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Mississippi Inland Wetlands & Waters — §401 Water Quality Certification (MS)

Tracked preemption from the Mississippi overlay bundle.

Overview

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Effective
1972-10-18
Sunset
—
Authority
state
Scope
state:MS
Other Mississippi preemptions
Mississippi Brownfields Voluntary Cleanup & Redevelopment ActMississippi Coastal Preserves System — Tidelands Trust & MDMR Designated PreservesMississippi Gaming Control Act — Gulf Coast & River County Casino Siting PreemptionMississippi Tax Increment Financing Act — Redevelopment & Economic Development TIFMississippi Agricultural Districts & Agricultural Land PreservationMississippi Coastal Wetlands Protection Law — MDMR Permit JurisdictionMississippi Floodplain Management Act — NFIP Compliance & SFHA Construction StandardsMississippi Military Installation Influence — AICUZ Coordination (Keesler AFB, Columbus AFB, NAS Meridian, Stennis Space Center, Camp Shelby)

Trigger predicate

When this evaluates true for a parcel, the law's preempted fields take precedence over base zoning.

OR
  • parcel.contains_waters_of_the_state == True
  • parcel.contains_inland_wetlands == True
  • project.involves_dredge_fill_or_stream_alteration == True

Preempted fields

2 fields on the base district schema are rewritten when the trigger fires.

FieldOpValueNote
review_typerequiremdeq_section_401_water_quality_certificationMDEQ §401 certification required for any federally-permitted activity (CWA §404 / §10) that may result in discharge into waters of the state, including non-tidal wetlands
land_development.wetland_drainage_or_fillwaive—Inland wetlands fill/drainage prohibited without valid §401 certification and parallel USACE §404 permit

Citation

Authority source
Miss. Code Ann. §§49-17-1 et seq. (Mississippi Air & Water Pollution Control Law); §49-7-77 (wildlife habitat & wetlands); 11 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 6 Ch. 2 (Water Quality Certification rules); Clean Water Act §401 (33 USC §1341)
§ §§49-17-1 et seq.; §49-7-77
https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-49/chapter-17/

Research notes

MS does NOT regulate isolated wetlands at the state level after Sackett v. EPA (2023) — state §401 certification is contingent on a federal §404 permit nexus. Post-Sackett, isolated freshwater wetlands lacking continuous surface connection to TNWs may fall outside both federal and state regulation in MS. Distinct from coastal wetlands (§49-27) which are state-jurisdictional regardless of federal scope. USACE Vicksburg and Mobile Districts split MS jurisdiction along the Tombigbee/Tennessee-Tombigbee divide.