One is Mississippi Power Company s Plant Eaton electric generating facility in Petal. The other is Georgia Pacific in New Augusta, which uses an average of 18 to 20 million gallons per day. They are in a situation where they requested variances in order to continue to withdraw and discharge if we go below low-flow conditions again, Branch said. The amount and frequency of rainfall would control whether we go back under those low-flow conditions in the stream. They didn t have to shut down.
Conditions didn t reach that point.
Both facilities have applied for permit modifications to allow them to continue to operate if low-flow conditions occur again. We re moving to have a permit modification, Branch said. This is just a precaution that would allow them to operate if they so need to. Kurt Brautigam, a spokesman for Mississippi Power Company, said while the power company did receive an exemption to draw water out of the Leaf River during low-flow conditions, it wasn t necessary to use the exemption. Brautigam said Plant Eaton is a peak power plant that normally only operates during the hottest period of the summer when electricity demand it the greatest.