Jackson County

Huge alligator makes surprise stop in South MS. ‘Check out our new visitor’

Superfund sites, like Mississippi Phosphates in Pascagoula, face big risks when major storms hit. However, preparations are taken for storms of all sizes. When Hurricane Sally was projected to hit Pascagoula, the 70 engineers, managers and construction workers at the former plant, which is the largest active superfund site in the Southeast, put their disaster plan into action.
Superfund sites, like Mississippi Phosphates in Pascagoula, face big risks when major storms hit. However, preparations are taken for storms of all sizes. When Hurricane Sally was projected to hit Pascagoula, the 70 engineers, managers and construction workers at the former plant, which is the largest active superfund site in the Southeast, put their disaster plan into action. Lukas Flippo lflippo@sunherald.com

The turf at an old fertilizer plant in Pascagoula is supposed to stop pollution, not lure alligators.

But this week, that’s what it did: A large gator ambled across the fake grass to the delight of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which now oversees the site and posted the sighting on Facebook.

“Check out our new visitor at the Mississippi Phosphate Superfund Site in Pascagoula!” the post says. “An awesome, unexpected bonus of environmental cleanup!”

The plant stopped producing fertilizer in 2014. The EPA is now trying to clean up contamination there and said it is covering acidic waste at the site with synthetically engineered turf that prevents pollution runoff.

Exposed black liner in the turf is apparently creating warm conditions perfect for alligators.

The EPA said the creatures are coming from the Grand Bay Estuarine Reserve. In a video the agency posted online, the gator plods across the turf, paying no attention to a nearby worker.

MS
Martha Sanchez
Sun Herald
Martha Sanchez is a former journalist for the Sun Herald
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