EARTH DAY FOR JEANNINE MAY IS EVERYDAY
Jeannine May, who initially began a career as a home economics teacher, is now using
her teaching skills to educate people on how to transform the environment. For the past
25 years, May has been employed with the United States Department of Agriculture.
Currently, she is the State Public Affairs Specialist with USDA in Natural Resources
Conservation Service. Her greatest interest at the moment lies with a project to work with
the Upper Pearl River Watershed Advisory Group.
May moved to Forest Point, a neighborhood on the Reservoir, a few years ago. She feels
God sent her to live in the area in order to share her knowledge about environmental
issues with fellow residents. This past Thursday in honor of the 35th Anniversary of Earth
Day, she led Take Pride in the Rez Day. Groups of students from local schools met with
May and several other representatives from various environmental agencies in order to
celebrate Earth Day by conducting turbidity testing, marking storm drains with adhesive
disks that say, “Dump No Waste, Drains to Rez”, and taking educational information to
the Reservoir residents about pollution and watershed. Quick to share facts, provoke
interest, and get people involved, May is an energetic, intelligent woman who was kind
enough to sit down with the Rankin Record and her two Golden Retrievers after an early
morning fishing outing on her beloved Reservoir.
Why is protecting the Pearl River Watershed important?
The Upper Pearl River Watershed drains into the state’s largest surface water drinking
source, the Ross Barnett Reservoir. The water we have out here is all the water we are
going to have. Consider the water cycle. This is the water the dinosaurs drank. People
don’t seem to understand that. We need to protect our quality of life and the recreational
opportunities that this watershed and this 33,000- acre Reservoir provide. The Upper
Pearl River Watershed Advisory Group was formed in order to protect, sustain, restore,
and enhance the natural resources in the Upper Pearl River Watershed.
What comprises the Upper Pearl River Watershed?
The Pearl River forms in Neshoba County by the confluence of three creeks. The Upper
Pearl River is approximately 150 miles long. Tribal lands, cities, suburbs and rural areas
outside the cities are a part of this watershed. 43 percent of the watershed is natural
forest, 27 percent is agricultural land, and 18 percent of the watershed is made up of
distributed areas such as strip mines, gravel pits, sandy, barren, and transitional areas.
Although the urban areas make up only 1 percent of the watershed land coverage, the
impact this urbanization is having on the watershed is apparent and significant.
From 1990-2002 Rankin County had a 40 percent increase in population. In the year
2000, I was told that there were 8,000 cars driving down Grants Ferry Road in a day and
12,000 cars driving down Old Fannin in a day. So you can imagine what it is now. We
have to be progressive because progress is coming to us.
Where does the water go once it gets in the storm drain?
Storm drains are not connected to water treatment systems. The water collects in the
underground drainage system that eventually empties into a surface water body such as
the Reservoir, streams, or rivers.
What can we do to prevent this runoff from polluting streams and rivers?
Wipe up spills and drips of oil, antifreeze, and other contaminants that are found in the
driveway. Keep the runoff from yards free of pollutants such as pet waste and excess
fertilizer in lawns and flower beds. Rain washes over yards, driveways, and streets, and it
washes whatever is in its path down stream. Pollutants such as motor oil, soil, fertilizers,
lawn clippings, pesticides, trash and litter all become part of the polluted runoff that
flows untreated into storm drains. This empties into creeks and rivers and eventually into
the Gulf of Mexico.
Try to water lawns only when needed, so runoff is eliminated. Plant plants in the bare
spots in the yard to prevent the soil from eroding. Park your car in the grass before
washing it. Don’t rake grass clippings and trash into the street or gutters. Compost or bag
them.
People who are changing the oil in their lawnmower or people who have boats that are
leaking oil or gas need to realize that one drop of water contaminates thousands of
gallons of water. Don’t pour the oil from your lawnmower down the storm drain. Don’t
put it in the ditch or drain it in the rocks and think it is going into the ground. If it does go
into the ground it could be seeping into the ground water. We have aquifers underneath
the ground out here. We have two sources of water: ground water and surface water.
Get a recycling can and take the waste oil to Jiffy lube or to an auto store that collects and
recycles it.
What are some of the problems with the Reservoir that residents can step outside
and recognize?
Residents can see litter and sediment. Along the inland of the Reservoir people will see
mud and sediment. The sediment is coming into Millcreek. They have already dredged
there this winter. In Turtle Creek they are going to have to dredge soon. Tons of sediment
flow into the Reservoir annually and removing this sediment costs hundreds of thousands
of dollars annually.
My neighbor who lives two houses up from me had his motor sitting on his pontoon boat
at the same level this year as last year. This year sediment got in, and he has had to put a
new water pump on his boat.
Larry Griffith, the president of the homeowners group out here, claims that not in our
generation, but within the next generation, if we are not careful, the Reservoir, especially
the Pelahatchie Bay area, is going to be a golf course.
Where is the sediment coming from?
All this sediment is coming in because of construction. As far as urban development goes
there are some positive examples of what is being done, and there are some negative
examples of what is being done. The neighborhood Avalon can be considered a positive
example because they have made proper use of their green spaces. They have built
retention ponds. Bridgetown is another great example. Developers need to utilize green
spaces, leave trees along the banks, and build ditches. Some developers like Lowe’s are
environmental, but a lot of developers when they come in to build a mall or neighborhood
they go in and bulldoze all the trees and clear large areas of land. They put up as many
houses or stores that they can because the goal is to make money. That is great that they
are bringing in money and helping the economy. However, they should consider the
environmental consequences of their actions.
For instance, on Highway 25 a developer has cleared all of that land at once. I know that I
will utilize that area. If it is a coffee shop, I will go there. If it is a veterinary clinic I
might take my dogs there. I understand that the developer is going to be doing really nice
things, but the problem is that the ground is left uncovered. Some of the area needs to be
grassed immediately so that the soil is protected. We get about 52 inches of rain in
Mississippi annually and the heavy rain degrades the lurch soils. A lot of our soils are
highly erosive in Mississippi. The developers need to get grass in and put silt fences up.
What can residents in the community do to help eliminate the environmental
practices of developers that are harmful to the Reservoir?
One problem we have is that we only have 6 compliance officers in the entire state of
Mississippi who can go out and write fines for developers who are not in compliance.
It is important for citizens to notice when things are not going the way they should be. A
local person with knowledge can call the Department of Environmental Quality when
they see that people are not in compliance with the laws. When the public is educated,
they will learn to recognize and address these problems. For instance, if someone passes a
lot that is for sale by owner and realize that the owner has cleared the property and failed
to make any attempt to avoid soil erosion, they might realize that when a heavy rain
comes, large amounts of soil are going to run into the storm drains and ultimately into the
Reservoir. This person can call the owner who is selling the lot and question the owner
about it, or the person can call the DEQ hotline
Can something be done to inform the developers about what they can do to prevent
the problems caused by urban development?
Our agencies don’t get any money to work in urban conservation. No agency does
nationwide. If the taxpayers and homeowners would ask congress for urban conservation
funding, we could hire urban conservationists with our agency to go out to the sites.
When a builder or developer starts planning, we could go immediately to them and say
these are some things you could do to make the development more environmentally
feasible. This consultation with the developer would be a free government service.
Are you taking action in your neighborhood?
I applied with the Architects International for a 20 to 30 thousand dollar grant for Forest
Point. The organization will choose five subdivisions or neighborhoods in the United
States. I found the grant when I was working with the Upper Pearl River Group on Take
Pride in the Rez. They will come up with an urban plan on how we can work with this
older subdivision. People want to live here. If they fix a plan for them, we can do some
green space. If they awarded the grant, they will send architects from New York to look
at the neighborhood. We want to do some walking trails, so people can walk their dogs
and learn how to scoop the poop. People have a habit of letting their dogs poop, and they
don’t address it. We need to see if we can teach people to pick it up because it is a nonpoint source of pollution. When people do not pick it up it washes into the Reservoir
through the storm drains. Feces can cause E. coli and bacterial contamination in the
water, as do old treatment systems. People are having problems with sewer back-up in
their houses. Pipes and treatment systems may need to be replaced. Although the county
maintains the storm drains, some of the water is not draining correctly. It often stands in
the yard. Water standing in yard can contribute to West Nile because it creates mosquito
infestation. I plan to keep applying for the grant.
Do you feel like progress is being made?
A man called me the other day after we had been in the Avalon neighborhood marking
storm drains. He told me that he was glad that we were in his neighborhood marking
storm drains and distributing information. He had gotten my name off of one of the
pamphlets. The reason he was calling was because he could not believe the mess that the
construction workers had left in his neighborhood. He explained that the workers had left
Coke bottles and trash all over the construction area. He wanted to contact someone who
could force the workers to clean up the mess. I told him not to quit calling because the
county was on board; they have joined the Upper Pearl River Group. The man understood
that the trash would ultimately go in the storm drain and into the Reservoir. I explained to
him that by doing allowing that to happen, the builder was out of compliance over there
and he can be fined for what he is doing. I gave him the Department of Environmental
Quality hotline number (1-888-786-0661) and told him to keep calling until he talked
with someone. It felt great to know that our project had educated someone and that they
were using that knowledge to change their environment.
Interview from Rankin Record newspaper in Brandon, Mississippi in 2005. The
newspaper does not keep digital copies. The original print copy I had in my possession
was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina in 2005