At an NAACP town hall meeting this week, many of the questions were about the local Mississippi Power plant. Katherine Egland is with the Gulfport branch of the NAACP and also national chair of its environmental justice committee.
"It's in my community," she says. "Not only that, we have friends, we have the citizens and taxpayers of Harrison and surrounding counties. Because it affects anyone, it has implications for anyone living within a 30 mile radius."
Mississippi Power and state agencies were also at the meeting to answer questions. State Department of Environmental Quality head Trudy Fisher says the Gulfport plant, known as the Jack Watson plant, meets all current environmental standards.
"There are new federal rules coming into effect," Fisher says. "Those new rules will be in effect in 2015. When those new rules come into effect, we will hold all industry, all power plants, accountable for those new rules, including Plant Watson."
A Mississippi Power representative said the company is discussing what changes to make at the plant to meet the new standards. Those talks do not include shutting down the plant. Evelina Burnett, MPB News
