The Yazoo Backwater Area Water Management Project continues to gain momentum. The project, headed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), aims to reduce flooding in the delta.

In 2019, about 500,000 acres of land and 686 homes were flooded in the area.

Peter Nimrod, chief engineer of the Mississippi Levee Commission, spoke to The Post about the current state of the project, following a series of public meetings held in July in Rolling Fork and Vicksburg.

“We maintain 212 miles of levees, and we also have about 350 miles of interior streams that we do minor maintenance on to keep the drainage happening in the Delta,” he said.

The most recent development in the project is the release of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). The document details the impact on the environment, both desirable and undesirable, that the project would have. It was produced by USACE with input from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

According to the DEIS, “Project implementation is anticipated to decrease flood depth and duration, and these changes are estimated to decrease wetland functions. However, establishment of wetland mitigation is expected to offset these declines.”

According to Nimrod, the establishment of wetland mitigation was a necessary step in getting all the agencies involved to sign off on the project.

Wetland mitigation is the process of restoring, enhancing, or creating new wetlands to compensate for the loss of wetland functions, values, or acres at another location.

USACE held multiple meetings in July both in Rolling Fork and in Vicksburg to take public comments regarding the project and the new document.

At the meetings, presenters described four options for how the project would unfold.

The first option was to simply not make changes to the current system. The second option was to construct the pumps necessary to prevent the flooding, and to allow for a March 16 to October 15 crop season (flooding has significantly affected farming in the area). The third option was to build the pumps, but have them operate to allow for a March 25 to October 15 crop season. The fourth option would essentially allow for the voluntary acquisition of structures and cleared land in the 2019 flood map.

Nimrod said all 69 people who spoke publicly during the comment phase of the meetings were in support of either options two or three.

“This is the last piece of the puzzle. And it’s been going on since the mid-1980s, and, you know, politics and weird stuff got involved and things blocked it, It’s been kind of a nightmare,” Nimrod said

Nimrod said they are ready to move forward, but the next step in the project will be the release of the final Environmental Impact Statement.

Earlier in August, USACE announced a 15-day extension to the public comment period for DEIS. Originally set to conclude on Aug. 12, the new deadline for submitting comments is Aug. 27.

After numerous requests to extend the public comment period, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works (ASA-CW) Michael Connor has determined that a 15-day extension for public comment on the Yazoo Backwater DEIS is warranted, USACE officials said. 

“The importance of this project and its profound local impacts justify the need for additional time to receive input from the community and other interested stakeholders,” Connor said.

 The Vicksburg Post will continue to provide updates on the project as they become available.