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HYDE-SMITH CELEBRATES KEY STEP FOR YAZOO BACKWATER PUMPS, RECORD OF DECISION SIGNED
Miss. Senator Signals Readiness to Move Long-Sought Flood Control Project to Construction
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today celebrated the signing of a Record of Decision (ROD) that clears the way for the construction of a long-sought flood control project for the Yazoo Backwater Area—a goal the Senator has fought for since disastrous flooding in the South Delta in 2019.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Vicksburg District released the signed ROD for the Yazoo Backwater Study Area on Friday, putting in place the legal means for the Army Corps to proceed with the preconstruction, engineering and design phase of the flood control project initially authorized by Congress in 1941 for a 630,000-acre region of the South Delta.
“The people of the South Delta who have waited decades for flood protection can do a little jig today because we can now move from shuffling papers and studies to getting shovels in the ground. There are still years of work and a lot of funding needed to ‘finish the pumps,’ but we’re in the best position we’ve ever been in to bring the Yazoo Backwater pumps into reality,” Hyde-Smith said.
“A lot of agencies had to agree to get to the Record of Decision, but the people of Mississippi most affected by flooding deserve good credit for their patience and fortitude over the years to push the government to provide the protection promised them decades ago,” Hyde-Smith added. “This is a solid win and I am ready to do everything I can as a Senator to find the resources needed to push this project over the finish line.”
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week formally signaled that the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) released in November is not subject to the 2008 and 2021 Clean Water Act 404(c) vetoes that scuttled earlier efforts to advance the Yazoo Backwater Area project.
The EPA determination allowed the Army Corps to issue the ROD to move forward with the new plan developed in coordination with EPA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The final EIS involves installing pumps to provide flood risk reduction for all communities in the Yazoo Backwater Area and securing mitigation to minimize impacts to wetland resources.
Hyde-Smith, serving on the Senate appropriations subcommittee that funds the Army Corps, is working to 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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