Pearl River County was recently awarded a solid waste assistance grant from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.

The grant, amounting to $23,429, will be used for cleaning up illegal dump sites scattered around the county, said County Administrator Adrian Lumpkin.

The county receives about two grants a year for waste cleaning efforts, said Lumpkin.

The process of contracting private individuals to conduct the cleaning could take a couple months, said Lumpkin.

The county will be advertising for bids in the coming weeks.

In the past, the county has used some of the grant money for hazardous waste cleanup, said Lumpkin.

According to an MDEQ press release, the grant was provided to help clean up illegal dump sites.

“The Solid Waste Assistance Grants support a variety of useful solid waste management activities for cities and counties, and this grant will assist Pearl River County’s efforts in improving their management of solid waste,” said MDEQ Executive Director Gary Rikard in the release.

Once the illegal sites are cleaned, the county will be working to prevent the sites from becoming littered again, said Lumpkin.

At the Board of Supervisors meeting June 21, the Board discussed progress being made to install security cameras at reoccurring dump sites.

“We have an active officer patrolling out there now,” said Lumpkin.

Officials look at illegal dump sites for any information that could lead back to the responsible individuals, said Lumpkin.

The Solid Waste Assistance Grant program was designed to create programs to clean up unauthorized dump sites, to hire waste enforcement officers, spread public education on solid waste disposal and recycling, and to create programs for uncommon waste such as white goods, bulky wastes and recyclables, according to the release.