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Jackson could soon be getting hundreds of millions of dollars in aid for its beleaguered water system, as Congress prepares to vote on a year-long spending bill that would prevent a government shutdown.
The water system, which some have estimated may need as much as $1 billion to come into compliance with an Environmental Protection Agency consent decree, would receive $600 million from the EPA in the 4,155-page spending bill set for votes in the House and Senate this week.
The $600 million total is split between two separate appropriations. One, totaling $150 million, is meant for technical assistance, while the other, totaling $450 million, is for capital projects, according to U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson.
The Senate could vote on the bill as early as Wednesday, while the House is likely to vote on Thursday.
The spending bill has already garnered support from Mississippi members of Congress on both sides of the political aisle. Thompson, a Democrat, and Sen. Roger Wicker, a Republican, both released statements Tuesday evening vowing to support the proposal.
“I look forward to voting for the complete omnibus package. I am proud to support the $600 million that will be included in the omnibus bill to help Jackson, Mississippi,” Thompson said in a statement. “In addition to the $600 million, Jackson will also receive additional funding from the omnibus bill, which I look forward to voting for on Thursday, December 22, 2022.”
Wicker’s statement mentioned Jackson too, and also cited a number of other infrastructure priorities in the state and national defense spending in his reasons for supporting the bill.
“It represents the best possible opportunity to end this budget stalemate,” Wicker said in a statement.
Jackson’s water system has been troubled for generations, with it outright failing earlier this year — leaving the entire city and residents of neighboring Byram without drinkable water for 45 days. While decades of deferred maintenance compounded by errors that were made from the very beginning played a role, others cited mismanagement in the system and low pay for workers and vendors alike.
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Amid conflicts between the state and city over who should oversee future decision-making, the U.S. Justice Department stepped in to appoint a third-party administrator. Earlier this month, Ted Henifin was named to that role. If the federal spending bill becomes law, Henifin may soon have the money to tackle some of his biggest priorities.
The news of a potential funding windfall comes as the city prepares for a likely days-long hard freeze that will challenge the water system significantly. A similar winter weather event in 2021 caused the system to fail.
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