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Letter warns of deadly environmental impact, seeks information on pumps
JACKSON—Attorney General Jim Hood sent the attached letter Tuesday to the Major General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, stating his concerns regarding both the river flooding in the Mississippi Delta and the environmental impact of the Corps’ recent decision to re-open the BonnetCarré Spillway.
The letter requests a meeting with General Kaiser and staff as soon as possible to better understand the situation and the Corps’ plans to protect Mississippians and our state’s natural resources in both the Coastal and Delta regions.
The letter also requested that the attorney general be included in all future stakeholder meetings regarding the opening of the BCS and Mississippi flood management.
“I reached out to the Corps of Engineers to better understand flood management and make sure the best approaches are implemented in protecting our communities from flooding and limiting serious environmental impacts,” General Hood said. “The opening of the Bonnett Carre’ Spillway on the Mississippi River by the Corps of Engineers has allowed freshwater and pollutants to flow through Lake Pontchartrain into the Mississippi Sound, killing dolphins and sea turtles and adversely impacting the seafood industry. Mississippi has one of the largest dolphin populations in the United States, and we have had increased dolphin deaths due to the freshwater displacing the salt content of the Sound. There have been 80 dolphin and 125 sea turtle deaths this year, and the month of April saw the highest number of these deaths in the past six years. I understand that the Corps is concerned about potential flooding in the New Orleans area. Meanwhile, our Delta farmers may not be able to plant a crop this summer, which will be devastating to Delta communities on top of extensive damage to homes. I want to make sure that the Corps is considering all of its options in flood management. Moreover, I want the federal government to know that the state of Mississippi intends to have it losses compensated or mitigated.”
