Published: April 07, 2009 04:00 pm      

Conservation group: Pascagoula an endangered river

JACKSON — A conservation group has placed the Pascagoula River in southeast Mississippi on its list of the 10 most endangered rivers in America because of the national strategic petroleum reserve project.

American Rivers announced its list Tuesday and conservationists, politicians and representatives from industry dependent on the Pascagoula River and the Gulf of Mexico planned to discuss the listing at a news conference in Gautier.

The U.S. Department of Energy is finalizing a supplemental environmental impact statement that clears the way to draw 50 million gallons of water a day from the Pascagoula over five years to be used to create a cavern in the salt dome near Richton. The government would then put up to 160 million barrels of oil in storage for use in emergencies.