Debris from the recent city demolition of two buildings near the convention center was found along St. Catherine Creek at the city water treatment plant Thursday.

Public Works Director Ronnie Ivey acknowledged the debris was mistakenly placed there and would be moved soon.

Dumping demolition debris without a permit is against state law, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Solid Waste and Mining Branch Chief Chris Sanders said Thursday.

Sanders said he did not know about this specific case, but that the laws are in place for several reasons, including the good of the environment and preventing public nuisances.
“It’s illegal to dump it anywhere except an approved site,” Sanders said. “There are some exemptions, depending on what type of material it is and how they plan to finish it off, but generally speaking, it is illegal.”

The lumber, metal, bricks, concrete, pipes, paper and other materials ended up beside the creek because of a miscommunication, Ivey said Thursday.

“Before, the workers had carried rocks and stuff like that to fill in the washes,” Ivey said. “They just understood that’s where they were hauling this.

Rocks and other non-corrosive materials are sometimes used to prevent erosion along the creek, he said.

No such materials were in plain view along that stretch of creek Thursday.

Ivey said the city has made arrangements with a landfill to move the debris Monday, if it does not rain.

“We were going to get it moved this week, but it rained,” he said.

Waterworks Superintendent David Gardner said Thursday the debris should not have ended up on the water treatment plant site.

“It was a communication error,” Gardner said. “It should never have been put there. It’s getting ready to be hauled off to a permitted site.”

The city demolished the brick buildings on Main and Canal Streets earlier this month to make way for a hotel to complement the convention center.