which will require more cities and counties to
develop plans to reduce pollutants generated by stormwater runoff and require developers to address stormwater runoff on sites of one acre or more; Third, Aquaculture Effluent Guidelines; Fourth, Nutrient water quality criteria; and Fifth, Source Water Assessment program requirements, which will determine the susceptibility of public water systems to possible contamination.
  Be assured that MDEQ will continue to work together with government officials, business, industry, academia and the state’s citizens in implementing new regulations.

DBJ: What do you need to run your department more effectively?

CC: For the first twenty-odd years of the department’s existence, we have managed to hire and retain highly qualified engineering and science graduates. The State Personnel Board and the Legislature have worked with us to build career ladders and benchmark raises that, while not equivalent to many private sector engineering and scientist salaries, are competitive enough
to attract bright young Mississippians who want to stay in Mississippi and do work they can believe in.  Once these incentives were created the issue became one of funding these incentives.  Absorbing these costs has become increasingly difficult. We have now reached a point where we will not be able to continue awarding the raises without additional resources from the legislature.  If we do not receive funding for our career ladders, our ability to attract and retain qualified professional staff will be seriously impaired. Obviously, without highly competent employees, we cannot be effective.
  Almost every year, some new controversial environmental issue emerges. Generally, this is a serious problem or potential problem for Mississippi and its citizens.  But there are other issues that, though not as controversial, can have a much greater effect on the future of the state and its citizens. We have to work with the state’s political leaders, business and agricultural leaders, environmental and conservation groups, and ordinary citizens to correctly identify these larger issues; and then, together, we must spend most of our time and money on them.
  For the next decade and longer, three of these most important issues will be water quantity, water quality, and ambient air concentrations of ozone. To effectively deal with these issues, we will undoubtedly need some additional staff and other resources. However, we will also have to learn new ways of doing business.
  Over the last thirty years of the 20th century, this department and its predecessor agencies contributed to dramatic improvements in water quality, air quality, and, in certain parts of the state (Tupelo and Lee County, in particular), water quantity.  These improvements were accomplished primarily through what has come to be known as “command and control” regulation of individual point sources of pollution, or, in the case of water quantity, individual water withdrawal permits.
  The water quality and ozone challenges confronting the state now are, in contrast, largely due to many “nonpoint” or “area” pollution sources, such as urban and farm rainwater run-off and automobiles.  The water quantity issues result from economic prosperity and growing, competing demands for various alternative uses of a limited resource. “Command and control”
approaches are not very effective in addressing these kinds of problems. To solve them, we will have to rely mainly on education, persuasion, collaboration, and consensus building. The restoration of adequate water quality in Lake Washington is an example of how these non-regulatory approaches can successfully deal with the effects of agricultural run-off. MDEQ must become better at fostering this kind of localized collaborative problem solving throughout the Delta and the rest of the state.