Last week, Maj. Gen. Kimberly A. Peeples, commander of the Mississippi Valley Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, officially signed the Record of Decision for the Yazoo Backwater Area Water Management Project.

This week, the Mississippi Levee Board commissioners are praising the step as a significant move toward rectifying a flooding issue that goes back decades and has devastated farmlands in the area during flooding incidents.

“This plan will finally provide adequate flood protection to protect our people, homes, infrastructure, crop land, wildlife, trees
and the environment,” Mississippi Levee Board Chief Engineer Peter Nimrod said. “This 25,000 cfs pump will be able to maintain certain water levels and provide real flood protection to the land above these proposed elevations.”

The Water Management Plan includes a 25,000 cubic feet per second (CFS) pumping plant turned on at 90 feet during the crop season (March 25th – October 15th) and 93 feet during the non-crop season (October 16th – March 24th). The non-structural components of the project include the modification of the Steele Bayou Structure operation to allow free movement of
water in and out of the lower Yazoo Basin up to an elevation of 75 feet before closing the gate. This feature will allow for more exchange of water between the riverside and the landside of the Yazoo Backwater Levee mimicking more natural flood pulses and therefore benefitting the environment and promoting fishery species diversification. 34 supplemental low flow groundwater wells will be installed along streams in the northern portion of the Mississippi Delta.

These wells, according to officials with the Mississippi Levee Board, will keep water in Mississippi Delta streams during the low-flow season, helping to sustain aquatics, fisheries and the environment. The remaining non-structural features consist of opportunity for willing owners below 93 feet to sell their land and improvements, or to sell a flowage easement, or elevating residential structures, or floodproofing non-residential structures. 6,125 acres of Compensatory Mitigation land will be acquired through an in-lieu fee program. All mitigation necessary to fully offset unavoidable impacts to wetlands, as well as
fish, wildlife, and their habitats, will be secured prior to initiation of project construction.

This Yazoo Backwater Area Water Management Project was developed in a joint federal agency collaboration effort between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the White House Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ). This collaboration began in early 2022.

The USACE started working on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Yazoo Backwater Area Water Management Project in July, 2023. The Draft EIS was released on June 28, 2024. Public review of the Draft EIS included six (6) in-person public meetings and one (1) virtual meeting. On October 16, 2024 the USFWS sent a letter where they concurred with the Corps Endangered Species determination of “may affect but is not likely to adversely affect” all the federally listed endangered species in the area. On November 8, 2024 the USFWS issued a Biological Opinion that the project is “not likely to jeopardize the continued existence” of the federally endangered Pondberry. On November 25, 2024 the Corps, EPA & USFWS signed three (3) Memorandums of Agreements (MOAs) on governing pump and water control structure operation plans; compensatory mitigation; and adaptive management. On November 29, 2024 the USACE released the Final EIS. On December 10, 2024 the USFWS issued a Final Fish & Wildlife Coordination Act Report which found that the recommended plan represents an orderly, balanced, and environmentally sensitive approach to the water and related land resource problems and opportunities of the Yazoo Backwater Area.

On January 8, 2025 the EPA concluded that the Clean Water Act Section 404(c) Final Determination issued in 2008 does not apply to discharges associated with the 2024 recommended plan plus the EPA found that the recommended plan is compliant with the Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines. The EPA anticipates that the recommended plan will provide significant flood risk reduction in the lower Mississippi Delta while avoiding, minimizing and effectively compensating for impacts to the region’s important ecological resources.

With the USACE signing the Record of Decision it is officially announcing that the environmental documentation phase of the project is now complete and they are ready to start on the design and construction of the project.

The next phase of the project is Preconstruction Engineering and Design (PED). During this PED the following will happen: begin working on the engineering design to construct the project; continued coordination and implementation of the features of the MOAs; develop and finalize a Real Estate Plan; purchase credits from the In-Lieu Fee Program; site-specific mitigation plans; environmental justice (EJ) mitigation plan; cultural investigations of construction, well, and mitigation sites; hazardous, toxic, and radioactive waste (HTRW) investigations of construction, well, and mitigation sites; State 401 Water Quality Certification; and update costs and economic information for development of Civil Works budget.

The Mississippi Levee Board is extremely grateful to the USACE, EPA and the USFWS for working together to develop this Water Management Plan for the Yazoo Backwater Area. The Levee Board is thrilled with the signing of this Record of Decision and we look forward to Preconstruction Engineering and Design and the purchase of the mitigation land required.

“This is a monumental day for the Pumps,” Mississippi Levee Board President Kenny Rodgers said. “The Levee Board is extremely grateful for the strong and steady leadership and support of the entire Mississippi Congressional Delegation including Sen. Roger Wicker, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Cong. Bennie Thompson.”

“The Mississippi Levee Board commends all the federal agencies for coming to Mississippi and listening to the people who are
impacted by backwater flooding and working together to develop a workable solution,” Mississippi Levee Board Vice President Nott Wheeler said. “We commend the USACE for producing a sustainable project that will serve our citizens and protect
them better than previous designs. We look forward to our entire Mississippi Congressional Delegation helping to provide the funding necessary to get this much needed project finished as quickly as possible.”

Mississippi Levee Board Vice-President Nott Wheeler said the move forward is exciting.

“We are all looking forward to the day when construction of this project will begin! The Mississippi South Delta has been patiently waiting for the Pumps since 1941 and now it is finally time to Finish the Pumps!”