Posted on December 4, 2018
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith announced the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will invest an additional $22.5 million on 15 projects in Mississippi, including $3.0 million for a Vicksburg wastewater project and millions for dredging at ports in Gulfport, Pascagoula, Vicksburg and Greenville.
Hyde-Smith, a Senate Appropriations Committee member, sought the additional funding for Mississippi after President Donald Trump signed into law the 2019 fiscal year appropriations bill for the Army Corps. That bill included additional funding for the Army Corps to use at its discretion on projects that were underfunded or not included in the budget request.
“Army Corps activities have a significant impact on the health, public safety, and overall quality of life for many Mississippians,” Hyde-Smith said. “I am very pleased that this new funding will be put to good use in our state for waterways, levees and public works.”
The funding for Mississippi is outlined in the Army Corps FY2019 Work Plan, which provides a line-by-line account of how additional funding in the FY2019 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act will be allocated in Mississippi and elsewhere around the nation. Details include:
Construction Account – Environmental Infrastructure: $3,200,000 total
- $3.0 million to fully fund an ongoing wastewater system rehabilitation project in Vicksburg
- $200,000 for an ongoing project to reclaim treated wastewater effluent from points in southern Jackson County
Operation & Maintenance Account: $5,759,000 total
- Additional $4 million for dredging at Port of Gulfport (FY2019 total: $7.21 million)
- Additional $1.75 million for dredging at Port of Pascagoula (FY2019 total: $7.9 million)
Mississippi River and Tributaries (MR&T): $13,565,000 total
- $8.0 million for Upper Yazoo Projects for channel improvement and bank stabilization
- $4.1 million for Big Sunflower River Project for sediment retention structure
- Additional $300,000 for dredging at Port of Greenville (FY2019 total: $1.23 million)
- Additional $302,000 for dredging at Port of Vicksburg (FY2019 total: $1.24 million)
- Additional $627,000 for operation and maintenance (O&M) work at Arkabutla Lake (FY2019 total: $6.13 million)
- Additional $45,000 for O&M work at Enid Lake (FY2019 total: $5.34 million)
- Additional $25,000 for O&M work at Grenada Lake (FY2019 total: $5.35 million)
- Additional $50,000 for O&M work at Sardis Lake (FY2019 total: $6.28 million)
- Additional $66,000 for Yazoo Basin Tributaries (FY2019 total: $967,000)
- Additional $50,000 for Yazoo Backwater Area (FY2019 total: $588,000)
- Full funding for O&M of the Jesse Brent Lower Mississippi River Museum in Vicksburg
The FY2019 Work Plan funding is on top of the more than $73.3 million already included in the FY2019 Energy and Water Development bill for projects in Mississippi. Signed into law in late September, Hyde-Smith supported appropriations for 28 authorized Corps of Engineers projects in Mississippi, including $29 million for Mississippi River and Tributaries flood control and navigation projects and $44.3 million for operation and maintenance of 13 authorized projects, such as the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway ($27.9 million) and harbors at Gulfport ($3.2 million), Pascagoula ($6.1 million), Biloxi ($1.74 million) and Rosedale ($935,000). None of the harbor maintenance funding was included in the budget request.
Source: WLOX
