At a recent meeting in the Mississippi Delta, representatives of the Environmental Protection Agency announced they are on board with the construction pumps at the Steele Bayou Structure to mitigate flooding in the Yazoo River Backwater.
“The proud people of the South Delta are forgotten no more,” said EPA Chief of Staff Mandy Gunasekara. “The collective efforts of this community alongside new information has allowed the US EPA to move the pumps project forward, which once complete will provide overdue protections for the local people, environment, and wildlife.”
The announcement means work may be starting soon on the pump project.
“The Mississippi Levee Board is very excited about the US Army Corps of Engineers moving forward with the Yazoo Backwater Project,” Levee Board Engineer Peter Nimrod said. “The Final SEIS2 was released on December 11, 2020 and the Corps is getting very close to signing the Record of Decision. The Environmental Protection Agency has worked closely with the Corps during this process and has determined that the new proposed Yazoo Backwater Project is not subject to the EPA’s 2008 Veto The new proposed project will include a 14,000 CFS pumping station located at Deer Creek powered by natural gas and 34 supplemental low flow groundwater wells which will maintain water in all Mississippi Delta streams year-round.”
The pumps will lower the 100 year flood by 5.1 feet. This will provide protection for homes, agricultural land, infrastructure, the environment and the wildlife. The groundwater wells will provide water to help sustain fisheries, aquatics, mussels and the environment.
“The Mississippi Levee Board is very proud of this new proposed project and we look forward to the Corps designing and constructing the pumps,” Nimrod said.
The EPA committed to finding a solution to the significant flood damage that has occurred over the past twelve years since their earlier determination. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) 2020 proposal moves the pump station location, enhances the mitigation for aquatic impacts, embraces adaptive management and is based on ten years of data showing little to no impact to wetlands from the planned flood control project.
This project has a long history and the community is pleased that the final component is now in active planning. The Yazoo Backwater Project was authorized in 1941.
By 1978, the Steele Bayou Drainage Structure and the Yazoo Backwater Levee were completed. The last feature of the project was to construct the Pumps. When the Mississippi River is flooding, the gates of the Steele Bayou Structure are closed to keep the Mississippi River from backing in and flooding the South Delta. If it rains in the 4,093 square mile Mississippi Delta (2.62 million acres) the rainwater travels south and starts to back up behind the closed gates. The Pumps are needed to lift the rainwater over the levee.
In 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) vetoed the 2007 Plan for the Yazoo Backwater Project.
In March 2019, EPA came and toured the disastrous 2019 Backwater Flood. They saw the devastation to the environment, wildlife, people, homes, crop land and the infrastructure.
The Corps shared with EPA new data collected on Wetlands, new LiDARdata and backwater flood damages since 2008. During 2019 the Corps and EPA exchanged information and ideas to modify the project and make it even better for the environment.
The new 2020 Plan for the Yazoo Backwater Project moves the 14,000 cs Pump from Steele Bayou located in Issaquena County to Deer Creek just east of Hwy 61 in Warren County.
The new Plan also includes the installation of 34 low flow groundwater wells along the Mississippi River Levee in the northwest corner of the Mississippi Delta which will be used to pump water into Delta streams and channels during the low flow season in the Fall. This added water will help sustain fisheries, aquatics, and mussels.
The new Project will also incorporate a monitoring and adaptive management plan to observe and make adjustments to the mitigation or the project if changes need to be made. The new Project will use natural gas to power the Pumps instead of diesel. The Pumps will lower the 100-year Flood by 5.1’. This will remove the vast majority of homes from the threat of a 100-year Flood and will remove the threat of highways being flooded. The Pumps will provide protection for crop land as well as provide dry habitat for the wildlife to survive on in future backwater floods.
The Corps released the Draft SEIS II for the new 2020 Plan for Yazoo Backwater Project on Oct. 16, 2020 and the comment period ended on November 30, 2020.
The four-year construction project could be completed by 2025, if funded immediately.
