MISS. SENATORS APPLAUD ARMY CORPS APPROVAL OF FINAL YAZOO BACKWATER PUMPS PLAN

MISS. SENATORS APPLAUD ARMY CORPS APPROVAL OF FINAL YAZOO BACKWATER PUMPS PLAN

Long-Sought Flood Control Project will Benefit the People, Economy & Environment of the South Mississippi Delta

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) today applauded the release of the final U.S. Army Corps of Engineers environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Yazoo Backwater Study Area, which will move the long-sought flood control project toward becoming a reality.

Developed in coordination with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the final EIS proposes would involve installing pumps to provide flood risk reduction for all communities in the Yazoo Backwater Area and securing mitigation to minimize impacts to wetland resources.

"A lot of work has gone into getting this final EIS, which puts us closer to seeing our goal on the horizon-namely getting to the Record of Decision that should allow us to finally get to work providing flood protection to the Yazoo Backwater Area," Senator Hyde-Smith said. "With the Corps, EPA, and Fish and Wildlife Service all on the same page, we are closer to construction than we've been in a very long time. I strongly encourage those living in the Delta and elsewhere in Mississippi to push these federal agencies to finish the pumps."

"This milestone would not have been possible without collaboration from Yazoo Backwater Area residents, homeowners, business owners, and farmers," Senator Wicker said. "For decades, the government promised flood control solutions to the people of the South Delta. Today's announcement puts us one step closer to preventing further hardship, loss, and frustration in the region. It is time to finish the pumps."

A Notice of Availability will be published in the Federal Register. The final EIS will be available to the public for 30 days and will close on Dec. 30, 2024. For additional information, visit the Army Corps Vicksburg District's Yazoo Backwater Project website here.

Following a disastrous flood that devastated the Yazoo Backwater Area in 2019, Hyde-Smith has fought to push the federal government to complete the pumping stations, which Congress authorized in the Flood Control Act of 1941. The Yazoo Backwater pumps represent the last unmet federal commitment to help protect the 630,000-acre region in the South Delta.

Hyde-Smith, serving on the Senate appropriations subcommittee that funds the Army Corps, is working secure passage of the FY2025 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill that has Yazoo Backwater Area funding she worked to include.

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