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Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson addressed the Mississippi River Commission today at a public hearing in Vicksburg. During his testimony, Gipson outlined the devastating impacts of the flooding along the Mississippi River and the South Delta’s Yazoo Backwater Area. More than one million acres, including 518,000 acres of farmland, were flooded from January to August.
Gipson discussed the impacts felt by the farmers, landowners and residents in the flooded areas. “Flood waters displaced residents, destroyed homes, damaged roads and building infrastructure, and put farmers’ livelihood at stake as much of this year’s crop in the impacted areas could not be planted,” said Gipson. “It will take a significant amount of time and effort to determine the true impact to Mississippi’s economy, forests, marine life, wetlands and wildlife.”
Noting that flooding along the Mississippi River is becoming an annual occurrence, Gipson stressed the need for cooperation among various stakeholders to develop solutions. “The time has come for us to work together in a spirit of mutual collaboration among all stakeholders – Mississippi agriculture, small business, our local communities and counties, and our wildlife enthusiasts,” said Gipson. “I believe that by working together we can find and implement both short term and long term solutions to the obvious systemic failure of the flood control systems along Mississippi’s western boundary and affected inland Delta areas, as well as our Mississippi Gulf Coast.”
Commissioner Gipson called for comprehensive measures to be taken to prevent this catastrophic event in the future, including the completion of the Yazoo Backwater Area pumps. After submitting two letters to the EPA asking that the pumps be reconsidered, he was encouraged by an official response that the EPA plans to continue meeting to review additional data and modeling results that support viable solutions, including a possible reconsideration of their 2008 decision.
“With all Mississippi, I will continue to fight for and to articulate the urgency of this situation to Washington. The bottom line is it’s time to stop talking about the issue. It’s time to finish the pumps,” said Gipson.
