Miss. Code Ann. § 49-37-7 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 6 / Section 37-7
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-37-7
Status: in_force

(1) There is created the Mississippi Statewide Scientific Information Management System Coordinating Council, hereinafter referred to as “coordinating council,” for the purpose of developing a strategic plan for a statewide scientific information management system and serving as a coordinating entity for all aspects of scientific information management.

(2)(a) The council shall consist of the following voting members: the Executive Director of the Department of Environmental Quality; the Executive Director of the Department of Economic and Community Development; the Executive Director of the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks; the Executive Director of the Department of Marine Resources; the State Health Officer; the State Forester; the Executive Director of the Department of Transportation; the Chairman of the Mississippi Water Resources Advisory Council; the Vice-President for Research and Sponsored Programs at each university on the Mississippi Research Consortium; the Vice-President for Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi State University; the State Director of Technology Transfer; the Center Director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Stennis Space Center; the District Chief, Mississippi District, United States Geological Survey; the Executive Director of the Mississippi Automated Resource Information System; the Executive Director of the Department of Information Technology Services; the President of the Institute of Technology Development; and two (2) representatives of the private sector user community appointed by the Governor.

Members of the coordinating council not appointed by the Governor shall serve a term concurrent with their term of office in their respective position. Nonappointed members may designate an alternate to serve in their stead and the alternate shall have the authority to act for the designating member.

Members of the council appointed by the Governor shall serve four-year terms.

(b) In addition to the members of the coordinating council specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection, the coordinating council may invite, as participating members, representatives of any other state and federal organizations, or individuals possessing appropriate expertise or who have a viable interest in the development and implementation of the statewide scientific information management system.

(c) The Chairman of the Senate Environmental Protection, Conservation and Water Resources Committee and one (1) member of that committee appointed by the chairman may attend meetings of the coordinating council. The Speaker of the House of Representatives may designate the Chairman of the House Conservation and Water Resources Committee and one (1) member of that committee to attend any meeting of the coordinating council. The appointing authorities may designate alternate members from their respective houses to serve when the regular designees are unable to attend such meetings of the coordinating council. The legislative designees shall have no jurisdiction or vote on any matter within the jurisdiction of the coordinating council. For attending meetings of the coordinating council, the legislators shall receive per diem and expenses which shall be paid from the contingent expense funds of their respective houses in the same amounts as provided for committee meetings when the Legislature is not in session; however, no per diem and expenses for attending meetings of the coordinating council will be paid while the Legislature is in session. No per diem and expenses will be paid except for attending meetings of the coordinating council without prior approval of the proper committee in their respective houses.

(d) Original appointments to the coordinating council shall be made no later than October 1, 1999. The Governor shall require adequate disclosure of potential conflicts of interest by appointed members of the coordinating council. Vacancies on the coordinating council shall be filled by appointment in the same manner as the original appointments.

(e) The coordinating council shall elect from its membership a chairperson to preside over meetings and vice-chairperson to preside in the absence of the chairperson or when the chairperson shall be excused. The coordinating council shall adopt procedures governing the manner of conducting its business. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum to do business.

(f) Members of the coordinating council shall serve without compensation, except as otherwise provided in paragraph c of this subsection. At the direction of the chairman of the coordinating council and contingent upon the availability of sufficient funds, each member may receive reimbursement for reasonable expenses, including travel expenses in accordance with rates established pursuant to Section 25-3-41, Mississippi Code of 1972 , incurred in attending meetings of the coordinating council.

(3) The coordinating council shall convene before November 15, 1999.

(4) The coordinating council shall not employ any permanent staff, rent or occupy independent office space or otherwise establish a full-time office.

(5) In conducting its activities under this chapter, the coordinating council may elicit the support of and participation by any state or local governmental agency as may be necessary or appropriate. All state and local governmental agencies shall provide support or participation as requested.

(6) The coordinating council may exercise those duties and powers necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter, including, but not limited to, the following functions:

(a) Conduct, or cause to be conducted any studies, analyses or evaluations related to the development and implementation of a scientific information management system;

(b) Apply and contract for and accept any grants, public or private funds, gifts or proceeds in furtherance of the activities of the coordinating council;

(c) Authorize the Executive Director of the Department of Environmental Quality to enter into all contracts or execute all instruments, on behalf of the coordinating council, and do all acts necessary, desirable or convenient to carry out any power expressly granted to the council in this chapter; and

(d) Expend or distribute any funds or assets in its custody or under its control appropriate in carrying out the purposes of this chapter.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-73 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 13 / Section 17-73
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-73
Status: in_force

When the governor shall have executed the compact on behalf of this state and shall have caused a verified copy thereof to be filed with the state secretary, and when such compact shall have been ratified by one or more of the states named in Section 49-17-71 , then compact shall become operative and effective as between this state and such other state or states. The governor is hereby authorized and directed to take such action as may be necessary to complete the exchange of official documents as between this state and any other state ratifying the compact.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-313 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 5 / Section 15-313
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-313
Status: in_force

(1) Any resident between the ages of sixteen (16) and sixty-five (65) years, as defined in Section 49-7-3 , fishing in the marine waters of the state, shall obtain a saltwater sports fishing license for a fee of Ten Dollars ($10.00). A resident sixty-five (65) years of age or older, fishing in the marine waters of the state, shall obtain a lifetime saltwater sports fishing license for a one-time fee of Five Dollars ($5.00). These licenses shall be valid in any waters south of Interstate 10. Any resident citizen who is blind, paraplegic or a multiple amputee, or who has been adjudged by the Veterans Administration as having a total service-connected disability, or has been adjudged totally disabled by the Social Security Administration shall not be required to purchase or have in his possession a saltwater sports fishing license while engaged in such activities. Any resident exempt under this section shall have on his person while fishing proof of residency and age or disability. Any resident who is a member of the Armed Forces, including the Reserves and National Guard, and on active duty outside the State of Mississippi is not required to purchase or have in his possession a hunting or fishing license while engaged in such activities on leave from active duty. Such resident shall have in his possession and on his person such proof as may be required by the commission.

(2) The commission shall prescribe the forms, types and fees for nonresident saltwater sports fishing licenses except that the fee for a nonresident saltwater sports fishing license shall not be less than Twenty Dollars ($20.00). This minimum fee shall not apply to nonresidents sixty-five (65) years of age or older. The commission may enter into reciprocal agreements with adjacent states pertaining to fees and exemptions for persons sixty-five (65) years of age or older. The commission shall require a nonresident to purchase a nonresident freshwater fishing license and a nonresident saltwater sports fishing license if the nonresident's state requires both licenses for a nonresident to fish in its marine waters. Any nonresident sixty-five (65) years of age or older shall possess a saltwater sports fishing license.

(3) All resident vessels engaged in charter boat fishing, party boat fishing, head boat and guide boat fishing shall be issued a separate annual license by the commission at a fee of Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00). All nonresident vessels engaged in charter boat fishing, party boat fishing, head boat and guide boat fishing shall be issued a separate annual license by the commission. In addition to other requirements for charter license eligibility, captains must show proof of participation in a Department of Transportation approved random drug testing program and proof of liability insurance as a charter boat captain. Crew members and customers of the licensed vessels shall not be required to purchase an individual resident or nonresident saltwater fishing license while sponsored by the licensed vessels. An operator of a licensed vessel shall be required to report the number of customers to the department as required by the commission and the information shall be kept confidential and shall not be released, except to other fisheries management agencies or as statistical data. All nonresident vessels engaged in saltwater sport fishing tournaments, not to exceed an aggregate of twenty (20) days per calendar year, shall not be required to purchase an annual license as provided under this subsection.

(4) The saltwater sports fishing license is required for all recreational methods of finfish harvest.

(5) Any resident who purchases a lifetime sportsman's license, in accordance with Section 49-7-153 , shall be entitled to fish in the marine salt waters of the state and shall be exempt from the purchase of a sport saltwater fishing license.

(6) Any person authorized to issue a license may collect and retain, for each saltwater fishing license issued, the additional fee authorized under Section 49-7-17 .

(7) The fees collected from the sale of resident and nonresident saltwater sports fishing licenses shall be deposited into the Seafood Fund and shall be used solely for the management of marine resources.

(8) Participants in the Very Special Fishing Olympics are exempt from this section.

(9) The first weekend of “National Fishing and Boating Week” in June of each year is designated as “Free Fishing Weekend,” and July 4 of each year is designated as “Free Saltwater Sports Fishing Day.” Any person may saltwater sport fish without a license on “Free Saltwater Sports Fishing Day” and during “Free Fishing Weekend.”

(10) The department may exempt participants in an organized fishing event conducted by a qualified nonprofit charitable, governmental or civic organization from the requirements of this section for one (1) day per year if the organization files an exemption application with the department and the application is approved by the department.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-33-17 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 9 / Section 33-17
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-33-17
Status: in_force

All the provisions of this chapter are subject to Sections 11-46-1 et seq., 49-2-9 , 49-2-13 , 49-17-17 , 17-17-1 , 41-67-3 and 41-67-15, Mississippi Code of 1972 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-27-47 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 15 / Section 27-47
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-27-47
Status: in_force

Such appeal shall have precedence in the order of trial, and the chancellor may order the granting, denial, revocation, suspension or limitation of any permit or may remand to the council for such order.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-7-167 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 5 / Section 7-167
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-7-167
Status: in_force

All revenue shall be used for projects approved by the commission for the purpose of protecting and propagating migratory waterfowl and for the development, restoration, maintenance or preservation of wetlands. Provided, however, that none of such funds shall be expended for administrative salaries.

The commission may enter into contracts with nonprofit organizations for the use of part of such funds outside the United States, if the commission finds that such contracts are necessary for carrying out the purposes of Sections 49-7-161 through 49-7-173 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-27-3 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 27 / Section 27-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-27-3
Status: in_force

It is declared to be the public policy of this state to favor the preservation of the natural state of the coastal wetlands and their ecosystems and to prevent the despoliation and destruction of them, except where a specific alteration of specific coastal wetlands would serve a higher public interest in compliance with the public purposes of the public trust in which coastal wetlands are held.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-13-21 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 10 / Section 13-21
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-13-21
Status: in_force

Any person, firm or corporation shipping quail into this state shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-2-29 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 2 / Section 2-29
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-2-29
Status: in_force

(1) The Department of Environmental Quality shall develop a strategic plan for its operations. The strategic plan shall cover a five-year period. The plan shall include, at a minimum, the following:

(a) A clearly defined comprehensive statement of the mission, goals and objectives of the agency;

(b) Performance effectiveness objectives (measurable indicators of output and outcome) for each program in the department;

(c) A description of the department's internal management system used to evaluate its performance in relation to projected levels;

(d) Detailed plans and strategies for meeting current and future needs and achieving goals and objectives established for the department;

(e) A description of significant external factors which may affect any projected levels of performance, including an identification of priority and other service populations, or other service measures, under current law and how those populations are expected to change within the period of the plan;

(f) A detailed analysis of the use of current agency resources in meeting current needs and expected future needs, and additional resources that may be necessary to meet future needs;

(g) An analysis and estimate of the economic impact on the regulated community of regulations adopted by the Commission on Environmental Quality; and

(h) An analysis of any likely or expected changes in the services provided by the department due to changes in state or federal law.

(2) The department shall revise the plan biennially.

(3) Upon completion of the initial plan and each revision, the department shall provide copies to the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chairman of the Senate Environmental Protection, Conservation and Water Resources Committee, the Chairman of the House Conservation and Water Resources Committee, the Legislative Budget Office, the Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review Committee, the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration and the Legislative Reference Bureau.

(4) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the department shall develop the strategic plan before July 1, 1995. However, if the comparative risk assessment required under Section 49-2-31 is initiated before September 1, 1994, the department shall develop the strategic plan before July 1, 1996.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-32 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 6 / Section 17-32
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-32
Status: in_force

(1) The commission may delegate to the Department of Environmental Quality the responsibility for the collection of the Title V program fees.

(2) The Title V program fee shall be due September 1 of each year. Each owner or operator may elect a quarterly payment method of four (4) equal payments with the payments due September 1, December 1, March 1 and June 1. The owner or operator shall notify the Department of Environmental Quality that the quarterly payment method will be used by September 1.

(3) If any part of the Title V program fee imposed is not paid within thirty (30) days after the due date, a penalty of ten percent (10%) of the amount due shall at once accrue and be added thereto, unless the permittee demonstrates to the commission that the failure to make timely payment was unavoidable due to financial hardship or otherwise beyond the permittee's control. If the fee is not paid in full, including any penalty within sixty (60) days of the due date, the Environmental Quality Permit Board may revoke the permit upon proper notice and hearing as required by law. Any penalty collected under this section shall be deposited into the “Air Operating Permit Program Fee Trust Fund.”

(4) Any owner or operator that fails to properly identify themselves subject to the Title V program may be subject to fees and penalties as determined by the commission.

(5) It is the intent of the Legislature that fees collected pursuant to Sections 49-17-1 through 49-17-45 shall not supplant or reduce in any way the General Fund appropriation to the Department of Environmental Quality.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-33 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 9 / Section 17-33
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-33
Status: in_force

The hearings herein provided may be conducted by the commission itself at a regular or special meeting of the commission, or the commission may designate a hearing officer, who may be the executive director, who shall have the power and authority to conduct such hearings in the name of the commission at any time and place as conditions and circumstances may warrant. The hearing officer shall have the record prepared of any hearing which he has conducted for the commission. Such record shall be submitted to the commission along with that hearing officer's findings of fact and recommended decision. Upon receipt and review of the record of the hearing and the hearing officer's findings of fact and recommended decision, the commission shall thereupon render its final decision in the matter. Any person ordered to appear for an alleged violation shall have the right to request a hearing before a majority of the commission if he prefers and such a hearing may then be set for the next regular meeting of the full commission, or specially. A verbatim record of the proceedings of such hearings shall be taken and filed with the commission, together with findings of fact and conclusions of law made by the commission. Witnesses who are subpoenaed shall receive the same fees and mileage as in civil actions. In case of contumacy or refusal to obey a notice of hearing or subpoena issued under this section, the circuit court shall have jurisdiction, upon application of the commission or its representative, to issue an order requiring such person to appear and testify or produce evidence as the case may require and any failure to obey such order of the court may be punished by such court as contempt thereof. Failure to appear at any such hearing, without prior authorization to do so from the commission or its designee, may result in the commission finding the alleged violator guilty of the charges complained of by default, and at such time an order may be entered, including the assessment of a penalty, which, in the opinion of the commission, will best further the purposes of Section 17-17-1 et seq. , and Section 49-17-1 et seq.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-319 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 2 / Section 15-319
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-319
Status: in_force

(1) Any charter or recreational fishing boat which will be in the Gulf of Mexico over twenty-four (24) hours shall file a float plan with the department prior to departure.

(2) If a float plan is not filed, the fish on such boat shall not be filleted.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-43 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 15 / Section 17-43
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-43
Status: in_force

(1) Any person found by the commission violating any of the provisions of Sections 49-17-1 through 49-17-43 , or any rule or regulation or written order of the commission in pursuance thereof or any condition or limitation of a permit, except a permit required under the Solid Wastes Disposal Law of 1974 ( Sections 17-17-1 through 17-17-47 ), shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00), for each violation, such penalty to be assessed and levied by the commission after a hearing as provided hereinabove. Appeals from the imposition of the civil penalty may be taken to the chancery court in the same manner as appeals from orders of the commission. If the appellant desires to stay the execution of a civil penalty assessed by the commission, he shall give bond with sufficient resident sureties of one or more guaranty or surety companies authorized to do business in this state, payable to the State of Mississippi, in an amount equal to double the amount of any civil penalty assessed by the commission, as to which the stay of execution is desired, conditioned, if the judgment shall be affirmed, to pay all costs of the assessment entered against the appellant. Each day upon which a violation occurs shall be deemed a separate and additional violation.

Any person violating any provision of the Solid Wastes Disposal Law of 1974 ( Sections 17-17-1 through 17-17-47 ), any rule or regulation made pursuant to that law, or any order issued by the commission under the authority of that law shall be subject to the penalties provided in Section 17-17-29 .

(2) In lieu of, or in addition to, the penalty provided in subsection (1) of this section, the commission shall have power to institute and maintain in the name of the state any and all proceedings necessary or appropriate to enforce the provisions of Sections 49-17-1 through 49-17-43 , rules and regulations in force pursuant thereto, and orders and permits made and issued under those sections, in the appropriate circuit, chancery, county or justice court of the county in which venue may lie. The commission may obtain mandatory or prohibitory injunctive relief, either temporary or permanent, and in cases of imminent and substantial hazard or endangerment as set forth in Section 49-17-27 , it shall not be necessary in such cases that the state plead or prove: (a) that irreparable damage would result if the injunction did not issue; (b) that there is no adequate remedy at law; or (c) that a written complaint or commission order has first been issued for the alleged violation.

(3) Any person who violates any of the provisions of, or fails to perform any duty imposed by, Sections 49-17-1 through 49-17-43 or any rule or regulation issued hereunder, or who violates any order or determination of the commission promulgated pursuant to such sections, and causes the death of fish or other wildlife shall be liable, in addition to the penalties provided in subsections (1) and (2) of this section, to pay to the state an additional amount equal to the sum of money reasonably necessary to restock such waters or replenish such wildlife as determined by the commission after consultation with the Mississippi Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. Such amount may be recovered by the commission on behalf of the state in a civil action brought in the appropriate county or circuit court of the county in which venue may lie.

(4) Any person who owns or operates facilities which, through misadventure, happenstance or otherwise, cause pollution necessitating immediate remedial or clean-up action shall be liable for the cost of such remedial or clean-up action and the commission may recover the cost of same by a civil action brought in the circuit court of the county in which venue may lie. This penalty may be recovered in lieu of or in addition to the penalties provided in subsections (1), (2) and (3) of this section.

In the event of the necessity for immediate remedial or clean-up action, the commission may contract for same and advance funds from the Pollution Emergency Fund to pay the costs thereof, such advancements to be repaid to the Pollution Emergency Fund upon recovery by the commission as provided above.

(5) It is unlawful for any person to: (a) discharge pollutants in violation of Section 49-17-29 or in violation of any condition or limitation included in a permit issued under Section 49-17-29 or (b) introduce pollutants into publicly owned treatment works in violation of pretreatment standards or in violation of toxic effluent standards; and, upon conviction thereof, such person shall be punished by a fine of not less than Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500.00) nor more than Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) per day of violation.

(6) All fines, penalties and other sums recovered or collected by the commission for and in behalf of the state under this section shall be deposited in the Pollution Emergency Fund established under this chapter, and the commission is authorized to receive and accept, from any funds and all available sources whatsoever, additional funds to be deposited in such fund and expended for the purpose of remedial, clean-up or abatement actions involving pollution of the land, air or waters of the state in violation of Sections 49-17-1 through 49-17-43 , any rule or regulation or written order of the commission in pursuance thereof, or any condition or limitation of a permit.

(7) In determining the amount of any penalty under this chapter, the commission shall consider at a minimum:

(a) The willfulness of the violation;

(b) Any damage to air, water, land or other natural resources of the state or their uses;

(c) Costs of restoration and abatement;

(d) Economic benefit as a result of noncompliance;

(e) The seriousness of the violation, including any harm to the environment and any hazard to the health, safety and welfare of the public;

(f) Past performance history; and

(g) Whether the noncompliance was discovered and reported as the result of a voluntary self-evaluation. If a person discovers as a result of a voluntary self-evaluation, information related to noncompliance with an environmental law and voluntarily discloses that information to the department, commission or any employee thereof, the commission shall, to the greatest extent possible, reduce a penalty, if any, determined by the commission, except for economic benefit as a result of noncompliance, to a de minimis amount if all of the following are true:

(i) The disclosure is made promptly after knowledge of the information disclosed is obtained by the person;

(ii) The person making the disclosure initiates the appropriate corrective actions and pursues those corrective actions with due diligence;

(iii) The person making the disclosure cooperates with the commission and the department regarding investigation of the issues identified in the disclosure;

(iv) The person is not otherwise required by an environmental law to make the disclosure to the commission or the department;

(v) The information was not obtained through any source independent of the voluntary self-evaluation or by the department through observation, sampling or monitoring;

(vi) The noncompliance did not result in a substantial endangerment threatening the public health, safety or welfare or the environment; and

(vii) The noncompliance is not a repeat violation occurring at the same facility within a period of three (3) years. “ Repeat violation ” in this subparagraph means a second or subsequent violation, after the first violation has ceased, of the same statutory provision, regulation, permit condition, or condition in an order of the commission.

(8) Any provisions of this section and chapter regarding liability for the costs of cleanup, removal, remediation or abatement of any pollution, hazardous waste or solid waste shall be limited as provided in Section 49-17-42 and rules adopted thereto.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-7-41 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 3 / Section 7-41
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-7-41
Status: in_force

(1) The commission may set the bag limits for game animals, birds and fish, unless the bag limits are established by the Legislature by statute.

(2) The commission shall have plenary authority to set the bag limits for white-tailed deer, and promulgate any regulations necessary to facilitate the exercise of that authority, consistent with best management practices, scientific data and subject to all existing applicable laws, rules and regulations of this state or the United States of America.

(3) The bag limit on antlerless deer set by the commission as authorized in this section shall not apply to private lands under the deer management assistance program or the fee-based antlerless program as approved by the department.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-422 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 1 / Section 17-422
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-422
Status: in_force

(1) An Underground Storage Tank (UST) Advisory Council is created to consult with the commission on all matters relating to the UST program, to conduct an independent study of the development and administration costs of the program and to conduct an annual review of administering such program. The costs to be included in the study for the program shall be those costs as provided in Section 49-17-421 . The council shall include in the study the type and quantity of underground storage tanks in the state that are covered by the program. After completing a study of the needs and costs of the program, the council shall recommend an equitable fee system for the program that is based on the type and quantity of underground storage tanks. The annual review for the program shall determine if the fee system is collecting sufficient funds to meet program needs and include any recommendation by the council regarding changes to the fee system. Each annual review report shall be due January 1 of each year to the commission and the executive director of the department.

(2) The UST Advisory Council shall be comprised of the following five (5) members:

(a) The President of the Mississippi Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association (MPMCSA) or his or her designee;

(b) A member of the MPMCSA appointed by the Board of Directors of the MPMCSA for a term of four (4) years;

(c) A representative appointed by the President of the Mississippi Engineering Society, experienced in the assessment and remediation of petroleum contamination, for a term of four (4) years;

(d) A representative appointed by the Governor, of any company doing business in Mississippi in the installation, closure and/or testing of underground storage tanks; and

(e) A representative appointed by the Lieutenant Governor, of any company doing business in Mississippi in the installation, closure and/or testing of underground storage tanks.

The council members who are appointed by the Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall have terms that are concurrent with the term of the appointing official.

(3) Original appointments to the UST Advisory Council must be made no later than January 1, 2019, and vacancies on the council shall be filled by appointment in the same manner as the original appointments. The council shall convene within sixty (60) days following the date of the appointment of the members, and must select from their membership a chairperson to preside over meetings and a vice chairperson to preside in the absence of the chairperson or when the chairperson is excused. The council shall adopt procedures governing the manner of conducting its business. A majority of the members constitutes a quorum to do business.

(4) Members of the UST Advisory Council shall serve without salary, but shall be entitled to receive a reimbursement of their actual travel and expenses, as provided in Section 25-3-41 , that are incurred while performing in the scope of their duties as council members. These expenses are to be paid on an itemized statement that is approved by the State Fiscal Officer from fees collected under Section 49-17-421 .

(5) The executive director of the department shall provide technical, clerical and other support services, including service by contract, as the council requires in the performance of its functions.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-35-33 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 23 / Section 35-33
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-35-33
Status: in_force

The Legislature finds:

(a) There are properties in Mississippi, often referred to as “brownfields,” that were contaminated or were perceived to have been contaminated by past activities, but are attractive locations for redevelopment.

(b) The safe development or redevelopment of brownfields would benefit the citizens of Mississippi in many ways, including improving the tax base of local governments and creating job opportunities for citizens in the vicinity of brownfields.

(c) Owners and prospective developers and redevelopers of brownfields, local governments in which brownfields are located and federal and state government agencies should be encouraged to provide capital and labor to improve brownfields so that the property can be determined to be safe or made safe for appropriate future use.

(d) The reduction of public health and environmental hazards on existing brownfield sites is essential to creating a better quality of life for the citizens of this state.

(e) Section 49-35-27, Mississippi Code of 1972 , requires the Department of Environmental Quality to conduct a survey of incentive programs in other states for cleanup of contaminated sites by January 1, 1999. The department has conducted its survey and filed its report showing incentives provided in other states.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-19-175 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 7 / Section 19-175
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-19-175
Status: in_force

The state forester of Mississippi shall act as “compact administrator” for the State of Mississippi and represent Mississippi in the Southeastern Interstate Forest Fire Protection Compact. The “advisory committee” shall be composed of four (4) members as follows: (1) One member of the senate, (2) one member of the house of representatives, each of whom shall be appointed by the Mississippi Commission on Interstate Cooperation, (3) the state forester or his successor, or a comparable official, in the event of amendment to the present law, who shall be appointed by the governor and shall serve as chairman of the advisory committee, and (4) one member shall be associated with forestry or forest products industries, to be appointed by the governor; each member shall serve for a term of four (4) years and be eligible to immediately succeed himself. Advisory committee members shall be reimbursed for all necessary travel expenses incurred while attending compact meetings provided the total expenditure of the four members does not exceed One Thousand Two Hundred Dollars ($1,200.00) per year.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-407 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 9 / Section 17-407
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-407
Status: in_force

(1)(a) An environmental protection fee of Four-tenths of One Cent ( 4 / 10 of 1¢) per gallon is hereby levied upon any bonded distributor, as defined by Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-433 , who sells or delivers motor fuels to a retailer or user in this state.

(b) Every person, other than a bonded distributor, who shall purchase or acquire motor fuels within this state on which the environmental protection fee has not accrued, shall be liable for the environmental protection fee.

(c) The environmental protection fee shall be imposed only one (1) time on motor fuels sold in the state.

(d) The environmental protection fee shall be collected by the Department of Revenue and shall be designated separately from the excise taxes on fuels.

(e) Any person liable for the environmental protection fee shall be subject to the same requirements and penalties as distributors under the provisions of the Mississippi Special Fuel Tax Law.

(f) Any person liable for the environmental protection fee shall file a report and remit any fees due at the same time provided for filing reports under Section 27-55-523 , on forms prescribed by the Department of Revenue.

(g) The Department of Revenue is hereby authorized and empowered to promulgate all rules and regulations necessary for the administration of the environmental protection fee.

(2)(a) On or before the fifteenth day of each month the environmental protection fees collected during the previous month shall be deposited into the Mississippi Groundwater Protection Trust Fund established in Section 49-17-405 . When the unobligated balance in the fund reaches or exceeds Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000.00), the administrator of the fund shall notify in writing the Department of Revenue no later than the twenty-fifth day of the month to revise the distribution of the environmental protection fee and the Department of Revenue shall deposit the fee into the State Highway Fund. Such distribution shall become effective on the last day of the month succeeding the month in which such notice was given. All environmental protection fees accrued shall be reported and paid.

(b) When the fund balance is reduced below Six Million Dollars ($6,000,000.00), the fee shall again be deposited into the Mississippi Groundwater Protection Trust Fund until such time as the fund shall reach or exceed Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000.00). The administrator of the fund shall notify, no later than the twenty-fifth day of the month, the Department of Revenue to deposit the environmental protection fee into the Mississippi Groundwater Protection Trust Fund and such distribution shall become effective on the first day of the second month succeeding the month in which the notice to deposit the fee into the fund was given.

(3) This fund shall be used for the purposes set forth in Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-435 and for no other governmental purposes, nor shall any portion hereof ever be available to borrow from by any branch of government; it being the intent of the Legislature that this fund and its increments shall remain intact and inviolate. Any interest earned on monies in this fund shall remain in this fund.

(4) Monies held in the fund established under Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-435 shall be used for supplemental funding of the Underground Storage Tank (UST) Program as described in Section 49-17-405 and only at an active site and shall be disbursed in accordance with the commission requirements and as follows:

(a) Payments shall be made to any third party who brings a third-party claim against any owner of an underground storage tank and the commission as trustee of the Mississippi Groundwater Protection Trust Fund and who obtains a final judgment in such action which is valid and enforceable in this state against such parties. Payment shall be paid to the third party upon filing by such party an application with the department attaching the original or a certified copy of the final judgment.

(b) Payments shall be made in reasonable amounts to approved response action contractors and other parties involved in the site study and cleanup. Payment shall be made to the party incurring the costs by filing of a sworn application with the department indicating the fair and reasonable value of the costs of site rehabilitation, subject to the regulations and limitations as set by the department.

(5) Payments from the fund are limited as follows:

(a) For cleanup purposes, a maximum of One Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($1,500,000.00) may be disbursed from the fund for any one (1) site, per confirmed release occurrence.

(b) For third-party judgments, a maximum of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) may be disbursed from the fund for any one (1) site, per confirmed release occurrence.

(c) Nothing in Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-435 shall establish or create any liability or responsibility on the part of the department or the State of Mississippi to pay any cleanup costs or third-party claims if the fund created herein is insufficient to do so.

(6) Monies held in the fund established under Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-435 shall not be used for purchases of equipment needed to assist in cleanup operations.

(7) Nothing in Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-435 shall serve to limit any recovery against an owner of an underground storage tank in excess of the fund payment limits established under this section.

(8) Substantial compliance shall in no way be construed to be an absolute defense to civil liability.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-4-9 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 4 / Section 4-9
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-4-9
Status: in_force

Effective July 1, 1979, the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks shall have the following powers and duties:

(a) To formulate the policy of the department regarding wildlife and fisheries within the jurisdiction of the department;

(b) To apply for, receive and expend any federal or state funds or contributions, gifts, devises, bequests or funds from any other source;

(c) To commission or conduct studies designed to determine alternative methods of managing and conserving the wildlife and fisheries resources of this state in a manner to insure efficiency and sustained productivity;

(d) To receive the advice and counsel of the advisory committees created for the Division of Parks and Recreation and the Division of Wildlife and Fisheries; and

(e) To discharge such other duties, responsibilities and powers as are necessary to implement the provisions of this chapter.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-27-17 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 6 / Section 27-17
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-27-17
Status: in_force

The following parties shall be notified of a hearing by the commission by mail prior to the date set for the hearing, but a failure to meet this requirement shall not invalidate any permit granted thereafter:

(a) All of those parties who are entitled to receive a copy of such application in accordance with Section 47-27-13 1 of this chapter; and

(b) All known present owners of record of adjacent land as reflected by current tax assessment rolls and all known claimants to water or riparian rights in or adjacent to the coastal wetlands affected.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-307 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 6 / Section 15-307
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-307
Status: in_force

The department shall have the following powers and duties:

(a) To implement the policy of the department regarding marine resources within the jurisdiction of the department;

(b) To apply for, receive and expend any federal or state funds or contributions, gifts, devises, bequests or funds from any other source;

(c) To commission or conduct studies designed to determine alternative methods of managing and conserving the marine resources of this state in a manner to ensure efficiency and sustained productivity;

(d) To issue permits and licenses authorized by law or regulation;

(e) To equip and supply check stations, remote duty stations and personnel for extended duty;

(f) To develop programs to enhance the marketing of the state's recreational and commercial marine resources;

(g) To provide gear, insignias, and otherwise equip personnel subject to the amount appropriated for those purposes; and

(h) To discharge any other duties, responsibilities and powers as are necessary to implement this chapter.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-19-215 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 2 / Section 19-215
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-19-215
Status: in_force

(1) The commission shall actively and diligently encourage all eligible owners to use their own resources or to employ the resources of private vendors to implement approved practices.

(2) The commission shall not enter into active competition with eligible owners or private vendors for the on-the-ground job of implementing any approved practice as it is the intent of the Legislature to encourage private business, forest industries and the forestry community to participate in the economic development which will be provided by Sections 49-19-201 through 49-19-227 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-305 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 7 / Section 15-305
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-305
Status: in_force

(1) The Governor shall appoint the Executive Director of the Department of Marine Resources, with the advice and consent of the Senate, who shall serve at the will and pleasure of the Governor. The executive director shall be knowledgeable and experienced in marine resources management.

(2) The executive director of the department shall have the following powers and duties:

(a) To supervise and direct all administrative, inspection and technical activities and personnel of the department;

(b) To employ qualified professional personnel in the subject matter or fields, and any other technical and clerical staff as may be required for the operation of the department;

(c) To coordinate all studies in the State of Mississippi concerned with the supply, development, use and conservation of marine resources;

(d) To prepare and deliver to the Legislature and the Governor on or before January 1 of each year, and at any other times as may be required by the Legislature or Governor, a full report of the work of the department, including a detailed statement of expenditures of the department and any recommendations the department may have;

(e) To enter into cooperative agreements with any federal or state agency or subdivision thereof, or any public or private institution located inside or outside the State of Mississippi, or any person, corporation or association in connection with studies and investigations pertaining to marine resources, provided the agreements do not have a financial cost in excess of the amounts appropriated for the purposes by the Legislature; and

(f) To carry out all regulations and rules adopted by the department and enforce all licenses and permits issued by the department.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-22 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 3 / Section 17-22
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-22
Status: in_force

The Commission on Marine Resources is hereby authorized to cooperate with the Commission on Environmental Quality for the enforcement of the provisions of Sections 49-17-1 through 49-17-43 in and on the salt waters of the State of Mississippi.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-64.3 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 4 / Section 15-64.3
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-64.3
Status: in_force

(1) It is unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to take, catch or have in their possession within territorial waters of the State of Mississippi shrimp of a size weighing in the raw state less than one (1) pound to each sixty-eight (68) shrimp, except as provided under Section 49-15-64.1 , except when a valid permit or affidavit of another state identifies the catch as having been taken in non-Mississippi waters, or except in case of live bait shrimp.

(2) It is unlawful to take, catch or have in possession live bait shrimp of a size weighing in the raw state less than one (1) pound to each one hundred (100) shrimp. This provision may be changed by a two-thirds ( 2 / 3 ) vote of the commission. The commission may adopt rules, regulations, guidelines and other operation criteria in conjunction with licensing live bait dealers and live bait catcher boats as it deems appropriate to ensure that only bona fide operations will be licensed.

(3) If a live bait dealer or live bait catcher boat is convicted of a violation of this chapter or a duly adopted ordinance of the commission, the commission may, in addition to punishment duly adjudicated, revoke the license of the vessel or dealer to whom it is issued for a period not exceeding two (2) weeks following conviction of the first offense, not exceeding six (6) months following conviction of the second offense, and up to one (1) year following conviction of the third and subsequent offenses, if the subsequent offenses are committed within three (3) years of the first offense. Upon the revocation of the license, the commission may require the posting of a cash performance bond not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) before the reissuance of that revoked license. The commission may require the forfeiture of that bond upon the subsequent conviction of any violation of this chapter or a duly adopted ordinance of the commission. If a person who posts bond under this section desires to no longer engage in the live bait business, that person shall certify that fact to the commission who shall return the bond. If that person desires to again engage in the live bait business, a cash performance bond may be required before the issuance of a license.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-79 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 8 / Section 15-79
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-79
Status: in_force

(1) It is unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to use or attempt to use a purse seine for the taking of fish or to have such seine in the water within one (1) mile of the shoreline of the County of Hancock or Harrison in the State of Mississippi. The Boards of Supervisors of Hancock, Harrison and Jackson Counties shall have the authority to submit proposed regulations to the commission to regulate within their respective counties the use of and trammel nets. The commission may consider all such proposals submitted by the boards of supervisors in formulating regulations to be promulgated under this section.

(2) A person, firm or corporation convicted of a violation of this section or regulations promulgated under this section shall be punished by the penalties provided in Section 49-15-100(2), Mississippi Code of 1972 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-70 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 5 / Section 17-70
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-70
Status: in_force

Before any political subdivision shall receive any loan, it shall have executed with the state tax commission a repayment agreement, a copy of which must also be filed with the bureau of pollution control of the department of natural resources, after which the bureau shall enter upon its minutes a certificate certifying that the waste disposal plant has been approved; a copy of which certificate shall be delivered to and filed with the Mississippi State Tax Commission.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-417 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 9 / Section 15-417
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-417
Status: in_force

No person shall be subject to criminal prosecution or to any penalty or forfeiture in a separate proceeding for or on account of any transaction, matter or issue concerning which he may be required to testify to or produce evidence, or provide documentation, before the commission or at any of its hearings or conferences, or in compliance with any subpoena; however, no person testifying shall be exempt from prosecution and punishment for perjury committed in so testifying.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-7-26 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 4 / Section 7-26
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-7-26
Status: in_force

(1)(a) The department may develop, implement and regulate a tagging and reporting program to collect harvest data and monitor bag limit compliance by any means as provided in this section.

(b) The department may charge a fee for the tagging program.

(c) The department shall provide an annual report to the Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

(2)(a) The department may establish a tagging and reporting program for deer harvested by nonresidents.

(b) A nonresident who violates any law or regulation of the nonresident deer tagging program shall be subject to the fine and forfeiture penalties provided for a nonresident hunting without a license under Section 49-7-21 . In addition, a nonresident shall be assessed the administrative fee prescribed in this section.

(3)(a) The department may establish a tagging and reporting program for turkey.

(b) A person who violates any law or regulation of the turkey tagging program is guilty of a Class III violation and shall be subject to the fines provided in 49-7-101. In addition, a person shall be assessed the administrative fee prescribed in this section.

(4)(a) A person convicted of a first violation of the tagging program shall be assessed an administrative fee of not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), which shall be imposed and collected upon conviction. A person convicted of a second or subsequent violation shall be assessed an administrative fee of not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), which shall be imposed and collected upon conviction.

(b) The clerk of the court shall collect and deposit the administrative fees with the State Treasurer, in the same manner and in accordance with the same procedure, as nearly as practicable, as required for the collection and deposit of state assessments under Section 99-19-73 .

(c) The administrative fees shall be credited to the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks and may be expended by the department upon appropriation by the Legislature.

(5) Each deer or turkey taken or possessed in violation of the tagging program is a separate offense.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-23-15 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 10 / Section 23-15
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-23-15
Status: in_force

Any sign, display or device lawfully erected which does not conform to Sections 49-23-1 through 49-23-29 shall be required to be removed before the end of the fifth year after it becomes nonconforming.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-7-143 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 7 / Section 7-143
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-7-143
Status: in_force

Any person who has been convicted of a Class II violation shall be punished by a fine of not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or by imprisonment in the county jail for not less than sixty (60) days nor more than six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-19-111 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 7 / Section 19-111
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-19-111
Status: in_force

For the purpose of providing assistance to all farm woodland and timber landowners in the state, including private ownership, and to promote the growing, managing and harvesting of timber thereon, and to provide organized forest fire protection in all counties, and to encourage the production and growth of timber on all lands suitable therefor, and for the better management thereof, and to encourage greater private ownership and promote forest education and timber management and forest fire control, the State Forestry Commission is hereby authorized to carry out the provisions of Sections 49-19-111 through 49-19-117 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-19-301 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 1 / Section 19-301
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-19-301
Status: in_force

Sections 49-19-301 through 49-19-307 may be cited as the “Mississippi Prescribed Burning Act.”
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-87 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 4 / Section 17-87
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-87
Status: in_force

(1) A political subdivision which receives a loan from the revolving fund or emergency fund is required to and authorized to pledge for the repayment of such loan (a) any part of the sales tax reimbursement to which it may be entitled under Section 27-65-75 , and (b) any part of the homestead exemption annual tax loss reimbursement to which it may be entitled under Section 27-33-77 , to meet a repayment schedule set forth in a loan agreement. The loan agreement shall provide for (i) monthly payments, (ii) semiannual payments or (iii) other periodic payments, the annual total of which shall not exceed the annual total for any other year of the loan by more than fifteen percent (15%). The loan agreement shall provide for the repayment of all funds received from the revolving fund within the maximum time allowed by federal law after project completion and repayment of all funds received from the emergency fund within not more than ten (10) years from the date of project completion. The Department of Revenue shall pay to the revolving fund or emergency fund monthly, or as often as is practicable, from the amount, which would otherwise be remitted to a political subdivision from its sales tax reimbursement or homestead exemption annual tax loss reimbursement, the amounts set forth in such loan agreement.

(2) Before any political subdivision shall receive any loan from the revolving fund or the emergency fund, it shall have executed with the Department of Revenue and the commission a loan agreement evidencing that loan. The loan agreement hereinabove provided for shall not be construed to prohibit any recipient from prepaying any part or all of the funds received.

(3) As determined by the commission, any political subdivision desiring to construct a project approved by the department and which receives a loan from the state for that purpose may be required to pledge as security for the repayment of that loan, all or any part of the revenues of any project constructed, improved, repaired, replaced, purchased or refinanced with the proceeds of such loan. Whenever any project is a part of a system or combined system, then all or any portion of the revenues of that system or combined system may be pledged to secure repayment of a loan as determined by the commission.

The loan agreement shall provide for periodic payments, the annual total of which shall not exceed the annual total for any other year of the loan by more than fifteen percent (15%). The repayment schedule shall provide for the repayment of all funds received from the revolving fund within the maximum time allowed by federal law after project completion and repayment of all funds received from the emergency fund within not more than ten (10) years from the date of project completion. Payments under the loan agreement shall be made prior to the payments of principal or interest on any bonds issued by the political subdivision in connection with the project or projects to which loans from the revolving fund or emergency fund are made.

The State Auditor, upon the request of the commission, shall audit the receipts and expenditures of each district whose monthly payments are to be received by the department, and if the State Auditor should find the political subdivision in arrears, the Auditor shall immediately begin withholding from funds due the taxing district in which the political subdivision is located, under Section 27-33-41 , an amount equal to the payment due plus accrued interest, late charges and expenses incurred in the audit and issue a warrant for that amount to the revolving fund or emergency fund as directed below.

The loan agreement hereinabove provided for shall not be construed to prohibit any recipient from prepaying any part or all of the funds received.

(4) Loans or any bonds or other evidences of indebtedness which are incurred or issued either pursuant to this chapter or Section 31-25-1 et seq. , in relation to this chapter, or pursuant to any other law as evidence of any loan made or indebtedness incurred pursuant to this chapter, shall not be deemed indebtedness within the meaning specified in Section 21-33-303 , with regard to cities or incorporated towns, in Section 19-9-5 , with regard to counties, and in any other state law establishing a similar indebtedness limitation with regard to political subdivisions other than cities, incorporated towns and counties.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-45 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 7 / Section 15-45
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-45
Status: reserved

Any municipality bounded by the Gulf of Mexico or Mississippi Sound, which has wholly or partly within its corporate limits, or in the waters adjacent thereto, a public oyster reef reserved for catching oysters exclusively by use of hand tongs, is hereby authorized to aid and cooperate with the department in enforcing all laws regulating the catching, taking and transporting of oysters, including all of the provisions of this chapter, and all regulations and ordinances of such department relating to such oyster reefs.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-429 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 9 / Section 17-429
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-429
Status: in_force

No person may install, alter or remove an underground storage tank after July 1, 1990, without first having been certified by the Commission on Natural Resources. The commission shall adopt rules and regulations setting forth the requirements for such certification which shall include but not be limited to a certification examination.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-18-1 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 8 / Section 18-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-18-1
Status: in_force

This chapter may be cited as the Mississippi Liability of Persons Responding to Oil Spills Act.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-7-31.5 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 7 / Section 7-31.5
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-7-31.5
Status: in_force

(1) The hunting, trapping and taking of nuisance animals shall be regulated by the commission. The commission may adopt regulations to regulate the hunting, trapping and taking of nuisance animals and to control the population of nuisance animals.

(2)(a) Landowners, agricultural leaseholders or their designated agents may take predatory and nuisance animals year-round on lands owned or leased by them.

(b) Landowners, agricultural leaseholders or their designated agents may take nuisance animals with any type of weapon and may take nuisance animals during the night after legal hunting hours on lands owned or leased by them with a permit issued by the department.

(c) No license is required for a resident landowner hunting or trapping nuisance animals on his own land. An agricultural leaseholder, designated agent and any other person must possess either an all-game hunting license or trapping license, unless otherwise exempt.

(d) No license is required for a recipient of the Purple Heart Medal for wounds suffered in combat, to hunt nuisance animals on private lands. Persons exempt from purchasing a hunting license under this paragraph shall have in their possession and on their person a copy of their DD-214 discharge form indicating the receipt of the Purple Heart Medal and any proof as may be required by the commission or the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, while engaged in such activities.

(3) The taking of any animal or animals other than nuisance animals by the use of a trap or traps is unlawful except during the time the season is open for the taking of fur-bearing animals.

(4) Nuisance animals may be run, chased or pursued with dogs, except as provided in Section 49-7-32 , year-round by licensed hunters.

(5) Nuisance animals may be hunted with the aid of electronic calls.

(6) Nuisance animals may be hunted or trapped with the aid of bait and lures, on private lands, according to regulations adopted by the commission.

(7) Any part of a nuisance animal may be bought and sold year-round.

(8)(a) Wild hogs may not be caught or trapped and released into the wild at a location different from the location where the wild hog was caught or trapped, or otherwise transported live in the State of Mississippi.

(b) A violation of this subsection is a Class I violation and is punishable as provided under Section 49-7-141 .

(9) When hunting wild hogs during any open gun season on deer, a hunter must wear in full view at least five hundred (500) square inches of solid unbroken fluorescent orange or solid unbroken fluorescent pink.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-21-3 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 6 / Section 21-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-21-3
Status: in_force

This chapter shall not be construed to authorize the impairment of any constitutional right guaranteed to any person under the constitution of this state nor shall it be construed to authorize the legislature or any other authority to assume any power not possessed by it under the constitution of this state.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-27-55 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 2 / Section 27-55
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-27-55
Status: in_force

(a) Any person who performs or causes to be performed any activity regulated by this chapter for which a permit has not been obtained, violates any provision of this chapter, regulation promulgated pursuant to this chapter or any condition of a permit, shall be liable to the State of Mississippi for the restoration of all affected coastal wetlands to their condition prior to such violation, insofar as such restoration is possible, and for any and all damages to the wetlands. The appropriate chancery court by writ of mandatory injunction shall allow a reasonable time for completion of the restoration and may, in its discretion, order as punitive damages a sum not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) per day for each day such violation has existed. The chancery court may further order as punitive damages a sum not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) per day for each day that the violation exists beyond the date set by the court in its injunction for the restoration of the wetland. If injunctive relief is not sought, the appropriate circuit or county court shall have jurisdiction over any action for damages and/or punitive damages as set forth in this paragraph.

(b) Nothing in this chapter shall preclude other statutory or common law remedies by public or private parties against violators or nonviolators of this chapter.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-9 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 9 / Section 15-9
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-9
Status: in_force

The sole right of planting, cultivating in racks or other structures, and gathering oysters and erecting bathhouses and other structures in front of any land bordering on the Gulf of Mexico or Mississippi Sound or waters tributary thereto belongs to the riparian owner and extends not more than seven hundred fifty (750) yards from the shore, except for state-owned lands on Deer Island, which shall be not more than four hundred (400) yards from shore, measuring from the average low water mark, and except for state-owned lands along the Hancock County shoreline from Bayou Caddy to the Mississippi-Louisiana state boundary, which shall not extend out further than three hundred (300) yards from the average low watermark, but where the distance from shore to shore is less than fifteen hundred (1500) yards, the owners of either shore may plant and gather to a line equidistant between the two (2) shores, but no person shall plant in any natural channel so as to interfere with navigation, and such riparian rights shall not include any reef or natural oyster bed and does not extend beyond any channel. A riparian owner shall comply with the Coastal Wetlands Protection Act in exercising the use of these riparian rights. Stakes of such frail materials as will not injure any watercraft may be set up to designate the bounds of the plantation, but navigation shall not be impeded thereby. The riparian owner shall clearly mark such cultivation racks and other structures. The department may adopt regulations to require that the racks are adequately marked to ensure the safety of users of public waters. Any oysters planted by such riparian owner are the private property of such riparian owner, subject to the right of the department to adopt reasonable rules and regulations as to the planting and gathering of such oysters. All bathhouses, piers, wharfs, docks and pavilions, or other structures owned by the riparian owner are likewise the private property of such owner, who shall be entitled to the exclusive use, occupancy and possession thereof, and may abate any private or public nuisance committed by any person or persons in the area of his riparian ownership and may, for such purposes, resort to any remedial action authorized by law. The governing authorities of any municipality and the board of supervisors of any county are authorized to adopt reasonable rules and regulations to protect riparian owners in the enjoyment of their riparian rights, and for such purposes may regulate the use of beaches, landings, and riparian areas abutting or fronting on roads, streets or highways.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-503 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 11 / Section 17-503
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-503
Status: in_force

The purpose of Sections 49-17-501 through 49-17-531 is to provide for the accreditation of lead-based paint activities training programs, procedures and requirements for certification of persons engaged in lead-based paint activities and development and implementation of work practice standards for lead-based paint activities in target housing, child-occupied facilities and other facilities regulated under Section 402 of the federal Toxic Substances Control Act. It is the intent of Sections 49-17-501 through 49-17-531 that the cost of the administration and enforcement of Sections 49-17-501 through 49-17-531 shall be borne fully by federal grants and fees for accreditation, certification, renovation projects and abatement projects.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-7-95 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 2 / Section 7-95
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-7-95
Status: in_force

(1)(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, any person who hunts or takes or kills any deer at night by headlighting, by any lighting device, light amplifying device, “forward-looking infrared (FLIR)” or thermal imaging device, shall, upon conviction thereof, be guilty of a Class I violation and shall be punished as provided in Section 49-7-141 .

(b) For any person to be charged with a violation of this subsection, that person must have been observed committing an overt act consistent with the hunting of deer at night with the aid of a light, lighting device, light amplifying device, “forward-looking infrared (FLIR)” or thermal imaging device. Such observation of an overt act may include, but shall not be limited to, witnessing the discharge of a weapon capable of killing a deer, hearing the report of a firearm being fired, seeing the person in possession of a recently killed deer which could not have been killed during legal hunting hours, or witnessing the person committing any acts consistent with headlighting deer in violation of this subsection.

(c) A person who hunts, takes or kills any animal during legal hunting hours, and subsequently searches for and/or recovers such mortally wounded animal with the aid of a light or lighting device, is not in violation of this section.

(2)(a) Violators of subsection (1), twenty-one (21) years old or older, upon conviction, shall also forfeit all hunting, trapping and fishing privileges for a period of not less than three (3) consecutive years from the date of conviction and shall attend such courses prescribed by the commission. A violator shall pay a reinstatement fee of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) to have his privileges restored.

(b) A person twenty-one (21) years old, or older, convicted of a first violation of subsection (1) may petition the commission to have his privileges restored after one (1) year from the date of his conviction. The commission may prescribe conditions on the restoration of privileges for a first-time offender, and the first-time offender shall pay a reinstatement fee of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00).

(c) A violator of subsection (1) under the age of twenty-one (21), upon conviction, shall forfeit all hunting, trapping and fishing privileges for one (1) year from the date of conviction, and shall attend courses prescribed by the commission. A violator under the age of twenty-one (21) may petition the commission to have his privileges restored after he has paid his penalty. The violator shall pay a reinstatement fee of Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00) to have his privileges restored.

(d) A person under the age of twenty-one (21) convicted of a second or subsequent violation of subsection (1) shall forfeit all hunting, trapping and fishing privileges for a period of not less than three (3) consecutive years from the date of conviction and shall attend courses prescribed by the commission. The person shall pay a reinstatement fee of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) to have his privileges restored.

(e) A person who is appealing from a violation of subsection (1) shall have his hunting privileges suspended or revoked as provided in Section 49-7-27 .

(3) This section shall not apply to any deer killed in an accident with any motor vehicle.

(4) Anyone found guilty of violating this section who shoots or kills any livestock shall be punished as provided in Section 97-41-15 , in addition to the penalties provided in this section.

(5) It shall be unlawful for a person to shine a light from a public road or right-of-way, or on the property of another, at night, from one-half ( 1 / 2 ) hour after sunset to one-half ( 1 / 2 ) hour before sunrise. This section shall not apply: (a) to the normal use of headlights of a vehicle traveling on a public road or right-of-way; (b) to law enforcement, emergency or utility personnel in the performance of their official duties; (c) to landowners, agricultural or hunting leaseholders or their designated agents with written authorization from the landowner or agricultural leaseholder, and upon lands owned or leased by the landowner, leaseholder or agent; (d) to persons lawfully hunting, fishing or trapping; or (e) a landowner, agricultural leaseholder or a designated agent in the act of searching for or retrieving escaped livestock or pets. Any person convicted under this provision shall be guilty of harassment of wildlife and shall be punished by a fine of not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or by imprisonment in the county jail for not less than sixty (60) days nor more than six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(6) It shall not be unlawful for any licensed or exempt hunter or tracker to track or pursue a deer that was lawfully shot and wounded during legal hunting hours, into the night after legal hunting hours, and to dispatch the deer if the deer is found and is still alive. A licensed or exempt hunter or tracker tracking or pursuing a wounded white-tailed deer into the nighttime hours may use reasonable means to assist the pursuit, including, but not limited to, lights and blood-trailing/tracking dogs. If tracking/blood-trailing dogs are used, no more than two (2) dogs may be used. If the animal being tracked is discovered to still be alive, but wounded, the hunter or tracker may dispatch the animal by using a handgun with a barrel no longer than six (6) inches and chambered in a caliber no larger than .45 caliber. For the purposes of this section, a “ licensed hunter ” or “ licensed tracker ” shall mean a hunter or tracker with the proper license for hunting white-tailed deer.

Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as allowing any individual to trespass upon the lands of another while in pursuit of an injured or wounded white-tailed deer animal.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-19-223 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 17 / Section 19-223
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-19-223
Status: in_force

(1) Any eligible owner who wishes to receive cost-share assistance shall file an application with the commission stating the practice to be implemented, the approximate cost of such practice and a description of the land or lands upon which the practice is to be implemented. The application shall be accompanied by a statement of intent stating (a) that the owner intends to utilize the cost-share assistance for long range timber growing and improvement, (b) that the owner is not receiving or using federal funds for implementation of any approved practice on the same acre of land or lands described in the application, and (c) that the owner if an owner in joint tenancy or tenancy in common or if a member of a group or association owning the lands, has no knowledge of any application which has been filed for cost-share assistance to be used on the lands described in the application.

(2) The commission, upon completion of the approved practice, shall tender all approved sums of the cost-share assistance to the owner.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-33-7 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 28 / Section 33-7
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-33-7
Status: in_force

For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section:

(a) “Act” shall mean the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Activity Act.

(b) “Forest or agricultural land” means any land in the state devoted to the growing of trees or the commercial production of agricultural products or timber, wood or forest products including nongame species where the land is classified by the county as forest, agricultural or open land and being used as forest or agricultural land in the performance of forestry or agricultural activities.

(c) “Forestry activities” means any activity on forest land associated with the reforesting, growing, managing, protecting and harvesting of timber, wood and forest products including nongame species.

(d) “Agricultural activities” means any activities included under Section 27-35-50(4) as agricultural purposes.

(e) “Inverse condemnation” means any action by the State of Mississippi that prohibits or severely limits the right of an owner to conduct forestry or agricultural activities on forest or agricultural land. Inverse condemnation shall not include an action by the state that is:

(i) A taking as defined in paragraph (l) of this section;

(ii) A result of police power to prohibit activities that are noxious in fact or are harmful to the public health and safety; or

(iii) An order issued as a result of a violation of state law; or

(iv) An action as prescribed by the Mississippi Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks as set forth in Sections 49-7-1 through 49-7-257 or concerning the closing or shortening of open seasons as set forth in Section 49-1-29(a) .

(f) “Noxious in fact” means an activity that constitutes a public nuisance under common law.

(g) “Owner” means the holder of legal or equitable title to:

(i) Forest or agricultural land or timber, wood or forest products, including the management of nongame species thereon; or

(ii) Personal property rights associated with conducting forestry or agricultural activities on forest or agricultural land.

(h) “Prohibits or severely limits” means to reduce the fair market value of forest or agricultural land (or any part or parcel thereof) or timber, wood or forest products including nongame species (or any part or parcel thereof) or personal property rights associated with conducting forestry or agricultural activities on the forest or agricultural land by more than forty percent (40%) of their value before the action.

(i) “Public health and safety” means actions by the State of Mississippi based upon its police powers. Public health and safety actions prohibiting or severely restricting forestry or agricultural activities shall be:

(i) Taken only in response to real and substantial threats to public health and safety;

(ii) Designated to significantly advance the health and safety purpose; and

(iii) No greater than necessary to achieve the health and safety purpose.

(j) “State of Mississippi” or “state” means the State of Mississippi, any county, municipality or any political subdivision thereof.

(k) “State law” means any statute, rule, regulation, ordinance, resolution or similar action by the State of Mississippi validly existing and as interpreted on October 1, 1994. State law shall not include:

(i) Any judicial or executive interpretation of a state law after October 1, 1994, that prohibits or severely limits the conducting of forestry or agricultural activities that were not prohibited or severely limited before October 1, 1994; or

(ii) Any legislative amendment, interpretation or enactment by the state after October 1, 1994, that prohibits or severely limits the conducting of forestry or agricultural activities (except such actions that are the result of police power to prohibit activities that are noxious in fact or are harmful to the public health and safety).

(l) “Taking” means any action by the State of Mississippi under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, or Article III, Section 17 of the Mississippi Constitution where the owner is entitled to compensation for the fair market value of the owner's property or some part thereof (or required to forfeit the property in accordance with state forfeiture laws). Taking shall include the formal exercise of the power of eminent domain, the seizure or forfeiture of property for violations of law or as evidence in criminal proceedings or the issuance of orders authorized by statute or issued by a state agency or court of law for violations of state law. Taking shall not include the repealing of any state action that lessens interference with the conduct of forestry or agricultural activities.

(m) “Personal property” means any interest acquired by deed, lease, contract or agreement in standing or severed timber, wood or forest products.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-747 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 17 / Section 17-747
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-747
Status: in_force

(1) Any public agency or person, pursuant to a duly adopted resolution of the governing body of such public agency or person, may enter into contracts with the county authority or county authorities under the terms of which the county authority will manage, operate and contract for usage of its systems and facilities, or other services, for such person or public agency.

(2) Any public agency or person may enter into contracts with the county authority for the county authority to purchase or sell, by installments over such terms as may be deemed desirable, or otherwise, to any person or any systems. Any public agency may sell, donate, convey, or otherwise dispose of water, wastewater and storm water facilities or systems; or any equipment, personal property or any other things, deemed necessary for the construction, operation, and maintenance to the county authority without the necessity of appraisal, advertising, or bidding. This section creates an alternative method of disposal of public property.

(3) Any public agency is authorized to enter into operating agreements with the county authority, for such terms and upon such conditions as may be deemed desirable, for the operation of any of its systems of any person by the county authority or by any person contracting with the county authority to operate such systems.

(4) Any public agency may lease to or from the county authority, for such term and upon such conditions as may be deemed desirable, any of its systems.

(5) Any municipality or county may donate office space, equipment, supplies, and materials to the authority.

(6) Any such contract may contain provisions requiring any public agency or other person to regulate the quality and strength of the material to be handled by the wastewater or storm water systems and may also provide that the county authority shall have the right to use any streets, alleys and public ways and places within the jurisdiction of a public agency or other person during the term of the contract. Such contracts may obligate the public agency to make payments to the county authority or to a trustee in amounts which shall be sufficient to enable the county authority to defray the expenses of administering, operating and maintaining its respective systems, to pay interest and principal (whether at maturity upon redemption or otherwise) on bonds of the county authority, issued under this act and to fund reserves for debt service, for operation and maintenance and for renewals and replacements, to fulfill the requirements of any rate covenant with respect to debt service coverage contained in any resolution, trust indenture or other security agreement relating to the bonds of the county authority issued under this act or to fulfill any other requirement relating to bonds issued pursuant to this act.

(7) Any public agency shall have the power to enter into such contracts with the county authority as in the discretion of the governing body of the public agency would be in the best interest of the public agency. Such contracts may include a pledge of the full faith and credit of such public agency and/or the avails of any special assessments made by such public agency against property receiving benefits, as now or hereafter are provided by law. Any such contract may provide for the sale, or lease to, or use of by the county authority, of the systems or any part thereof, of the public agency; and may provide that the county authority shall operate its systems or any part thereof of the public agency; and may provide that any public agency shall have the right to continued use and/or priority use of the systems or any part thereof during the useful life thereof upon payment of reasonable charges therefor; and may contain provisions to assure equitable treatment of persons or public agencies who contract with the county authority under this act; and may contain such other provisions and requirements as the parties thereto may determine to be appropriate or necessary. Such contracts may extend over any period of time, notwithstanding any provisions of law to the contrary, and may extend beyond the life of the respective systems or any part thereof or the term of the bonds sold with respect to such facilities or improvements thereto.

(8) The obligations of a public agency arising under the terms of any contract referred to in this act, whether or not payable solely from a pledge of revenues, shall not be included within the indebtedness limitations of the public agency for purposes of any constitutional or statutory limitation or provision. To the extent provided in such contract and to the extent such obligations of the public agency are payable wholly or in part from the revenues and other monies derived by the public agency from the operation of its systems or of its combined systems, or any part thereof, such obligations shall be treated as expenses of operating such systems.

(9) Contracts referred to in this section may also provide for payments in the form of contributions to defray the cost of any purpose set forth in the contracts and as advances for the respective systems or any part thereof subject to repayment by the county authority. A public agency may make such contributions or advances from its general fund or surplus fund or from special assessments or from any monies legally available therefor.

(10) Payments made, or to be made, to the county authority by a public agency or other person under a contract for any of its treatment systems, or any part thereof, shall not be subject to approval or review by the Mississippi Public Service Commission.

(11) Subject to the terms of a contract or contracts referred to in this act, the county authority is hereby authorized to do and perform any and all acts or things necessary, convenient or desirable to carry out the purposes of such contracts, including the fixing, charging, collecting, maintaining and revising of rates, fees and other charges for the services rendered to any user of any of the systems operated or maintained by the county authority, whether or not such systems are owned by the county authority.

(12) No provision of this act shall be construed to prohibit any public agency, otherwise permitted by law to issue bonds, from issuing bonds in the manner provided by law for the construction, renovation, repair or development of any of the county authority's systems, or any part thereof, owned or operated by such public agency.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-2-83 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 2 / Section 2-83
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-2-83
Status: in_force

The Legislature finds that:

(a) Each year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, more than three billion medical sharps are used by individuals in their homes.

(b) Typically, these medical sharps are put into the household trash, where they become a health hazard for other members of the household and for sanitation workers.

(c) The hazard includes not only the discomfort of a needle-stick injury, but also the risk of contracting an infectious disease from a contaminated medical sharp.

(d) Regulating the disposal of home-generated medical sharps will further the public health and safety of Mississippi residents.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-84.1 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 2 / Section 15-84.1
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-84.1
Status: in_force

(1) The commission may establish a closed season for the use of crab traps in the public waters of this state. The commission may designate the closed season as not less than ten (10) days nor more than thirty (30) days per year. Any crab trap remaining in the public waters after the expiration to the seventh day of a closed season may be considered as abandoned under the regulations established by the commission.

(2) The commission shall adopt rules to govern the removal and disposal of abandoned crab traps as necessary to enhance:

(a) The conservation and management of crab resources;

(b) Boating safety;

(c) The cleanliness of the beds and bottoms of the public waters of the state; and

(d) Enforcement of this chapter.

(3) Abandoned crab traps are litter and are subject to immediate removal and disposal.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-5 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 3 / Section 17-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-5
Status: in_force

For the purposes of Sections 49-17-1 through 49-17-43 , the following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section:

(1) Water.

(a) “Pollution” means such contamination, or other alteration of the physical, chemical or biological properties, of any waters of the state, including change in temperature, taste, color, turbidity, or odor of the waters, or such discharge of any liquid, gaseous, solid, radioactive, or other substance or leak into any waters of the state unless in compliance with a valid permit issued therefor by the Permit Board.

(b) “Wastes” means sewage, industrial wastes, oil field wastes, and all other liquid, gaseous, solid, radioactive, or other substances which may pollute or tend to pollute any waters of the state.

(c) “Sewerage system” means pipelines or conduits, pumping stations, and force mains, and other structures, devices, appurtenances and facilities used for collecting or conducting wastes to an ultimate point for treatment or disposal.

(d) “Treatment works” means any plant or other works, used for the purpose of treating, stabilizing or holding wastes.

(e) “Disposal system” means a system for disposing of wastes, either by surface or underground methods, and includes sewerage systems, treatment works, disposal wells and other systems.

(f) “Waters of the state” means all waters within the jurisdiction of this state, including all streams, lakes, ponds, impounding reservoirs, marshes, watercourses, waterways, wells, springs, irrigation systems, drainage systems, and all other bodies or accumulations of water, surface and underground, natural or artificial, situated wholly or partly within or bordering upon the state, and such coastal waters as are within the jurisdiction of the state, except lakes, ponds or other surface waters which are wholly landlocked and privately owned, and which are not regulated under the Federal Clean Water Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq. ).

(g) “Underground water” means an underground source of drinking water as defined within the regulations of the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act.

(2) Air.

(a) “Air contaminant” means particulate matter, dust, fumes, gas, mist, smoke or vapor, or any combination thereof, produced by processes other than natural.

(b) “Air pollution” means the presence in the outdoor atmosphere of one or more air contaminants in quantities, of characteristic, and of a duration which are materially injurious or can be reasonably expected to become materially injurious to human, plant or animal life or to property, or which unreasonably interfere with enjoyment of life or use of property throughout the state or throughout such area of the state as shall be affected thereby.

(c) “Air contamination” means the presence in the outdoor atmosphere of one or more air contaminants which contribute to a condition of air pollution.

(d) “Air contamination source” means any source at, from, or by reason of which there is emitted into the atmosphere any air contaminant, regardless of who the person may be who owns or operates the building, premises or other property in, at, or on which such source is located, or the facility, equipment or other property by which the emission is caused or from which the emission comes.

(e) “Air-cleaning device” means any method, process or equipment, the primary function of which is to remove, reduce or render less noxious air contaminants discharged into the atmosphere.

(f) “Area of the state” means any city or county or portion thereof, or other substantial geographical area of the state as may be designated by the Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality.

(g) “Federal Clean Air Act” means the Federal Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq., as amended.

(3) General.

(a) “Commission” means the Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality acting through the Office of Pollution Control of the Department of Environmental Quality.

(b) “Person” means the state or other agency or institution thereof, any municipality, political subdivision, public or private corporation, individual, partnership, association or other entity, and includes any officer or governing or managing body of any municipality, political subdivision, or public or private corporation, or the United States or any officer or employee thereof.

(c) “Pollution Emergency Fund” means the fund established under Section 49-17-68 .

(d) “General permit” means a permit for categories of sources that involve similar wastes and have similar monitoring requirements and restrictions.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-5-117 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 4 / Section 5-117
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-5-117
Status: in_force

(a) None of the provisions of Sections 49-5-101 through 49-5-119 shall be construed to apply retroactively or to prohibit importation into the state of wildlife which may be lawfully imported into the United States or lawfully taken or removed from another state or to prohibit entry into the state or possession, transportation, exportation, processing, sale or offer for sale or shipment of any wildlife whose species or subspecies is deemed to be threatened with statewide extinction in this state but not in the state where originally taken if the person engaging therein demonstrates by substantial evidence that such wildlife was lawfully taken or removed from such state; provided, that this subsection shall not be construed to permit the possession, transportation, exportation, processing, sale or offer for sale or shipment within this state of wildlife on the United States' List of Endangered Native Fish and Wildlife, as amended and accepted in accordance with subsection (d) of Section 49-5-109 , except as permitted in the proviso by subsection (c) of Section 49-5-109 and subsection (d) of Section 49-5-111 .

(b) If any provision of Sections 49-5-101 through 49-5-119 or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of such sections, and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected thereby.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-19-179 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 3 / Section 19-179
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-19-179
Status: in_force

Among the other rights and powers conferred by Sections 49-19-171 through 49-19-179 , but not limiting the same, is the right and power of this state to go to the assistance of a member state and to accept aid and assistance from a member state, paying therefor under the terms and provisions of Articles IV and V of the compact contained herein; and the State of Mississippi pledges hereby that it will pay any sums due under this compact for the employment of personnel or otherwise where assistance is rendered to Mississippi by a member state. Articles IV and V are hereby ratified, confirmed and approved.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-33-11 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 26 / Section 33-11
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-33-11
Status: in_force

The state shall not make a waiver of the provisions of this chapter a condition for approval of the use or continued use of real property or the issuance of any permit or other entitlement. The acceptance by an owner of any approval of use, continued use, permit or other entitlement shall not constitute a waiver of the rights of the owner to compensation for inverse condemnation.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-77 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 8 / Section 17-77
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-77
Status: in_force

The three (3) commissioners from the State of Mississippi shall be authorized to do any and all things necessary in order to effectuate the terms and provisions of the compact contained herein and Sections 49-17-71 through 49-17-77 shall be entitled to a liberal interpretation in order to carry out the spirit and intent of the aforesaid compact.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-403 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 1 / Section 17-403
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-403
Status: in_force

For the purposes of Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-433 , the following shall have the meaning ascribed in this section:

(a) “ Active site ” means a site of an underground storage tank where an owner can be identified and where the tank is available for use in the management and handling of motor fuels, including tanks currently in service, tanks temporarily closed and tanks temporarily out of service.

(b) “ Bonded distributor ” means any person holding a distributor's permit issued under either Section 27-55-7 or Section 27-55-507 .

(c) “ Commission ” means the Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality.

(d) “ Contamination ” means the presence or discharge of regulated substances in or on the land or in the waters of the state.

(e) “ Department ” means the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.

(f) “ Director ” means the Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.

(g) “ Groundwater ” means water located beneath the land surface located wholly or partially within the boundaries of the state.

(h) “ Motor fuels ” means gasoline and aviation gasoline as defined in Section 27-55-5 and special fuel as defined in Section 27-55-505 , except for those “motor fuels” used in electric power generating plants for the commercial production of electricity.

(i) “ Operator ” means any person in control of, or having responsibility for, the daily operation of an underground storage tank.

(j) “ Owner of an underground storage tank ” means:

(i) In the case of an underground storage tank in use on November 8, 1984, or brought into use after that date, any person who owns an underground storage tank used for the storage, use or dispensing of regulated substances; and

(ii) In the case of an underground storage tank in use before November 8, 1984, but no longer in use on that date, any person who owned such tank immediately before the discontinuation of its use.

(k) “ Person ” means an individual, trust, firm, joint-stock company, federal agency, corporation, state municipality, commission, political subdivision of a state, any interstate body, a consortium, a joint venture, a commercial entity or the United States government.

(l) “ Regulated substance ” means:

(i) Any substance defined in Section 101(14) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, Public Law No. 96-510 , as amended and extended (but not including any substance regulated as a hazardous waste under Section 17-17-1 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972); and

(ii) Petroleum, including crude oil or any fraction thereof, which is liquid at standard conditions of temperature and pressure (sixty (60) degrees Fahrenheit and fourteen and seven-tenths (14- 7 / 10 ) pounds per square inch absolute).

(m) “ Release ” means any spilling, leaking, emitting, discharging, escaping, leaching or disposing from an underground storage tank into groundwater, surface water or subsurface soils.

(n) “ Response action ” means any activity, including evaluation, planning, design, engineering, construction and ancillary services, which is carried out in response to any discharge, release or threatened release of motor fuels.

(o) “ Response action contractor ” means a person who has been approved by the commission and is carrying out any response action, including a person retained or hired by such person to provide services relating to a response action.

(p) “ Retailer ” means any person other than a bonded distributor who sells motor fuel as defined in this section.

(q) “ Substantial compliance ” means that an owner or operator of an underground storage tank has registered that tank with the department, and has made a good-faith effort to comply with the law; and the rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto.

(r) “ Third-party claim ” means any civil action brought or asserted by any person against any owner of any underground storage tank for damages to person or property which damages are the direct result of a release of motor fuels from an underground storage tank.

(s) “ Underground storage tank ” means any one (1) or combination of containers including tanks, vessels, enclosures or structures together with appurtenances thereto used to contain an accumulation of regulated substances, and the volume of which, including the volume of the underground pipes connected thereto, is ten percent (10%) or more beneath the surface of the ground. Such term does not include any:

(i) Farm or residential tanks of one thousand one hundred (1,100) gallons or less capacity used for storing motor fuel for noncommercial purposes;

(ii) Tanks used for storing heating oil for consumptive use on the premises where stored;

(iii) Septic tanks;

(iv) Pipeline facilities (including gathering lines regulated under:

1. The Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968, Public Law No. 90-481 , 49 USCS 1671 - 1684 , as amended and extended,

2. The Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Act of 1979, Public Law No. 96-129 , 49 USCS 2001 et seq., as amended and extended, or

3. An intrastate pipeline facility regulated under state laws comparable to the provisions of law in Clause 1 or 2 of this subparagraph);

(v) Surface impoundments, pits, ponds or lagoons;

(vi) Storm water or wastewater collection systems;

(vii) Flow-through process tanks;

(viii) Liquid traps or associated gathering lines directly related to oil or gas production and gathering operation;

(ix) Storage tanks situated in an underground area such as a basement, cellar, mine working, drift, shaft or tunnel if the storage tank is situated upon or above the surface of the floor;

(x) Other tanks exempted by the Administrator of the federal Environmental Protection Agency; and

(xi) Piping connected to any of the above exemptions.

(t) “ User ” means any person who purchases or acquires motor fuels as defined in this section for consumption.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-28-23 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 27 / Section 28-23
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-28-23
Status: in_force

(1) The district may issue negotiable special improvement bonds to provide funds for the purpose of planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance or improvement of any project of the district, including acquisition of land. The bonds shall be payable primarily from special assessments authorized in Section 49-28-29 and, if provided in the proceedings authorizing the bonds, the avails of the ad valorem tax levy authorized in Section 49-28-27 . In addition, if provided in the proceedings authorizing the bonds and agreed to by resolution of the board of supervisors authorizing the board of commissioners to make that pledge, the bonds shall also be payable from the avails of the ad valorem tax levy provided for in subsection (2) of this section, or from any combination of monies from those special assessments and tax levies. The bonds may be issued without an election being held upon the question of their issuance and without the publication of any notice of intention to issue the bonds. The board of commissioners of the district shall issue bonds of the district by resolution spread upon the minutes of the board. The bonds shall contain covenants and provisions, be executed, bear interest at the rate or rates not to exceed fourteen percent (14%) per annum, be in denomination or denominations, be payable, both as to principal and interest, at the place or places, mature at the time or times not exceeding twenty-five (25) years from their date of issuance, as shall be determined by the board of commissioners and set forth in the resolution under which the bonds are issued. However, any bonds which are secured by a pledge of special assessments shall mature at the time or times not exceeding the time period over which the special assessments are payable, as determined by the board of commissioners under Section 49-28-29 . Notwithstanding any provision of general law to the contrary, any bonds and interest coupons issued under this chapter shall possess all of the qualities of negotiable instruments, and the bonds, premium, if any, and interest thereon shall be exempt from all state, county, municipal and other taxation under the laws of the State of Mississippi. Any bonds issued under the authority of this chapter may be refunded in the manner provided in this chapter upon a finding by the board of commissioners that the refunding is in the public interest. Bonds for the improvement or extension of any structures or facilities of the district may be included with any refunding bonds. The bonds may be sold without the necessity of advertising for bids and may be sold by negotiated private sale and on any terms, conditions and covenants as may be agreed to by and between the issuing authority and the purchasers of the bonds. The total amount of bonds issued under this chapter shall not exceed One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00).

(2) If provided in the proceedings authorizing the issuance of the bonds and agreed to by resolution of the board of supervisors authorizing the board of commissioners of the district to make a pledge, then when there are insufficient revenues received from special assessments authorized under Section 49-28-29 and the avails of the ad valorem tax levy authorized under Section 49-28-27 , or from both together, according to the provisions made in the proceedings authorizing the issuance of the bonds, to meet the interest or principal payments, or both, when due on any bonds issued under this chapter (excluding for this purpose any amounts in a reserve fund for those bonds), then, upon certification of that fact by the board of commissioners of the district to the board of supervisors, the board of supervisors shall levy an ad valorem tax on all taxable property within the geographical limits of the district. The avails of the tax, together with any other monies available for that purpose, shall be sufficient to provide for the payment of the principal of and interest on the bonds as the principal and interest falls due. If provided in the proceedings for the issuance of the bonds, the avails of the tax may also be used to replenish any reserve fund established for the bonds.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-301 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 9 / Section 15-301
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-301
Status: in_force

(1) The Mississippi Advisory Commission on Marine Resources is hereby established and full power is vested in the advisory commission to advise the Executive Director of the Department of Marine Resources on all matters pertaining to all saltwater aquatic life and marine resources. The advisory commission shall advise the Executive Director of the Department of Marine Resources on the administration of the Coastal Wetlands Protection Law and the Public Trust Tidelands Act. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the commission shall only be an advisory commission to the Department of Marine Resources and shall not have independent authority to take official action on behalf of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and its actions are purely advisory in nature. Whenever the terms “Mississippi Commission on Marine Resources,” “Commission on Marine Resources” and “commission” when referring to the Mississippi Commission on Marine Resources appear in any state law, they shall mean the “Mississippi Advisory Commission on Marine Resources.”

(2) The reconstituted Mississippi Advisory Commission on Marine Resources shall consist of five (5) members to be appointed as follows:

(a) The Governor shall appoint five (5) members who shall be residents of Jackson, Harrison and Hancock Counties with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Governor shall appoint at least one (1) member from each county but not more than two (2) members from any one (1) county. The members designated in subparagraphs (i), (ii) and (iv) must be a resident of the county where the business he is appointed to represent is located.

(b) The advisory commission shall be composed as follows:

(i) One (1) member shall be a commercial seafood processor.

(ii) One (1) member shall be a commercial fisherman.

(iii) One (1) member shall be a recreational sports fisherman.

(iv) One (1) member shall be a charter boat operator.

(v) One (1) member shall be a member of an incorporated nonprofit environmental organization.

(c) Of the initial members appointed by the Governor, the members designated in subparagraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) shall serve for an initial term of two (2) years and one (1) member shall be appointed from each county. The members designated in subparagraphs (iv) and (v) shall serve an initial term of four (4) years. All terms after the initial terms shall be for a period of four (4) years.

(d) Any vacancy in the office of an appointed member of the advisory commission shall be filled by appointment by the Governor for the balance of the unexpired term.

(3) Each member shall have a demonstrated history of involvement in the matter of jurisdiction for which he is appointed to represent and his employment and activities must not conflict with the matter of jurisdiction represented. A member shall not have a record of conviction of violation of fish and game or seafood laws or regulations within the five (5) years preceding his appointment or a record of any felony conviction. After July 1, 1999, if a member is convicted of a violation of the seafood laws during his term, his office shall be deemed vacant and the Governor shall fill the vacancy as provided in this section.

(4) The advisory commission shall elect a chairman who shall preside at all meetings of the commission, and the advisory commission shall also elect a vice chairman who shall serve in the absence or inability of the chairman.

(5) Each member shall be paid actual and necessary expenses incurred in attending meetings of the advisory commission and in performing his duties away from his domicile under assignment by the advisory commission. In addition, members shall receive the per diem authorized in Section 25-3-69 .

(6) The advisory commission shall adopt rules and regulations governing times and places of meetings.

(7) The advisory commission shall not take any action without the approval of the Department of Marine Resources, and such action shall be included in the minutes of the advisory commission. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum of the advisory commission.

(8) The advisory commission shall advise the Department of Marine Resources on how to devise a plan to make licenses available in each coastal county.

(9)(a) There is hereby created a Marine Resources Technical Advisory Council composed of the Executive Director of the Gulf Coast Research Lab, or his designee; the Executive Director of the Department of Environmental Quality, or his designee; and the Executive Director of the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, or his designee.

(b) The council shall give technical assistance to the department.

(10) For purposes of this section the following definitions apply:

(a) “ Charter boat operator ” means an individual who operates a vessel for hire, guiding sports fishermen for a fee and is duly licensed to engage in such activity in the State of Mississippi.

(b) “ Commercial fisherman ” means a fisherman who sells, barters or exchanges any or all of his catch or who is paid for attempting to catch marine species, and is duly licensed to engage in commercial fishing.

(c) “ Commercial seafood processor ” means an individual who engages in the business of purchasing seafood products and preparing them for resale and who is duly licensed to engage in such commercial activity in the State of Mississippi.

(d) “ Incorporated environmental nonprofit organization ” means an organization duly incorporated in any state as a nonprofit organization and whose stated goals and purposes are the conservation of natural resources.

(e) “ Recreational sports fisherman ” means an individual who catches or harvests marine species only for recreation or personal consumption and not for sale. The individual must possess a saltwater sports fishing license, be a member of an incorporated nonprofit sports fishing organization and not possess a commercial fishing or seafood processor license.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-1 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 3 / Section 17-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-1
Status: in_force

Sections 49-17-1 through 49-17-43 may be cited as the “Mississippi Air and Water Pollution Control Law.”
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-2-1 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 2 / Section 2-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-2-1
Status: in_force

It is hereby declared to be the intent of the Legislature to conserve, manage, develop and protect our natural resources and wildlife for the benefit of this and succeeding generations by reorganizing the natural resource and wildlife conservation functions of state government into the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks thereby providing more effective organizations through which the methods of conserving, managing, developing and protecting our natural resources and wildlife can be analyzed, coordinated and implemented.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-19-35 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 9 / Section 19-35
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-19-35
Status: in_force

As used in this section:

(a) “ Biomass ” means bioenergy feedstocks from forest products manufacturing, including, without limitation:

(i) Forest products manufacturing residuals, including, without limitation:

1. Pulping liquors;

2. Pulping byproducts;

3. Woody manufacturing residuals;

4. Paper recycling residuals;

5. Wastewater and processed water treatment plant residuals; and

6. Anaerobic digester biogas;

(ii) Harvest residues, including, without limitation, trees or portions of harvested trees;

(iii) Downed wood from extreme weather events or natural disasters;

(iv) Nonhazardous landscape or right-of-way trimmings and municipal trimmings;

(v) Plant material removed for purposes of invasive or noxious plant species control;

(vi) Biowaste, including, without limitation, landfill gas;

(vii) Forest biomass derived from residues created as a byproduct of timber harvesting;

(viii) Forest management activities conducted for timber stand improvement or to increase yield, ecological restoration or to maintain or enhance forest health;

(ix) Biomass materials described by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as fuels under 40 CFR Statute 241.1 et seq., as it existed on January 1, 2023; and

(x) Other used wood products, including, without limitation, crates and pallets.

(b) “ Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage ” means the process of capturing and permanently storing carbon dioxide from biomass energy generation.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-403 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 15 / Section 15-403
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-403
Status: in_force

(1) When any allegation or charge in the form of a complaint has been made against a person for violations pursuant to the authorities outlined in Section 49-15-401 and such matter has been brought before the department for administrative penalty processing, the department shall:

(a) Cause the complaint to be in writing, signed by the person and/or office making the charge and include the recommended fine;

(b) Ensure that the complaint is filed with the executive director;

(c) Cause the executive director of the department, or his designee, to review the complaint; and

(d) Send or deliver a copy of the complaint and any supporting documents to the alleged violator along with a request for the alleged violator to respond to the allegations within thirty (30) days. The notification shall be accomplished by any of the methods provided for by the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure. Citations issued at the time of the alleged violation by marine enforcement officers shall constitute sufficient notice.

(2) Upon receipt of the response and any supporting documents from the alleged violator, the executive director, or his designee, shall review all information on file to determine the merit of the complaint. If the executive director, or his designee, determines that the complaint lacks merit, the executive director may dismiss the complaint.

(3) If the executive director, or his designee, determines that there are reasonable grounds to indicate that a violation has occurred or if the alleged violator admits to the truth of the allegations upon which the complaint is based, the executive director may impose a fine not to exceed Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) for each violation. The executive director shall send a copy of the imposed fine to the alleged violator.

(4) The alleged violator shall have fifteen (15) days from receipt of the finding and imposed fine of the executive director within which to file a written request for an informal settlement conference with the executive director, or his designee. If the alleged violator requests a conference, the executive director, or his designee, shall meet with the alleged violator to discuss the proposed penalty and the possibility of an agreed settlement. The alleged violator may present evidence and written or oral comments at the executive director's conference. The alleged violator may be represented by legal counsel, at his or her own expense. If, in the judgment of the executive director, or his designee, a reasonable settlement is reached, the recommended penalty shall be revised accordingly. The executive director shall make the final decision regarding the penalty to be issued, which may include dismissal of the complaint, issuance of a warning in lieu of a penalty or a monetary penalty not to exceed Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) for each violation. If a request for information settlement is not received within the timeframe provided, the executive director's imposed fine will be the final decision.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-28-13 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 8 / Section 28-13
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-28-13
Status: in_force

Any party having an interest in the subject matter and aggrieved or prejudiced by the findings and adjudication of the board of supervisors may appeal to the circuit court of the county in the manner provided by law for appeals from orders of the board of supervisors. However, if no appeal is taken within fifteen (15) days after the date of the adoption of the resolution creating the district, the creation of the district shall be final and shall not be subject to attack in any court after that time.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-37 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 3 / Section 17-37
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-37
Status: in_force

All hearings before the commission shall be recorded either by a court reporter or by tape or mechanical recorders and subject to transcription upon order of the commission or any interested party, but in the event that the request for transcription originates with an interested party, such party shall pay the cost thereof.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-7-49 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 4 / Section 7-49
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-7-49
Status: in_force

For the purpose of this chapter, the fact that any person shall be found in the possession of a trap, fishing tackle, or other device of any description whatsoever used for the purpose of taking wild animals, wild birds or fish in the natural habitat of such animals, birds, or fish, or in the possession of dead bodies of wild birds, wild animals or fish within the field, in the forests or on the public highways or on the waters of this state, shall be prima facie evidence that such person is or has been hunting, trapping, or fishing.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-26 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 5 / Section 17-26
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-26
Status: in_force

If the commission determines, after adequate scientific investigation and evaluation, that a chemical as defined in Sections 69-23-3 and 75-47-5(a) in the underground water exceeds or is likely to exceed duly adopted state standards and that the source of the chemical is not within the regulatory jurisdiction of the commission, the commission shall notify the Department of Agriculture and Commerce, which shall proceed in accordance with Section 69-23-7 and other existing laws.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-11-5 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 4 / Section 11-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-11-5
Status: in_force

The fee for a shooting preserve license or a commercial wildlife enclosure license shall be One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) per year for the first three hundred (300) acres of shooting preserve area or commercial wildlife enclosure area, and Ten Dollars ($10.00) per year for each additional one hundred (100) acres or parts thereof.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-7-49 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 1 / Section 7-49
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-7-49
Status: in_force

For the purpose of this chapter, the fact that any person shall be found in the possession of a trap, fishing tackle, or other device of any description whatsoever used for the purpose of taking wild animals, wild birds or fish in the natural habitat of such animals, birds, or fish, or in the possession of dead bodies of wild birds, wild animals or fish within the field, in the forests or on the public highways or on the waters of this state, shall be prima facie evidence that such person is or has been hunting, trapping, or fishing.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-29 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 13 / Section 15-29
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-29
Status: in_force

(1) The department shall assess and collect license fees and taxes as authorized under this chapter.

(2) All commercial licenses provided for under this chapter that relate to seafood shall be purchased from May 1 through April 30 at the fees provided in this chapter. The licenses shall expire on April 30 following the date of issuance.

(3) When an application for an original or renewal license of any kind authorized by this chapter is received by the department, the department shall determine whether the vessel or related equipment subject to that license is owned and operated in compliance with applicable federal and state laws. If the department determines that a vessel or its owner is not in compliance with applicable federal and state laws, then no license shall be issued or renewed for the operation of that vessel for a period of one (1) year. All licenses shall be made available for purchase at any building which is regularly operated by the department on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

(4) The department may authorize any person, other than a salaried employee of the state to issue any license under this chapter which the department deems appropriate. The authorized person may collect and retain for issuance of the license the sum of One Dollar ($1.00) in addition to the license fee provided in this chapter. The department shall establish the qualifications of persons authorized to issue licenses under this section and shall also establish the procedure for the issuance of that license by the authorized person and the procedure for collection of license fees by and from the authorized person.

(5) The department may design, establish, and administer a program to provide for the purchase, by electronic means, of any license, permit, registration or reservation issued by the department. Any actual costs associated to provide these documents electronically may be added to the cost of the electronic program.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-19-19 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 6 / Section 19-19
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-19-19
Status: in_force

(1) To encourage better land use, to assist in controlling headwaters, to prevent soil erosion, to help increase community and individual farm incomes, and to assist schools in forest education and timber management, the Mississippi Forestry Commission is hereby authorized to produce and make available to farm owners and to schools of this state, having lands contiguous to the school site suitable for reforestation, free commercial tree seedlings not to exceed five thousand (5,000) trees per farm owner per year, and not to exceed five thousand (5,000) trees per school, providing the farm owner or owners and school trustees desiring such seedlings enter into a cooperative agreement with the state forestry commission assuring the commission of the proper planting, care, and protection of all seedlings thus furnished from fire and wasteful cutting. The minimum number of seedlings furnished any consignee under this section shall not be less than one thousand (1,000).

(2) In its cooperative agreement, the Mississippi Forestry Commission may provide for the payment to it of a penalty of not exceeding Ten Dollars ($10.00) per thousand trees for each thousand or part thereof planted in violation of the purposes and intent of this section.

(3) The Mississippi Forestry Commission is hereby authorized to use such funds as it may have available in carrying out the intent and purposes of this section.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-411 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 2 / Section 17-411
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-411
Status: in_force

No person shall own, install or operate an underground storage tank without complying with the applicable regulations of the commission.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-64.1 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 13 / Section 15-64.1
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-64.1
Status: in_force

(1) The shrimp season shall open on the first Wednesday of June. The shrimp season shall be closed from January 1 until it is opened the first Wednesday of June, except south of the Intracoastal Waterway. The shrimp season shall be closed south of the Intracoastal Waterway and west of the Gulfport Ship Channel from May 1 until it is opened the first Wednesday of June, except as may be provided in subsection (2) of this section. For the purposes of this section only, that portion of the Intracoastal Waterway that extends from a point south of Long Beach to a point south of Point Clear is described as follows:

Begin at green buoy or beacon number 1 which is located approximately three (3) miles north of West Point on Cat Island, thence extending southwesterly to buoy or beacon number 4P, thence southwesterly to Pass Marianne Light, thence southwesterly to buoy or beacon number 15P at the northernmost point of Merrill Coquille, thence southwesterly to buoy or beacon number 17P, thence southwesterly to buoy or beacon number 22, thence westerly to Lighthouse Point and continuing westward following the meandering of the shoreline to the boundary line of the state.

(2) The department may open the season at an earlier or later date in designated areas only after sampling areas within its jurisdiction where shrimp may be caught for the purpose of determining the count of shrimp per pound. The department may also close certain designated areas where the shrimp count is found, by sampling, to be in excess of sixty-eight (68) per pound. If a natural or man-made disaster has the potential of adversely affecting the shrimp fishery, the department may open legal shrimping areas.

(3) The following waters are protective and staging areas for young shrimp, and are permanently closed to commercial and recreational shrimp trawling activities:

All waters north of a line beginning at a point one-half mile due South of the shoreline at the Mississippi-Alabama state boundary; thence running westerly following the meanderings of the shoreline one-half mile therefrom to Light “5” in the Bayou Casotte Channel; thence running northerly to Light “7” in the Bayou Casotte Channel; thence running westerly following the meanderings of the shoreline one-half mile therefrom to the intersection with the Pascagoula Channel; thence running northwesterly to Beacon “50” in the Pascagoula Channel; thence running southwesterly to Beacon “49” in the Pascagoula Channel; thence running in the most direct line to the northeast point of Singing River Island; thence running westerly along the north shoreline to the northwest point of Singing River Island; thence running northwesterly to a point one-half mile due south of the mouth of Graveline Bayou; thence running westerly following the meanderings of the shoreline one-half mile therefrom to Beacon “18” in the Biloxi Bay Channel; thence running northwesterly to Beacon “22” in the Biloxi Bay Channel; thence running northwesterly to Beacon “26” in the Biloxi Bay Channel; thence running westerly to Beacon “34”, exclusive of the Biloxi Channel itself; thence running westerly to Beacon “30” in the Biloxi Channel, exclusive of the Biloxi Channel itself; and thence running due South to a point on the north shore of Deer Island; thence running westerly following the north shore of Deer Island to the westernmost tip; thence running westerly in the most direct line to Biloxi Beacon “8”; thence running westerly following the meanderings of the shoreline at a distance of one-half mile therefrom to a point on the centerline of the CSX Railroad Bridge over St. Louis Bay; thence running westerly along the centerline of said bridge to a point one-half mile south of the western abutment; thence running southwesterly following the meanderings of the shoreline, at a distance of one-half mile therefrom, to a point one-half mile due East of the mouth of Bayou Caddy; thence running due West to the mouth of Bayou Caddy; thence running southwesterly following the meanderings of the shoreline to the southernmost point of the Mississippi shoreline on the east bank of the mouth of the Pearl River thence following the meanderings of the east bank of the Pearl River to a point where the east bank of the Pearl River intersects the centerline of the Highway 90 bridge; thence westerly along the centerline of the Highway 90 bridge to a point that intersects the Mississippi-Louisiana state boundary.

(4) The redesignation of beacon numbers by the United States Coast Guard shall not alter the description of the boundary described in this section.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-31-9 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 4 / Section 31-9
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-31-9
Status: in_force

For purposes of this chapter the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section or in Section 17-17-3 unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(a) “Department” means the Department of Environmental Quality.

(b) “EPCRA” means the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act, Public Law 99-499 , as amended.

(c) “Facility operator” means an operator of a facility required to file a report of toxic chemical releases under Section 313 of EPCRA.

(d) “Generator” means any person whose act or process produces waste.

(e) “Multimedia” means all environmental media including, but not limited to air, water and land.

(f) “Pollution prevention” means any action taken by business, industry, government or individual consumers to conserve natural resources while providing and using needed products in a manner that prevents or reduces the generation, disposal or release of pollutants to the environment. Pollution prevention does not include dewatering, dilution or evaporation before handling, release, storage, treatment or disposal of hazardous waste.

(g) “Recovered materials” means those materials having known recycling potential, which can be feasibly recycled and have been diverted or removed from the waste stream for sale, use or reuse, by separation, collection or processing.

(h) “Recyclable materials” means those materials which are reasonably capable of being recycled and which would otherwise be processed or disposed of as waste.

(i) “Recycling” means the use, reuse or reclamation of a waste. Recycling does not include the burning of waste as a fuel for the recovery of energy or the use of waste treatment technologies.

(j) “Waste” means sewage, industrial wastes, oil field wastes, and all other liquid, gaseous, solid or other substances which may pollute the lands, waters or air of the state.

(k) “Waste minimization” means the reduction, to the extent feasible, of waste that is generated or subsequently treated, stored or disposed of. It includes any source reduction or recycling activity undertaken by a generator or facility operator that results in either (i) the reduction of total volume or quantity of waste, or (ii) the reduction of toxicity or other characteristics of hazardous waste, or both, so long as the reduction does not result in the displacement of pollutants from one medium to another and is consistent with the goal of minimizing present and future threats to human health and the environment.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-527 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 15 / Section 17-527
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-527
Status: in_force

It is unlawful to:

(a) Fail or refuse to comply with any rule, regulation or order of the commission issued under Sections 49-17-501 through 49-17-531 ;

(b) Fail or refuse to establish, maintain, provide, copy, or permit access to records or reports as required by Sections 49-17-501 through 49-17-531 regulations adopted under Sections 49-17-501 through 49-17-531 ;

(c) Fail or refuse to permit entry or inspection as required by Sections 49-17-501 through 49-17-531 or regulations adopted under Sections 49-17-501 through 49-17-531 ;

(d) Obtain certification through fraudulent representation;

(e) Fail to obtain certification from the commission or the United States Environmental Protection Agency and perform work requiring certification at a job site; or

(f) Fraudulently obtain certification and engage in any lead-based paint activities requiring certification.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-35-53 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 9 / Section 35-53
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-35-53
Status: in_force

(1) If a person who is a bona fide prospective purchaser or owner, other than any person or entity who caused the contamination, of NPL property subject to restoration complies with all requirements of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, or state or federal law, which may be imposed with regard to the property, then he shall not be liable to persons other than the United States or the state for contamination or remediation of the NPL property subject to restoration.

(2) The immunity provided under this section applies to the following persons to the same extent as to the bona fide prospective purchaser or owner, other than any person or entity who caused the contamination, of the NPL property subject to restoration:

(a) Any person under the direction or control of the bona fide prospective purchaser or owner, other than any person or entity who caused the contamination, of NPL property subject to restoration with regard to the remediation or redevelopment of the NPL property subject to restoration, except that such person shall not be immune from any liability which may result from remediating or cleaning the NPL property subject to restoration when he remediates or cleans the property improperly or insufficiently or without complying with any order, rule or regulation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency or Department of Environmental Quality or any state or federal law pertaining to the environment;

(b) Any future owner, other than any person or entity who caused the contamination, of the NPL property subject to restoration;

(c) Any person who develops, redevelops or lawfully occupies the NPL property subject to restoration;

(d) Any lender or fiduciary that provided financing for remediation or redevelopment of the NPL property subject to restoration; and

(e) Any successor or assign of a person to whom the immunity granted under this section applies.

(3) The immunity provided under this section shall be void if a person to whom it is granted fails to comply with any order, rule or regulation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency or the Department of Environmental Quality pertaining to the NPL property subject to restoration, or any state or federal law pertaining to the environment.

(4) This section shall not create a defense against the imposition of criminal, civil or administrative penalties for violations of law on the part of the person to whom the immunity is provided. Further, this section shall not affect the right of any person alleged to have suffered damages in connection with the NPL property subject to restoration to seek relief against a person other than those described in this section as protected by the immunity.

(5) The immunity granted under this section shall not relieve any person from liability for payment of all costs reasonably related to the remediation of the NPL property subject to restoration which are required by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Environmental Quality.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-7-5 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 2 / Section 7-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-7-5
Status: in_force

(1)(a) Any resident, as defined in Section 49-7-3 , upon application, shall receive a combination resident hunting and fishing license for the sum of Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00). The license shall qualify the licensee to hunt under this chapter all game and fowl, including deer and turkey, and to fish in any county of the state.

(b) Any resident, as defined in Section 49-7-3 , upon application, shall receive a resident combination small game hunting and fishing license for the sum of Ten Dollars ($10.00) together with the fee provided in Section 49-7-17 to the office or agent issuing the license. The hunting license shall qualify the licensee to hunt and fish under this chapter all game and fowl, except deer and turkey, in any county in the state.

(c) Any resident, as defined in Section 49-7-3 , upon application, shall receive a sportsman's license for the sum of Forty-five Dollars ($45.00). The license shall qualify the licensee to hunt under this chapter all game and fowl, including deer and turkey, and to fish as provided by law, in any county in the state, and to hunt using primitive weapons and bow and arrow in the manner provided by law. The commission may notify the licensee of the expiration of his license, and the licensee may renew the license by mailing the sum of Forty-five Dollars ($45.00) to the commission. A licensee who has not renewed the license within thirty (30) days after the expiration date shall be removed from the commission's records, and the licensee must apply to be placed on the renewal list.

(d) In addition to a hunting license allowing the taking of turkey, a resident who hunts turkey during a fall turkey season must purchase a fall turkey hunting permit for a fee of Five Dollars ($5.00) plus the fee provided in Section 49-7-17 . A resident sportsman's licensee or resident lifetime sportsman's licensee may hunt during the fall turkey season without purchasing a permit.

(e) The commission may offer a resident apprentice hunting license for a resident who does not have the required certificate of hunter education and may set the fee for the apprentice hunting license. An apprentice license may be purchased only one (1) time by a resident and the apprentice hunting licensee must be accompanied by a licensed or exempt resident hunter at least twenty-one (21) years of age when hunting.

(2)(a) Any resident citizen of the State of Mississippi who has not reached the age of sixteen (16) years or who has reached the age of sixty-five (65) years, or any resident citizen who is blind, paraplegic, or a multiple amputee, or who has been adjudged by the Veterans Administration as having a total service-connected disability, or has been adjudged to be totally disabled by the Social Security Administration shall not be required to purchase or have in his possession, a hunting or fishing license while engaged in such activities. A person exempt by reason of total service-connected disability, as adjudged by the Veterans Administration or who has been adjudged to be totally disabled by the Social Security Administration or who is blind, paraplegic or a multiple amputee, shall have in their possession and on their person proof of their age, residency, disability status or other respective physical impairment while engaged in the activities of hunting or fishing.

(b) Any resident who is a member of the Armed Forces, including the Reserves and National Guard, and on active duty outside the State of Mississippi is not required to purchase or have in his possession a hunting or fishing license while engaged in such activities on leave from active duty. The resident shall have in his possession and on his person any proof as may be required by the commission.

(c) All exempt hunting and fishing licenses previously issued for disabilities shall be null and void effective July 1, 1993.

(d) The commission may offer a youth all-game hunting and fishing license for exempt youths who have a hunter education certificate and an all-game hunting and fishing license for other persons exempted under paragraph (a). Youths and other exempt persons shall not be required to purchase this license or have it in possession while hunting or fishing. The commission may establish a fee not to exceed Five Dollars ($5.00) for the licenses.

(e) The requirement for purchasing and/or having a hunting or fishing license authorized in subsection (1) of this section may be waived for any resident or nonresident who is an honorably discharged veteran with a combat-related disability and who will be participating in a special hunt, fishing trip or other outdoor recreational event that is available only to such persons as determined by the entity sponsoring the event. The commission is authorized to establish such criteria and/or procedures for an organization to be recognized as a sanctioned entity that provides unique outdoor recreational opportunities for wounded or disabled veterans. Any events sponsored by a recognized organization, and the persons participating in such event, shall be entitled to the waiver set forth above without further action on the part of the commission or the sponsoring organization.

(3) No license shall be required of residents to hunt, fish or trap on lands in which the record title is vested in such person.

(4) Any person or persons exempt under this section from procuring a license shall be subject to and must comply with all other terms and provisions of this chapter.

(5) Any person authorized to issue any license under this section may collect and retain for the issuance of each license the additional fee authorized under Section 49-7-17 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-65 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 4 / Section 15-65
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-65
Status: in_force

The justice courts of the respective counties or county courts shall have original jurisdiction of any prosecution or suit brought under authority of this chapter, or of any violation of any ordinance duly enacted by the commission. However, from each decision or judgment, whether from a fine or imprisonment, there shall be allowed an appeal, and such appeals and trials shall be had as now provided by law.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-19-15 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 7 / Section 19-15
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-19-15
Status: in_force

The state forestry fund when made available by proper appropriation by the Legislature, shall be expended by the commission in carrying out and enforcing all laws pertaining to the protection of forests as the commission may direct, the vouchers to be drawn and paid as by other departments of the state.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-7-155 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 2 / Section 7-155
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-7-155
Status: in_force

(1) The commission is hereby authorized to establish a fund to be known as the Wildlife Endowment Fund to be deposited in an approved state depository and expended by appropriation approved by the Legislature as provided by law. The department shall deposit all proceeds from the sale of lifetime licenses into such fund. The interest obtained from any investment or deposit of monies in such fund shall be deposited by the commission into such fund. The commission shall invest the assets of the fund as provided by law.

(2) The assets of the Wildlife Endowment Fund shall be derived from the proceeds of the sale of lifetime licenses authorized under Sections 49-7-151 through 49-7-155 . The following limitations are placed on expenditures from the fund:

(a) No expenditure shall be made from the principal of the Wildlife Endowment Fund;

(b) The income earned and accruing from the investment of the Wildlife Endowment Fund shall be spent only in furthering the conservation of wildlife resources and the operations of the department in accomplishing the purposes of the department.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-35-33 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 25 / Section 35-33
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-35-33
Status: in_force

The Legislature finds:

(a) There are properties in Mississippi, often referred to as “brownfields,” that were contaminated or were perceived to have been contaminated by past activities, but are attractive locations for redevelopment.

(b) The safe development or redevelopment of brownfields would benefit the citizens of Mississippi in many ways, including improving the tax base of local governments and creating job opportunities for citizens in the vicinity of brownfields.

(c) Owners and prospective developers and redevelopers of brownfields, local governments in which brownfields are located and federal and state government agencies should be encouraged to provide capital and labor to improve brownfields so that the property can be determined to be safe or made safe for appropriate future use.

(d) The reduction of public health and environmental hazards on existing brownfield sites is essential to creating a better quality of life for the citizens of this state.

(e) Section 49-35-27, Mississippi Code of 1972 , requires the Department of Environmental Quality to conduct a survey of incentive programs in other states for cleanup of contaminated sites by January 1, 1999. The department has conducted its survey and filed its report showing incentives provided in other states.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-5-47 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-47
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-5-47
Status: in_force

In case of a violation of this chapter or any law or regulation for the protection of wild animals, birds, fish by a corporation the warrant of arrest may be read to and a true copy delivered to the president, secretary, or manager in this state, or to any general or local agent thereof in the county where the action is pending, and, upon the return of such warrant so served, the corporation shall be deemed in court and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, and any fines imposed may be collected by the execution against the property of such corporation, but this section shall not be deemed to exempt any agent or employee from prosecution.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-26-7 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 13 / Section 26-7
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-26-7
Status: in_force

The department shall identify federal funding mechanisms which could be used to fund projects regarding channel maintenance. The department shall coordinate with local governments and other interest groups to maximize the eligibility of projects for funding and to assist in the preparation of appropriate financial assistance documentation.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-19-223 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 8 / Section 19-223
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-19-223
Status: in_force

(1) Any eligible owner who wishes to receive cost-share assistance shall file an application with the commission stating the practice to be implemented, the approximate cost of such practice and a description of the land or lands upon which the practice is to be implemented. The application shall be accompanied by a statement of intent stating (a) that the owner intends to utilize the cost-share assistance for long range timber growing and improvement, (b) that the owner is not receiving or using federal funds for implementation of any approved practice on the same acre of land or lands described in the application, and (c) that the owner if an owner in joint tenancy or tenancy in common or if a member of a group or association owning the lands, has no knowledge of any application which has been filed for cost-share assistance to be used on the lands described in the application.

(2) The commission, upon completion of the approved practice, shall tender all approved sums of the cost-share assistance to the owner.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-33-13 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 19 / Section 33-13
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-33-13
Status: in_force

This chapter shall not affect any right or remedy granted an owner under the United States or Mississippi Constitutions or the laws of the United States and the State of Mississippi. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to preclude an owner from bringing a legal challenge and seeking remedies at law or equity arising out of any action of the State of Mississippi regardless of whether the action constituted a taking, an inverse condemnation, or resulted in a diminution in value of forty percent (40%) or less.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-33-13 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 6 / Section 33-13
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-33-13
Status: in_force

This chapter shall not affect any right or remedy granted an owner under the United States or Mississippi Constitutions or the laws of the United States and the State of Mississippi. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to preclude an owner from bringing a legal challenge and seeking remedies at law or equity arising out of any action of the State of Mississippi regardless of whether the action constituted a taking, an inverse condemnation, or resulted in a diminution in value of forty percent (40%) or less.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-31-1 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 27 / Section 31-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-31-1
Status: in_force

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Mississippi Multimedia Pollution Prevention Act.”
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-405 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 6 / Section 15-405
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-405
Status: in_force

(1) If the alleged violator requests a formal hearing within thirty (30) days from the receipt of the finding and imposed fine, or within fifteen (15) days from the receipt of the executive director's decision following the information settlement, the executive director shall designate a representative of the Attorney General's office to preside over the hearing and render a finding and recommendation as provided in this section.

(2) A duly qualified court reporter shall be in attendance and shall make a full and complete transcript of the proceedings. The hearing shall be closed unless the alleged violator requests a public hearing. The hearing officer shall have the right and duty to impose reasonable restrictions as he may deem necessary or appropriate to ensure orderly, expeditious and impartial proceedings, and shall admit all relevant and material evidence except evidence which is unduly repetitious. Hearsay shall be admissible to the extent permitted by the hearing officer.

(3) For purposes of such hearing, the hearing officer is hereby empowered to require the attendance of witnesses, administer oaths and hear testimony, either oral or documentary, for and against the alleged violator. The hearing officer shall have the authority to issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, papers, records or other documentary evidence at a hearing. Subpoenas to be issued shall be delivered to the sheriff of the county where they are to be executed and the sheriff shall serve them. In case of the failure of any person to comply with any subpoena issued by the hearing officer, the hearing officer may invoke the aid of any court of general jurisdiction of this state. The court may thereupon order such person to comply with the requirements of the subpoena. Failure to comply with the order of the court may be treated as contempt thereof.

(4) At the conclusion of the hearing, the hearing officer shall issue a written recommendation incorporating his findings of facts and conclusions of law regarding whether a violation has occurred and the appropriate penalty, if any, that he may assess not to exceed Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) per violation.

(5) The hearing officer's recommendation shall then be forwarded to the executive director who will make the final decision regarding whether a violation has occurred and the appropriate penalty, if any.

(6) The executive director's final decision shall be delivered to the alleged violator.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-7-68 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 7 / Section 7-68
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-7-68
Status: in_force

(1) For purposes of this section:

(a) “ Computer-assisted remote hunting ” means the use of a computer or any other device, equipment or software to remotely control the aiming and discharge of archery equipment, firearms or primitive firearms to take any game animal or bird.

(b) “ Facility for computer-assisted remote hunting ” means the real property and improvements on the property to facilitate computer-assisted remote hunting.

(2)(a) It is unlawful for a person to engage in computer-assisted remote hunting.

(b) It is unlawful for a person to provide or operate a facility for computer-assisted remote hunting if the game animal or bird being hunted is located in this state.

(3) A person violating this section is guilty of a Class I offense and shall be punished as provided under Section 49-7-141 . Each game animal or bird killed in the violation of this section is a separate offense.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-7-140 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 6 / Section 7-140
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-7-140
Status: in_force

(1) No person may import into the state or release into the wild, any live feral hog, wild swine or Russian Boar.

(2) No person may transport on public roads or off of the property of record where captured or relocate within the state any live feral hog, wild swine or Russian Boar.

(3) For the purposes of this section, “ feral hogs, wild swine or Russian Boar ” are defined as any hog that is not a domesticated pet or livestock.

(4) A violation of this section is a Class I violation punishable as provided in Section 49-7-141 .

(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the lawful transport of domestic swine for customary and ordinary purposes of intrastate or interstate commerce, or agricultural practices.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-6-5 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 3 / Section 6-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-6-5
Status: in_force

The department shall establish and implement a motor vehicle replacement program to ensure the efficient and effective operation of the department. The program shall include replacement standards based on the type, operational environment and use of each motor vehicle and any other factors necessary for cost-effective determination of replacement needs.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-23-27 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 15 / Section 23-27
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-23-27
Status: in_force

The State Highway Commission is hereby authorized to enter into agreements with the United States Secretary of Commerce as provided by Title 23, United States Code, relating to the control of outdoor advertising in areas adjacent to the interstate and primary highway systems, including the establishment of information centers at safety rest areas, and to take action in the name of the state to comply with the terms of such agreement, provided that the state highway commission shall not have power to enter into any agreement calling for more restrictive control of outdoor advertising than that provided for in Sections 49-23-1 through 49-23-29 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-529 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 9 / Section 17-529
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-529
Status: in_force

(1) Any person found by the commission to have violated Sections 49-17-501 through 49-17-531 or any rule or regulation or written order of the commission issued under Sections 49-17-501 through 49-17-531 or any certificate or accreditation issued under Sections 49-17-501 through 49-17-531 shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) for each violation. The penalty may be assessed and levied by order of the commission after notice and hearing in accordance with subsection (5) of this section. In addition, the commission may issue a reprimand or a suspension or revocation of any certificate issued to the person under Sections 49-17-501 through 49-17-531 . The reprimand, suspension or revocation may be assessed and levied by order of the commission after notice and hearing as provided in subsection (5) of this section.

(2) In lieu of, or in addition to, the penalty provided for in subsection (1) of this section, the commission may institute and maintain in the name of the state any proceedings necessary to enforce Sections 49-17-501 through 49-17-531 , rules and regulations adopted under Sections 49-17-501 through 49-17-531 , and orders and certificates issued under Sections 49-17-501 through 49-17-531 in the appropriate circuit, chancery, county or justice court of the county in which venue may lie. The commission may obtain mandatory or prohibitory injunctive relief, either temporary or permanent, and it shall not be necessary in those cases that the state plead or prove: (a) that irreparable damage would result if the injunction did not issue; (b) that there is no adequate remedy at law; or (c) that a written complaint or commission order has first been issued for the alleged violation.

(3) Any person who knowingly submits false or inaccurate information in support of an application for issuance or reissuance of an accreditation or a certificate under Sections 49-17-501 through 49-17-531 or who willfully fails to comply with the conditions of the accreditation or the certificate issued by the commission or who willfully violates Sections 49-17-501 through 49-17-531 , or any rule, regulation or written order of the commission or emergency order issued by the director in pursuance thereof, upon conviction, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) within the discretion of the court. Each day in which that violation exists or continues shall constitute a separate offense.

(4) In addition to or in lieu of filing a criminal complaint for the willful misconduct described in subsection (3) of this section, the commission may impose a civil penalty in accordance with subsection (1)(a) of this section, and shall impose a reprimand or a suspension or revocation of any certificate in accordance with subsection (1)(b) of this section.

(5) All proceedings and hearings before the commission regarding violations of Sections 49-17-501 through 49-17-531 or any rule or regulation, written order of the commission, emergency order of the director or certificate issued or reissued by the commission in pursuance thereof or any certificate issued under Sections 49-17-501 through 49-17-531 and all appeals therefrom shall be conducted in accordance with Sections 49-17-31 through 49-17-41, Mississippi Code of 1972 .

(6) All fines, penalties and other sums recovered or collected by the commission for and on behalf of the state under this section shall be deposited in the Pollution Emergency Fund established under Section 49-17-68, Mississippi Code of 1972 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-427 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 11 / Section 17-427
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-427
Status: in_force

(1) Whenever the commission or an employee thereof has reason to believe that a violation of any provision of this chapter, or of any order of the commission, or of any regulation promulgated pursuant to this chapter has occurred, the commission shall initiate proceedings in the same manner as provided in Sections 49-17-31 through 49-17-41, Mississippi Code of 1972 .

(2) Any person found by the commission violating any of the provisions of Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-433 , or any rule or regulation or written order of the commission shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) for each violation per day, such penalty to be assessed and levied by the commission as provided in Sections 49-17-1 through 49-17-43, Mississippi Code of 1972 .

(3) In determining the amount of any penalty under this chapter, the commission shall consider at a minimum:

(a) The willfulness of the violation;

(b) Any damage to air, water, land or other natural resources of the state or their uses;

(c) Costs of restoration or abatement;

(d) Economic benefit as a result of noncompliance;

(e) The seriousness of the violation, including any harm to the environment and any hazard to the health, safety and welfare of the public;

(f) Past performance history; and

(g) Whether the noncompliance was discovered and reported as the result of a voluntary self-evaluation. If a person discovers as a result of a voluntary self-evaluation, information related to noncompliance with an environmental law and voluntarily discloses that information to the department, commission or any employee thereof, the commission shall, to the greatest extent possible, reduce a penalty, if any, determined by the commission, except for economic benefit as a result of noncompliance, to a de minimis amount if all of the following are true:

(i) The disclosure is made promptly after knowledge of the information disclosed is obtained by the person;

(ii) The person making the disclosure initiates the appropriate corrective actions and pursues those corrective actions with due diligence;

(iii) The person making the disclosure cooperates with the commission and the department regarding investigation of the issues identified in the disclosure;

(iv) The person is not otherwise required by an environmental law to make the disclosure to the commission or the department;

(v) The information was not obtained through any source independent of the voluntary self-evaluation or by the department through observation, sampling or monitoring;

(vi) The noncompliance did not result in a substantial endangerment threatening the public health, safety or welfare or the environment; and

(vii) The noncompliance is not a repeat violation occurring at the same facility within a period of three (3) years. “ Repeat violation ” in this subparagraph means a second or subsequent violation, after the first violation has ceased, of the same statutory provision, regulation, permit condition, or condition in an order of the commission.

(4) Any provisions of this section and chapter regarding liability for the costs of cleanup, removal, remediation or abatement of any pollution, hazardous waste or solid waste shall be limited as provided in Section 49-17-42 and rules adopted thereto.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-86 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 15 / Section 17-86
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-86
Status: in_force

(1)(a) There is created a fund in the State Treasury to be designated as the “Water Pollution Control Emergency Loan Fund” hereinafter referred to as “emergency fund.”

(b) The emergency fund may receive appropriations, bond proceeds, grants, gifts, donations or funds from any source, public or private. The emergency fund shall be credited with all repayments of principal and interest derived from loans made from the emergency fund.

(c) The monies in the emergency fund may be expended only in amounts appropriated by the Legislature.

(d) The emergency fund shall be maintained in perpetuity for the purposes established in Sections 49-17-81 through 49-17-89 . Unexpended amounts remaining in the emergency fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund. Any interest earned on amounts in the emergency fund shall be deposited to the credit of the fund.

(2) The commission shall establish a loan program to assist political subdivisions in making emergency improvements such as repairs to or replacement of machinery, equipment, materials, structures or devices in existing water pollution abatement projects or such other emergency water pollution abatement projects as the commission deems necessary. Loans from the emergency fund may be made to political subdivisions as set forth in a loan agreement in amounts not exceeding one hundred percent (100%) of eligible project costs as established by the commission. The commission may require local participation or funding from other sources, or otherwise limit the percentage of costs covered by loans from the emergency fund. The commission may establish a maximum amount for any loan not to exceed Three Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($350,000.00).

(3) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the emergency fund may be used only:

(a) To make loans on the condition that:

(i) Loans are made at or below market interest rates, at terms not to exceed ten (10) years after project completion; the interest rate may vary from time to time and from loan to loan at the discretion of the commission.

(ii) Periodic principal and interest payments will commence when required by the commission but not later than one (1) year after project completion and all loans will be fully amortized when required by the commission but not later than ten (10) years after project completion.

(iii) The recipient of a loan shall establish a dedicated source of revenue for repayment of loans. In addition, the commission may require any loan recipient to impose a per connection surcharge on each customer for repayment of any loan funds provided under this section.

(iv) The recipient of the loan is not in arrears in repayments to the Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund, the Water Pollution Control Emergency Loan Fund or under the Water Pollution Abatement Loan Program.

(b) To provide financial assistance to political subdivisions in making emergency improvements such as repairs to or replacement of machinery, equipment, materials, structures or devices in existing water pollution abatement projects or such other emergency water pollution abatement projects as the commission deems necessary.

(c) To defray the reasonable costs of administering the emergency fund and conducting activities under this section, subject to annual appropriation by the Legislature.

(4) The commission shall establish a system of evaluating the eligibility of projects, including a determination of the emergency nature of a situation for which funding is sought.

(5) The fund will be credited with all payments of principal and interest derived from the fund uses described in subsection (3) of this section. However, notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, all or any portion of payments of principal and interest derived from the fund uses described in subsection (3) of this section may be designated or pledged for repayment of a loan as provided for in Section 31-25-28 in connection with a loan from the Mississippi Development Bank.

(6) In addition to any amounts allowed under subsection (3) (c), the commission may establish and collect fees to further defray the reasonable costs of administering the emergency fund. Any administrative fees may be included in loan amounts to political subdivisions for the purpose of facilitating payment to the commission; fees may not exceed five percent (5%) of the loan amount. The commission may also use administrative fees collected pursuant to Section 49-17-85 to defray the reasonable costs of administering the emergency fund.

(7) The board may, on a case-by-case basis, renegotiate the payment of principal and interest on loans made under this section to the six (6) most southern counties of the state covered by the Presidential Declaration of Major Disaster for the State of Mississippi (FEMA-1604-DR) dated August 29, 2005, and to political subdivisions located in such counties; however, the interest on the loans shall not be forgiven for a period of more than twenty-four (24) months and the maturity of the loans shall not be extended for a period of more than forty-eight (48) months.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-22 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 1 / Section 17-22
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-22
Status: in_force

The Commission on Marine Resources is hereby authorized to cooperate with the Commission on Environmental Quality for the enforcement of the provisions of Sections 49-17-1 through 49-17-43 in and on the salt waters of the State of Mississippi.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-27-17 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 7 / Section 27-17
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-27-17
Status: in_force

The following parties shall be notified of a hearing by the commission by mail prior to the date set for the hearing, but a failure to meet this requirement shall not invalidate any permit granted thereafter:

(a) All of those parties who are entitled to receive a copy of such application in accordance with Section 47-27-13 1 of this chapter; and

(b) All known present owners of record of adjacent land as reflected by current tax assessment rolls and all known claimants to water or riparian rights in or adjacent to the coastal wetlands affected.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-35-33 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 9 / Section 35-33
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-35-33
Status: in_force

The Legislature finds:

(a) There are properties in Mississippi, often referred to as “brownfields,” that were contaminated or were perceived to have been contaminated by past activities, but are attractive locations for redevelopment.

(b) The safe development or redevelopment of brownfields would benefit the citizens of Mississippi in many ways, including improving the tax base of local governments and creating job opportunities for citizens in the vicinity of brownfields.

(c) Owners and prospective developers and redevelopers of brownfields, local governments in which brownfields are located and federal and state government agencies should be encouraged to provide capital and labor to improve brownfields so that the property can be determined to be safe or made safe for appropriate future use.

(d) The reduction of public health and environmental hazards on existing brownfield sites is essential to creating a better quality of life for the citizens of this state.

(e) Section 49-35-27, Mississippi Code of 1972 , requires the Department of Environmental Quality to conduct a survey of incentive programs in other states for cleanup of contaminated sites by January 1, 1999. The department has conducted its survey and filed its report showing incentives provided in other states.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-19-223 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 9 / Section 19-223
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-19-223
Status: in_force

(1) Any eligible owner who wishes to receive cost-share assistance shall file an application with the commission stating the practice to be implemented, the approximate cost of such practice and a description of the land or lands upon which the practice is to be implemented. The application shall be accompanied by a statement of intent stating (a) that the owner intends to utilize the cost-share assistance for long range timber growing and improvement, (b) that the owner is not receiving or using federal funds for implementation of any approved practice on the same acre of land or lands described in the application, and (c) that the owner if an owner in joint tenancy or tenancy in common or if a member of a group or association owning the lands, has no knowledge of any application which has been filed for cost-share assistance to be used on the lands described in the application.

(2) The commission, upon completion of the approved practice, shall tender all approved sums of the cost-share assistance to the owner.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-39-3 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 21 / Section 39-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-39-3
Status: in_force

For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(a) “ Board ” means the Board of Trustees of the Mississippi Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund.

(b) “ Conservation land ” means land and water, or interests therein, that are in their undeveloped, natural states or that have been developed only to the extent consistent with, or are restored to be consistent with, at least one (1) of the following environmental values or conservation benefits:

(i) Water quality protection for wetlands, rivers, streams or lakes;

(ii) Protection of wildlife habitat;

(iii) Protection of cultural sites and archeological and historic resources;

(iv) Protection of land around Mississippi's military installations to ensure that missions are compatible with surrounding communities and that encroachment on military installations does not impair future missions;

(v) Support of economic development through conservation projects;

(vi) Provision for recreation in the form of archery, boating, hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, running, jogging, biking, walking, shooting or similar outdoor activities; or

(vii) Recruiting or retention of recreation in the form of archery, boating, hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, running, jogging, biking, walking, shooting or similar outdoor activities.

(c) “ Nongovernmental entity ” means a nonprofit organization with a 501(c)(3) status that is primarily concerned with the protection and conservation of land and natural resources, as evidenced by its organizational documents.

(d) “ Permanently protected conservation areas ” means those resources:

(i) Owned by the federal government and dedicated for recreation or conservation or as a natural resource;

(ii) Owned by the State of Mississippi, or a county or municipality in Mississippi, and dedicated for recreation or conservation or as a natural resource;

(iii) Owned by the State of Mississippi, or a county or municipality in Mississippi, and subject to:

1. A conservation easement ensuring that the property will be maintained in a manner consistent with conservation land;

2. Contractual arrangements ensuring that, if the protected status is discontinued on a parcel, such property will be replaced by other conservation land which at the time of such replacement is of equal or greater monetary and resource protection value; or

3. A permanent restrictive covenant as provided in state law; or

(iv) Owned by any person or entity and subject to a conservation easement ensuring that the property will be maintained in a manner consistent with conservation land.

(e) “ Project proposal ” means any application seeking monies from the Mississippi Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund.

(f) “ Special fund ” means the Mississippi Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund created in Section 49-39-7 .

(g) “ State agency ” means any agency, department, commission or institution of the State of Mississippi.

(h) “ Working agricultural land ” means land area that is either arable, under permanent crops or under permanent pastures. Arable land includes land under temporary crops such as cereals, temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-13-19 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 13 / Section 13-19
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-13-19
Status: in_force

Each person, firm or corporation, holding a commercial quail breeder's license shall keep permanent records in a suitable, permanently bound book of all birds' carcasses sold, to whom sold, the date of the sale, the address of the vendee or consignee and the number of carcasses sold, which record, as well as the premises of such licensed breeder, shall be subject to examination and inspection by any agent of the department or peace officer for violations of this chapter, without the issuance of any warrant upon displaying his credentials of authority to such breeder.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-25-11 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 7 / Section 25-11
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-25-11
Status: in_force

The State Highway Commission shall have the authority to promulgate rules and regulations governing the location, planting, construction and maintenance, including the materials used in screening or fencing required by this chapter.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-301 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 2 / Section 15-301
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-301
Status: in_force

(1) The Mississippi Advisory Commission on Marine Resources is hereby established and full power is vested in the advisory commission to advise the Executive Director of the Department of Marine Resources on all matters pertaining to all saltwater aquatic life and marine resources. The advisory commission shall advise the Executive Director of the Department of Marine Resources on the administration of the Coastal Wetlands Protection Law and the Public Trust Tidelands Act. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the commission shall only be an advisory commission to the Department of Marine Resources and shall not have independent authority to take official action on behalf of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and its actions are purely advisory in nature. Whenever the terms “Mississippi Commission on Marine Resources,” “Commission on Marine Resources” and “commission” when referring to the Mississippi Commission on Marine Resources appear in any state law, they shall mean the “Mississippi Advisory Commission on Marine Resources.”

(2) The reconstituted Mississippi Advisory Commission on Marine Resources shall consist of five (5) members to be appointed as follows:

(a) The Governor shall appoint five (5) members who shall be residents of Jackson, Harrison and Hancock Counties with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Governor shall appoint at least one (1) member from each county but not more than two (2) members from any one (1) county. The members designated in subparagraphs (i), (ii) and (iv) must be a resident of the county where the business he is appointed to represent is located.

(b) The advisory commission shall be composed as follows:

(i) One (1) member shall be a commercial seafood processor.

(ii) One (1) member shall be a commercial fisherman.

(iii) One (1) member shall be a recreational sports fisherman.

(iv) One (1) member shall be a charter boat operator.

(v) One (1) member shall be a member of an incorporated nonprofit environmental organization.

(c) Of the initial members appointed by the Governor, the members designated in subparagraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) shall serve for an initial term of two (2) years and one (1) member shall be appointed from each county. The members designated in subparagraphs (iv) and (v) shall serve an initial term of four (4) years. All terms after the initial terms shall be for a period of four (4) years.

(d) Any vacancy in the office of an appointed member of the advisory commission shall be filled by appointment by the Governor for the balance of the unexpired term.

(3) Each member shall have a demonstrated history of involvement in the matter of jurisdiction for which he is appointed to represent and his employment and activities must not conflict with the matter of jurisdiction represented. A member shall not have a record of conviction of violation of fish and game or seafood laws or regulations within the five (5) years preceding his appointment or a record of any felony conviction. After July 1, 1999, if a member is convicted of a violation of the seafood laws during his term, his office shall be deemed vacant and the Governor shall fill the vacancy as provided in this section.

(4) The advisory commission shall elect a chairman who shall preside at all meetings of the commission, and the advisory commission shall also elect a vice chairman who shall serve in the absence or inability of the chairman.

(5) Each member shall be paid actual and necessary expenses incurred in attending meetings of the advisory commission and in performing his duties away from his domicile under assignment by the advisory commission. In addition, members shall receive the per diem authorized in Section 25-3-69 .

(6) The advisory commission shall adopt rules and regulations governing times and places of meetings.

(7) The advisory commission shall not take any action without the approval of the Department of Marine Resources, and such action shall be included in the minutes of the advisory commission. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum of the advisory commission.

(8) The advisory commission shall advise the Department of Marine Resources on how to devise a plan to make licenses available in each coastal county.

(9)(a) There is hereby created a Marine Resources Technical Advisory Council composed of the Executive Director of the Gulf Coast Research Lab, or his designee; the Executive Director of the Department of Environmental Quality, or his designee; and the Executive Director of the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, or his designee.

(b) The council shall give technical assistance to the department.

(10) For purposes of this section the following definitions apply:

(a) “ Charter boat operator ” means an individual who operates a vessel for hire, guiding sports fishermen for a fee and is duly licensed to engage in such activity in the State of Mississippi.

(b) “ Commercial fisherman ” means a fisherman who sells, barters or exchanges any or all of his catch or who is paid for attempting to catch marine species, and is duly licensed to engage in commercial fishing.

(c) “ Commercial seafood processor ” means an individual who engages in the business of purchasing seafood products and preparing them for resale and who is duly licensed to engage in such commercial activity in the State of Mississippi.

(d) “ Incorporated environmental nonprofit organization ” means an organization duly incorporated in any state as a nonprofit organization and whose stated goals and purposes are the conservation of natural resources.

(e) “ Recreational sports fisherman ” means an individual who catches or harvests marine species only for recreation or personal consumption and not for sale. The individual must possess a saltwater sports fishing license, be a member of an incorporated nonprofit sports fishing organization and not possess a commercial fishing or seafood processor license.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-409 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 17 / Section 17-409
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-17-409
Status: in_force

The commission is authorized to establish requirements for the written reporting of motor fuel contamination incidents from underground storage tanks. All sites involving incidents of motor fuel contamination from underground storage tanks, where the owner of such tanks is in substantial compliance and files a written report with the commission of such incident, shall be qualified sites for the expenditure of funds from the Mississippi Groundwater Protection Trust Fund created by Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-433 . Any funds so expended shall be absorbed at the expense of the fund, without recourse to reimbursement or recovery from any underground storage tank owner, subject to the following exceptions:

(a) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any site where the department has initiated any cleanup or civil enforcement action prior to the passage of Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-433 .

(b) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any site where the department has been denied site access to implement the provisions of Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-433 .

(c) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to authorize or require reimbursement from the fund for costs expended prior to the passage of Sections 49-17-401 through 49-17-433 .

(d) The commission may determine, in its discretion, that the owner of an underground storage tank is not in substantial compliance for the purposes of this section and Section 49-17-405 , if such owner of an underground storage tank has been delinquent in the payment of tank regulatory fees for more than three (3) months after such fee is due and payable.

(e) Any provisions of this section and chapter regarding liability for the costs of clean-up, removal, remediation or abatement of any pollution, hazardous waste or solid waste shall be limited as provided in Section 49-17-42 and rules adopted thereto.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-15 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 13 / Section 15-15
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-15-15
Status: in_force

(1) In addition to any other powers and duties authorized by law, the department, with the advice of the advisory commission, shall have the following powers and duties regarding the regulation of seafood:

(a) To exercise full jurisdiction and authority over all marine aquatic life and to regulate any matters pertaining to seafood, including cultivated seafood;

(b) To adopt, promulgate, amend or repeal, after due notice and public hearing, in accordance with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law and subject to the limitations in subsection (2) of this section, rules and regulations authorized under this chapter, including, but not limited to, rules and regulations necessary for the protection, conservation or propagation of all seafood in the waters under the territorial jurisdiction of the State of Mississippi and for the regulation of gill net and purse seine fishermen. All public hearings under this chapter concerning the regulation of marine resources shall be held in Hancock, Harrison or Jackson Counties. Each rule or regulation promulgated under this chapter shall immediately be advertised one (1) time in a newspaper or newspapers having general circulation in counties affected by that regulation. A regulation shall become effective at 6:00 a.m. on the day after its publication;

(c) To regulate all seafood sanitation and processing programs. In the three (3) coastal counties, the sanitation program regulating processing plants and seafood sold in retail stores operating in conjunction with a processing plant or seafood market that primarily deals with seafood is under the exclusive authority of the department. The department may also inspect and regulate those areas of any seafood processing plant which process freshwater species at any site. To effectively and efficiently implement the state seafood sanitation program, the State Health Officer, the Commissioner of Agriculture and the executive director of the department may enter into a memorandum of understanding, which at a minimum, clearly specifies the responsibilities of each agency in implementing the seafood sanitation program, as well as the sharing of information and communication and coordination between the agencies;

(d) To set standards of measure;

(e) To set requirements for employment of commission employees whose compensation shall be governed by the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board;

(f) To acquire and dispose of commission equipment and facilities;

(g) To keep proper records of the commission, including an official ordinance book which contains all rules and regulations promulgated by the department, with the advice of the advisory commission, under this chapter;

(h) To enter into advantageous interstate and intrastate agreements with proper officials, which directly or indirectly result in the protection, propagation and conservation of the seafood of the State of Mississippi, or continue any such agreements now in existence;

(i) To arrange, negotiate or contract for the use of available federal, state and local facilities which would aid in the propagation, protection and conservation of the seafood of the State of Mississippi;

(j) To authorize the operation of double rigs in the waters lying between the mainland coast and the island chain, and those rigs shall not exceed a length of twenty-five (25) feet at the corkline, and to prescribe the length at the lead line for each rig, net or try-trawl;

(k) To destroy or dispose of equipment or nets which have been lawfully seized by the commission and which are not sold under Section 49-15-201 et seq. ;

(l) To open, close and regulate fishing seasons for the taking of shrimp, oysters, fish taken for commercial purposes and crabs and set size, catching and taking regulations for all types of seafood and culling regulations for oysters, except as otherwise specifically provided by law;

(m) To utilize the resources of the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory to the fullest extent possible;

(n) To develop a resource management plan to preserve seafood resources and to ensure a safe supply of these resources;

(o) To prescribe types and forms of scientific permits for public educational or scientific institutions, federal and state agencies and consultants performing marine resource studies;

(p) To suspend the issuance of licenses when necessary to impose a moratorium to conserve a fishery resource;

(q) To promote, construct, monitor and maintain artificial fishing reefs in the marine waters of the State of Mississippi and in adjacent federal waters; to accept grants and donations of money or materials from public and private sources for such reefs; to set permit fees and establish guidelines for the construction of artificial reefs in federal waters; and to apply for any federal permits necessary for the construction or maintenance of artificial fishing reefs in federal waters. The location data associated with artificial reefs by corporations and private individuals shall not be published by the commission or the department on the website or in written publications of the department. Location data of the artificial reefs may be requested in writing by any individual and shall be provided by the department in a timely manner; and

(r) To require, in addition to other licensing requirements, the successful completion of educational or training programs on shellfish sanitation as a prerequisite to receiving commercial licenses authorized under this chapter in order to ensure compliance with the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference's educational requirements for shellfish processors, dealers and harvesters by January 1, 2014.

(2) The department shall not adopt rules, regulations or ordinances pertaining to marine resources which are more stringent than federal regulations. In any case where federal laws and regulations are silent on a matter pertaining to marine resources, the laws and regulations of the State of Mississippi shall control. The department shall review all marine resource ordinances for compliance with the no more stringent standard and revise any ordinances more stringent than this standard no later than December 31, 1992. This subsection shall not apply to rules, regulations or ordinances pertaining to the wild stock of marine fin fish.
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-5-25 — MS Code / Title 49 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-25
Miss. Code Ann. § 49-5-25
Status: in_force

The State of Mississippi hereby assents to the provisions of the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937 (Public Law No. 415, 75th Congress, 1st Session), and the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act of 1950 (Public Laws 681, 81st Congress), and the commission may perform any acts as may be necessary to ensure the conservation of fish and wildlife. Revenue from hunting and fishing license sales shall be under the exclusive control of the state fish and wildlife agency for the sole use of the administration of the state fish and wildlife agency, which includes only the functions required to manage the agency and the fish and wildlife-related resources for which the agency has authority under state law.