EPA’s internal watchdog did not uncover criminal wrongdoing in Jackson, Mississippi, when the city’s dilapidated infrastructure left residents without safe drinking water for days almost four years ago.
EPA’s Office of Inspector General opened “a proactive investigation” into the ongoing state of emergency in Mississippi’s capital city then, according to a report obtained by POLITICO’s E&E News. Flooding had inundated Jackson’s water treatment plant, which led to boil-water advisories and cut off the majority-Black city’s 150,000 residents from drinking water.
The catastrophe generated headlines across the country and sparked accusations of systemic racism. It also grabbed the attention of EPA as then-Administrator Michael Regan visited Jackson several times and pledged relief for those affected.
EPA’s inspector general took notice as well, sending investigators to the city to collect data and conduct interviews. The probe was meant to find if the federal agency had provided drinking water funding to Jackson and search for “fraud, waste, and abuse.”
