Gray v. Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality

MAXWELL, J.,

for the Court: .

¶ 1. Under Mississippi’s Air and Water Pollution Control Law, “it is unlawful for any person to cause pollution of any waters of the state or to place or cause to be placed any wastes in a location where they are likely to cause pollution of any waters of the state” unless that person has a permit. Miss.Code Ann. § 49-17-29(2) (Rev.2012). And because dirt work produces sediment — a pollutant that could potentially run off in state waters — state environmental regulation requires a permit to disturb more than five acres of land through activities like clearing,…