EPA does not believe Jackson water crisis is caused by discrimination.

After conducting a thorough investigation, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released its findings on the City of Jackson's water crisis. The conclusion stated that there was not enough evidence to prove that two Mississippi agencies, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and the Mississippi Department of Health, were influenced by racial discrimination in their decision-making processes.

As reported by the Associated Press, this announcement came a few weeks after the national and state branches of the NAACP, along with nine residents of Jackson, filed a lawsuit against the State of Mississippi. The lawsuit alleged that the state had a "practice of systematically depriving Jackson the funds that it needs to operate and maintain its water facilities in a safe and reliable manner."

According to The Hill, the NAACP argued that Mississippi had been consistently funneling money to predominantly white areas of the state, despite their lesser need, while neglecting the needs of Jackson, the most populous city in the state. The NAACP also claimed that the state had only awarded federal funds for water infrastructure and treatment programs to Jackson three times in the past 25 years.

However, the EPA's ruling stated that their investigation did not find enough evidence of discrimination in the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality's funding practices. Chris Wells, the director of the department, stated to AP that the evidence showed they had done everything correctly and that the allegations were false and a distraction from their agency's mission.

While the EPA acknowledged that there were issues with the water crisis in Jackson, they assured that they, along with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, the City of Jackson, and the U.S. Department of Justice, were committed to working together to address this public health crisis. In fact, Congress had recently allocated $600 million to aid in addressing the water crisis in Jackson.

The EPA also provided recommendations for the state to take, such as setting limits on the amount and size of communities eligible for aid, changing loan repayment terms, and utilizing zero or negative interest loans to make them more affordable for recipients with large needs and small revenue bases.

In response to the EPA's findings, Derrick Johnson, the national NAACP president and CEO, released a statement expressing his disappointment with the ruling. He stated that the NAACP had been on the ground since the beginning of the crisis, and it was clear that racial discrimination and neglect had contributed to the majority Black, capital city's current state. However, the NAACP remains committed to using all available resources to ensure that all Black Americans have access to clean drinking water. Together, they will continue to fight for clean water for all.

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