USACE publishes Mississippi River mainline levees Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement

VICKSBURG, Miss. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) published its Final Supplement II (Final SEIS II) to the 1976 Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), Mississippi River and Tributaries (MR&T) Project, Mississippi River Mainline Levees (MRL), in the Federal Register today, Nov. 13.

Through evaluation of information and data obtained from levee inspections, seepage analyses, research, studies and engineering assessments, the USACE Memphis, Vicksburg and New Orleans districts collectively identified a total of 143 additional Work Items along various reaches of the Mississippi River mainline levees (MRL) feature of the MR&T project. These Work Items are remedial measures to control seepage and/or raise and stabilize deficient sections of the existing levees and floodwalls to maintain the structural integrity and stability of the MRL system. The 143 Work Items constitute the proposed action for this Final SEIS II and are located across portions of seven states: Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana. This document is intended to supplement and, as necessary, augment the 1976 FEIS and 1998 Supplemental EIS (SEIS I) to achieve USACE’s primary goals for the MR&T: (1) providing flood risk reduction from the Project Design Flood; and (2) being an environmentally sustainable project.

The Final SEIS II is available online at the USACE Vicksburg District website at: http://www.mvk.usace.army.mil/MRLSEIS/. The 30-day review period will begin Friday, Nov. 13, 2020 and end Monday, Dec. 14, 2020.