Mississippi Phosphates Accused Of Polluting Waters

GULFPORT, MS (AP) — A Pascagoula fertilizer plant has been accused by the federal government of discharging pollutants that have killed thousands of fish and destroyed marshy areas over the past decade.

         The bill of information was filed Monday in U.S. District Court against Mississippi Phosphates Corp.

         Mississippi Phosphates has been fined repeatedly in recent years for releasing acid into the air and water at its Bayou Casotte plant.

         The government says the company has done nothing to prevent the release of pollutants.

         The company filed for bankruptcy protection in December. It said it would end fertilizer production and seek a buyer.

         The company has two sulfuric acid plants on an 8.5-square-mile bay west of Pascagoula at a deep-water channel with direct access to the Gulf of Mexico.