VICKSBURG, Miss. (WLBT) – Residents will have more time to offer comments on a study that could determine the future of flood control along the Pearl River.
On Friday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that it was allowing for a 15-day extension of the public comment period for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) of the Pearl River Basin, which was released earlier this month.
The public comment period was originally set to end on July 22, 2024. The new deadline is August 6.
The DEIS was required by the federal government to determine whether One Lake, a locally backed flood control option could be implemented along the river and whether that project met the criteria for federal funds to be used.
The study evaluated One Lake, as well as several options to address metro area flooding along the Pearl, including a modified version of the lake plan that is hundreds of millions of dollars less expensive.
The draft document was made public on June 7.
According to it, One Lake is “not justified” due to its $1.1 to $2.1 billion price. However, the document still gives hope to supporters of a lake project, through the introduction of a proposal known as “Alternative D.”
Like One Lake, the project calls for the creation of a 1,700-acre lake on the Pearl, and the lake would still run between Hinds and Rankin counties.
However, the lake would be modified to avoid taking in several environmentally hazardous sites, including a former wood treatment plant, and two now-defunct landfills.
Because the project would no longer have to pay for mitigation costs related to those sites, the Corps estimates the alternative could be built for between $487 million and $655 million.
The alternative has garnered the support of the Rankin-Hinds Flood and Drainage Control District, saying in a press release that it “is truly a consensus solution that addresses the needs of the Jackson Metropolitan Area while providing benefits for near long-term improvement for water supply, recreation, and public access [to the river], as well as potential revitalization opportunities for investment.”
See the flood control options for the Corps studied here.
Rankin-Hinds said the current draft document will continue to be refined, and that the final EIS will be completed this fall. Once the final study wraps up, it will be submitted to the Assistant Secretary of the Army, who will be responsible for signing off on a potential plan.
Rankin-Hinds’ full press statement is below:
Residents can submit their comments on the draft EIS via mail, email, or in person at several public meetings slated for July. Those meetings are listed below:
- Wednesday, July 10 – 2 p.m. – Mississippi Public Broadcasting Auditorium, 3825 Ridgewood Road, Jackson, Miss.
- Wednesday, July 10 – 6 p.m. – Mississippi Trade Mart, 1200 Mississippi St., Jackson, Miss.
- Thursday, July 11 – 11 a.m. – Slidell Municipal Auditorium, 2056 2nd St., Slidell, La.
- Thursday, July 11 – 6 p.m. – Monticello Civic Center, 125 E Broad St., Monticello, Miss.
Click here for more information on how to submit comments or participate in those meetings.
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