Is Pollution Natural?

Ponder this question for a second. If you severely pollute a river by putting ammonia, dioxin, heated water, and sewage into it, can you call the result natural? Though the answer to this question may seem obvious, you’d be surprised what the State of Mississippi is up to these days.

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality is currently looking to lower the dissolved oxygen standard for a section of the Escatawpa River near Moss Point that has been abused for years by polluters. By lowering the dissolved oxygen standard, the state would be able to permit even more pollution. The official rationale for this move is that the dissolved oxygen in the river is naturally low. Never mind the fact that the Escatawpa is still recovering from pollution that International Paper dumped into the river for years or that the Black Creek Cooling Water Facility is discharging warm water that can depress oxygen levels.

If you ask the state, they will tell you that they ran a computer model to see what the “natural” level of dissolved oxygen in the Escatawpa is. Only the model forgot to account for things like the cooling water facility, a landfill discharge, and some sources of sewage. Call the sewage “organic” if you want, but it sure isn’t natural.

Nor will it be natural when fish and crab populations suffer because they can’t get enough oxygen. Let’s hope we can stop that from happening.

Jeff Grimes is Assistant Director of Water Resources.