Jackson water crisis: city council expected to vote on federal consent decree
The Jackson City Council is expected to vote Thursday on a federal consent decree aimed at finding a solution to the water crisis.
The Environmental Protection Agency, the city and the state have been negotiating a settlement agreement for more than a month since the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant shut down, leaving the city without water for days.
Sign up for our NewslettersEPA Administrator Michael Regan said Tuesday that a federal judge will oversee the deal once it's in place to hold all sides accountable.
"Once we reach an agreement, that will go to the city council. The city council will vote on it, then it comes back to the mayor. The mayor will sign off on it and then the Department of Justice will file that agreement with the federal court. We are moving with a sense of urgency," Regan said.
Regan made his fourth visit to Jackson in the past year on Tuesday and spoke with city leaders and residents about how the water problems have affected them.
"I believe that we're moving forward in a direction that is most beneficial to the residents of Jackson, not only to secure a more dependable, sustainable system, but one that is affordable," Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said.
City leaders were forced to sign a confidentiality agreement with the EPA and Department of Justice so they can't talk about the details of the settlement.
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