After federal judge blocks metro water authority, Governor doesn’t make appointments

• “The people of Jackson and the ratepayers of the system deserve better than having to ever go through that mess again,” Governor Reeves said of the Jackson water situation.

Following U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate’s order temporarily blocking the state law creating the new Metro Jackson Water Authority, Governor Tate Reeves (R) said Friday he would not be making his three appointments to the board at this time.

“The State will continue to work with the Court to ensure that when the receivership is terminated, control of the water system will be transferred to an entity that can best serve the residents, state offices and businesses of Jackson,” Reeves said.

Last week, Wingate said he needs additional time to examine HB 1677, which the governor signed in April, before he makes a ruling. The City of Jackson has five days to file its brief in the matter while the other parties have until May 10. Jackson contends that only the federal court can determine what happens next with the City’s water system. 

READ MORE: Federal judge temporarily blocks new Metro Jackson Water Authority

All board members were to be appointed by May 1. The cities of Jackson, Byram and Ridgeland announced their appointments to the authority, as did Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann (R).

Currently, the Jackson water system is administered by JXN Water under a federally appointed interim third-party manager, whose tenure ends in 2027.

Governor Reeves’ Friday message noted that JXN Water “has made vast improvements and upgrades to the system and has attempted to get a handle on the system’s finances.”

“It is no secret that JXN Water expects to seek court approval to withdraw as the receiver sometime in 2027,” Reeves said. “To provide the Court with a viable option to replace JXN Water as the receiver, the Mississippi Legislature passed and I signed into law House Bill 1677 creating the Metro Jackson Water Authority. The Authority is a public benefit corporation under the control of a nine-member board.”

Reeves said that contrary to the assertions of the City in its recent court filing, “the legislation does not mandate or require the City to transfer its water system to the Authority.”

“Rather, the legislation empowers the Authority to ‘commence negotiations with the city’ to enter into a lease of the water system. Simply stated, the legislation is not a taking of the water system,” the governor continued. “The legislation does not in any way encroach upon the power or discretion of the Federal Court to oversee the water system through the court-appointed receiver during the pendency of the court case. The legislation expressly acknowledges that the Authority shall have no power to assume management or control of the water system until the date of termination of the receivership or as otherwise ordered by the Court.”

Reeves said he is confident that once the Court has sufficient time to carefully consider the legislation and the State’s briefing, it will find the City’s procedurally improper legal challenges under both the Takings Clause and the Supremacy Clause to be meritless.

“In fact, I would expect the Court to find the public benefit corporation to be a mutually beneficial off-ramp to enable a smooth transition to happen at the appropriate time, as chosen by the Court,” the governor added, going further by saying, “I feel it is important to say that this new frivolous court filing by the City leadership to ignore the facts of the last four years just further solidifies my belief that the governance of the system can NEVER be returned to the pre- August 29, 2022 structure that led to the initial Emergency Declaration.”

Governor Reeves concluded by saying, “The people of Jackson and the ratepayers of the system deserve better than having to ever go through that mess again. The Authority created under House Bill 1677 is the best way to ensure future chaos is avoided.”