A listening discussion regarding the canceled Yazoo Backwater Area flood control pump project will be held in Rolling Fork on Wednesday, with U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R.-Miss) and Representative Bennie Thompson (D.-Miss) hosting the event.
Both officials have invited Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory to attend several briefings across the state today to discuss the pressing need for flood control efforts in the Mississippi Delta. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), one of the project’s biggest advocates, is also expected to attend.
The move comes after repeated attempts by state officials to revive the Yazoo Backwater Pump project, which was halted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in November. Since then, Mississippi officials have pressed the EPA to reverse its decision and provide a quick solution to those affected by the regular flooding.
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Now, Wicker and Thompson are aiming to show federal officials firsthand the “damage and pain that residents have experienced as a result of decades of repeated flooding.”
“The federal government promised the people of the South Delta a flood control solution nearly 80 years ago, and it is past time that this promise be kept. I am hoping that this visit will shed light on the plight of Delta residents and be a step toward completing long-awaited flood relief,” Wicker said in a statement.
The first stop will be at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers headquarters in Vicksburg, where stakeholders from the federal government will hear from local elected representatives. After that, the officials will hear members of the public speak about their experience with the flooding at South Delta High School in Rolling Fork.
