The Warren County Port Commission is going out for proposals for a consultant to perform an environmental assessment of Ceres Industrial Park.

Commissioners voted Monday to find a consultant to perform a general environmental assessment of the industrial park and be available to perform an individual assessment on specific tracts of land for a potential business if needed.

The decision followed an announcement by commission president Margaret Gilmer involving interest in the park by several companies, based on a packet of information prepared by the commission for the Mississippi Development Authority to present to potential businesses and industries seeking to locate in the state.

“We’ve had three projects respond to us. The projects are only named by their code name (provided by MDA). We don’t know what the businesses are,” Gilmer said.“One of the things we’re lacking is environmental studies.”

Gilmer said MDA sends out questionnaires to local economic development agencies seeking information about their areas.

“There is a box on it marked ‘environmental study,’” she said.

She wondered if the commission needed a phase I or general assessment of the entire industrial park “because we don’t know, when these proposals come, what parcels they’re going to ask us to propose.

“I don’t know how to proceed, but I do think we need a phase I so that we will have it when these proposals come in,” she said. “I think we should be prepared for these proposals as they come in. It seems that businesses are really looking, and we’re fortunate to be asked to consider these proposals.”

Commissioner Austin Golding said the commission needed to move ahead and get an assessment, adding other economic development agencies are having assessments done, “And they can check that box that says ‘environmental,’ and they’re ahead of us.

“We need to do this so we can catch up.”