The Environmental Permits Division (EPD) implements and oversees most of the permitting programs for MDEQ. EPD also provides support to the Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Division (ECED) in regulating the permitted facilities.
Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) is currently assessing the impact of the US Supreme Court ruling in the case of Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency on the permitting process in Mississippi. During this period, it should be assumed that any wastewater discharge that was previously permitted will still necessitate obtaining permits through MDEQ. If you have any inquiries regarding this matter, please reach out to the Environmental Permitting Division.
To begin the permitting process promptly, EPD is accepting electronic applications. You can submit an electronic application for an individual permit here and an electronic application for general permit coverage here. A hard copy of the submittal must continue to be mailed to the Environmental Permits Division.
EPD posts notices of draft permits available for public review on enSearch Online – Permits at Public Notice. To sign up to receive notification of any EPD public notices please visit our Public Notice Distribution webpage. For certain projects, EPD may provide additional information related to the public notice at this link. If you have additional questions regarding the permit or notice, please contact staff listed in the public notice. To request additional documents, please contact our Public Records Request Officer.
The Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality proposes the amendment of its “Wastewater Regulations for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permits, Underground Injection Control (UIC) Permits, State Permits, Water Quality Based Effluent Limitations and Water Quality Certification,” 11 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 6, Ch. 1. These amendments will cover the entire State of Mississippi and will replace the previous 11 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 6, Ch. 1 Regulations.
The proposed regulations incorporate conditions found in the State Operating Dry Litter Poultry Animal Feeding Operation General Permit and conditions found in the State Operating individual permits for Animal Feeding Operations, eliminating the need for these General Permits and the requirement to obtain the associated permit coverages. The proposed regulations maintain the Permit Board’s ability to require the owner/operator to obtain a permit and describe the circumstances under which that would be required. The proposed regulations are not applicable to Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. The proposed regulations have no impact on stormwater construction or air permitting requirements.
The regulations currently include conditions applicable to aerial applicators and those conditions will remain in the proposed regulations, but the proposed regulations remove the requirement for aerial applicators to obtain State Operating No Discharge permits. The requirement to obtain a permit to dispose of contaminated milk has been removed from the regulations. The proposed regulation amendments clarify and condense the existing text of the regulations, strike text no longer pertinent to operations, and correct formatting, grammatical, and terminological consistency issues.
The public may review the Public Notice Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (2) and the red-lined regulations 11 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 6, Ch. 1 Regulations 11.9.26 11 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 6, Ch. 1, Subch. 1 – redlined. The public notice will end December 15, 2026. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) will hold a public hearing regarding the proposed amendments on Tuesday, December 15, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. in MDEQ’s Commission Hearing Room at 515 East Amite Street, Jackson, Mississippi 39201. The public is invited to attend and present verbal or written comments on the proposed regulations.
Environmental Regulations Associated with Hydraulic Fracturing Activities.
