The Chronicle-star combined with the Moss Point advertiser., 1946-10-11
Masonic Wins
Sixty Day
Injunction Stay

Masonite Corporation at Laurel
Saturday was granted a 60-day
postponement in the effective
date OF an injunction restraining
the company from dumping its
fish-killing effluent into. ITALIA
hala creek, and thus into the
Leaf and Pascagoula rivers.
r. M. Freeman, director of the
game and fish commission, said
that he agreed to the postpone
ment on condition that Masonite
will control the dumping of its
effluent so as not to kill fish
in Leaf River. He also indicat-
ed that the commission would
continue to agree to such post
ponemsnts over a IL to 18-month
period while the Corporation ex-
perimepts with measures to e
move the oxygen-hungry wood
sugars from the effluent which
result in the wholesale killing
of fish and will eventually de-
stroy all marine life in the Leaf
and Pascagoula rivers if not con-
trolled.
Mr.. Freeman said there are
no fish in Tallahala creek at the
present and controlled dump
ing consequently would cause nc
spectacular killing of fish.
Virtually all fish life in lower
TAllahala creek was destroyed
several weeks ago when Mason
tie, after a seven-week shut
down, dumped a huge Slug of
its effluent on resuming oper-
atoms which, according to spec
;ators, resulted in the killing
of tons of fish.
Meanwhile. the Moss Point
Young Mems Business Club,
which has taken an active inter-
est in the fight to save Leaf
and Pascagoula river systems
where fish life has been waging
a losing battle against the Ma
sonite effluent during the past
% years, adopted three resoiu-
tions at its meeting Monday
night.
Resolutions Adopted
The first commended Director
Freeman for his stand in not
issuing a certificate of compli-
ance to Masonite; the second re-
quested a decision by an inn
partial pollution expert as to the
effectiveness of any control meas
ures by Masonite before a GER
tificate of compliance is issued;
the. third requested the State
Game and Fish Commission to
have a member present at any
hearing coming at the end of
the 60-day extension to protest
indefinite extensions of this ma
ture.
Following the granting of the
extension Director Freeman said
that should Masonite not control
the dumping of its effluent and
fish are killed in the Leaf river,
the state will proceed against
the corporation under the 1916
pollution law act which imposes
a penalty of $1,000 per day for
dumping industrial waste into a
stream without a certificate from
the commission.
The law referred to requires
the sanitary engineer of the
commission to make examina-
ton OF industrial wastes and re-
quire Industries, under penalty
of the above fine, to control fish
killing wastes before they are
dumped into fish bearing streams,
No such action was threaten
ed or taken during the recent
wholesale killing by Masonite in
lower Tallahala creek.
Under the circumstances and
under the law I cannot grant
Masonite even a temporary GER
~tificate," Mr.. Freeman said, In
dicating that the company's pol
luton problem Is as bad as ever,
but. added that he agreed to the
postponement in the effective
date CT the injunction because
he was convinced of the sinceri-
ty of the company in its efforts
to prevent STREAM pollution.
AS esrIy as 1929 sanitary en-
gineers advanced solutions for
the control of the Masonite pol
luton problem, and in July,
l945. the then president of Ma
aonite, Matthew Mccullough,
said that the company was pre-
pared. to spend $250,000 TO con-
troll the problem. This money
was appropriated and spent by
the company in the installation
of a Doer clarifier, Oliver filler
and incarceration plant which
now. apparently, has little eff
feet on the problem.
Employ Sewage Engineer
Mr.. Freeman said Masonite has
employed a sewage engineer for
merly at Camp Shelby who is
constructing a pilot plant which
is expected to remove wood sug-
ars from the plants effluent to
the extent the effluent will not
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