MS SB3055

School boards must complete environmental evaluations and obtain Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality approval of an initial Environmental Assessment before acquiring or preparing a site for portable classroom construction.

Environmental assessments must include small-scale grid sampling and analysis of soil, soil gases, and groundwater, with air and surface water sampling if stationary pollution sources or water bodies are near the proposed site.

Sites within 1,000 feet of or previously used for hazardous waste disposal, garbage waste disposal, or construction/demolition material disposal must be abandoned and are unsuitable for school development.

Assessment must identify environmental hazards within two miles of the site, including industrial facilities, chemical storage, EPA Toxic Release Inventory sites, waste treatment plants, landfills, military sites, and Department of Energy facilities.

Amendments to Sections 37-45-23 and 37-7-301 of Mississippi Code require environmental evaluation compliance for portable classroom site approval by the State Board of Education and school boards.