Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith issued the following statement.
U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today asked President Trump to
approve the use of temporary pumps in the Yazoo Backwater Area to begin
removing
floodwaters that have contaminated the region for months on end.
In
a letter sent Wednesday to the President, Hyde-Smith summarizes the
statutes, presidential disaster declaration, and emergency funding
available to support the installation
of temporary pumps to begin draining flooded areas of the South
Mississippi Delta.
“There
is an immediate need to remove the trapped floodwaters, which can only
be accomplished by pumping it from the protected side of the levee
system,” wrote Hyde-Smith,
who serves on Senate appropriations subcommittees with jurisdiction
over the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA).
“Given
the available resources and existing authorities under current law, I
respectfully request that you direct FEMA, the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, and other federal
agencies to take swift action to install temporary pumps in the Yazoo
Backwater Area of Mississippi to remove floodwaters until a long-term
solution is constructed,” she wrote.
It
is not uncommon for FEMA to assign the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to
dewatering missions following major flood events. Temporary pumps were
used to remove floodwaters
following Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy.
President
Trump on April 23 approved a major disaster designation for
Mississippi, which included damage resulting in floodwaters trapped
within federally-constructed levees
and floodgates. Roughly 860-square-miles of the state have been
flooded for more than four consecutive months with disastrous results
for homeowners, businesses, farmers, communities, and the environment.
Hyde-Smith said recently enacted
FY2019 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act provides sufficient funding to deploy temporary pumps in the near future, as efforts continue to force a reconsideration of the
Environmental Protection Agency
2008 veto that stopped development of the
Yazoo Backwater Pump project.
Hyde-Smith’s letter to President Trump is available below and
here.
June 12, 2019
Dear Mr. President:
I
am writing to request emergency assistance in response to catastrophic
flooding affecting the lives, property, and general wellbeing of
thousands of Mississippians.
Contaminated
floodwater trapped inside of Mississippi’s intricate system of
federally-constructed levees and floodgates has inundated roughly 860
square miles for more
than four consecutive months. Persistent high water on the Mississippi
River, excessive rainfall within the 4,093-square-mile drainage area,
and the lack of a federally-authorized yet unconstructed pumping station
to remove water has resulted in devastation
across a large portion of the state. There is an immediate need to
remove the trapped floodwaters, which can only be accomplished by
pumping it from the protected side of the levee system.
As
result of this flooding and other severe weather events, you approved
on April 23, 2019, a major disaster declaration for the State of
Mississippi under the Robert
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. The Stafford
Act authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to direct
other federal agencies, such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to
use available personnel, supplies, and other
resources to provide assistance in the event of a major disaster
declaration by the President. In addition, the Corps of Engineers has
independent statutory authorities, such as section 5 of the Flood
Control Act of 1941 (33 U.S.C. 701n), to provide direct
assistance in the form of portable pumping stations to remove trapped,
contaminated water sources. Following Hurricane Katrina, for example,
the Corps of Engineers installed a number of temporary pumps to remove
the floodwaters from New Orleans, and to remain
in place until permanent pump stations could be constructed.
The
Fiscal Year 2019 Supplemental Appropriations Act enacted on June 6,
2019, provides $1.0 billion for the Corps of Engineers to carry out
emergency response activities
authorized under section 5 of the Flood Control Act of 1941. It also
provides $575 million for the Corps to address emergency activities
within the Mississippi River and Tributaries (MR&T) project area,
which the flooded area of Mississippi falls within.
Given
the available resources and existing authorities under current law, I
respectfully request that you direct FEMA, the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, and other federal
agencies to take swift action to install temporary pumps in the Yazoo
Backwater Area of Mississippi to remove floodwaters until a long-term
solution is constructed.
I
greatly appreciate your leadership in addressing the national disasters
and emergencies that have beset the nation. I look forward to
continuing to work with you and
your Administration to help the people of Mississippi affected by the
ongoing flood disaster in my state.
###
22 comments:
Someone suggest to CHS that she recommend installing some fans across the area to speed up drying the land for planting and picnics on the 4th.
MS needs help. CHS is at least trying to do something.
They need to start looking at other ideas. The pumps will never happen.
Looks like the MS River forecast has a 2+ foot drop from 6/14 to 6/25. If so and with some delay, a Trump ok might not hurt folks down river of the “temporary pumps.”
However, if the folks south fear the pumping and there’s a good chance they will be damaged, it is going to be very hard for Trump to grant CHS’s request.
This one might end up like the 3 or 4 of the 5 County Supervisors approving a very unpopular dirt pit, development, etc., while the supervisor that represents the area to be affected gets to vote no and avoid voter wrath come election time.
If of course Trump thinks he can win MS without the south MS Delta vote.
He’ll never read that, it’s waaaaay too long and doesn’t have any pictures. She should’ve gone on Fox and friends and just asked him.
The Smithsonian is proud to present its latest exhibit, "The Correspondence of Cindy Lou-Who and The Donald - A Retrospective of Banality."
HALLELUJAH! Mississippi is saved! Oh, wait, has Tate, et al, had a chance to put their private parts on the anvil in Mars' shop yet? Eh, it doesn't matter - SHOW ME THE MONEY...er...TROUGH!
"The pumps will never happen"....
Oh, you mean like the pumps that the Corps has installed everywhere else up and down the river?
This is the pumping information for each of the four backwater areas in the Lower MS River Valley as of June 10,2019
1. St. Francis Backwater Area (Huxtable)-125 continuous days of pumping.
2. White River Backwater Area (Graham-Burke)-144 continuous days of pumping.
3. Red River Backwater Area has 3 pumps:
a. Tensas-Cocodrie-180 continuous days of pumping
b. Fool River-86 continuous days of pumping
c. Ha Ha Bayou-125 continuous days of pumping
4. Yazoo Backwater Area-0 days of pumping which has resulted in 550,000 acres flooded.
12:25, this intel is very interesting. Is there information on each pumping site that can be replicated, such as sizenof pumps, area drained, cost (fixed and variable) how they are powered, etc.?
@12:25 AM said:
“This is the pumping information for each of the four backwater areas in the Lower MS River Valley as of June 10,2019
1. St. Francis Backwater Area (Huxtable)-125 continuous days of pumping.
2. White River Backwater Area (Graham-Burke)-144 continuous days of pumping.
3. Red River Backwater Area has 3 pumps:
a. Tensas-Cocodrie-180 continuous days of pumping
b. Fool River-86 continuous days of pumping
c. Ha Ha Bayou-125 continuous days of pumping
4. Yazoo Backwater Area-0 days of pumping which has resulted in 550,000 acres flooded.”
Thanks 12:25, as this is one of the most valuable pieces of information posted on any of these threads regarding the south MS Delta flooding and pumps; and it provides a key insight to the problem.
Construction of the MS River levees in the first place, pump stations listed above and elsewhere, etc. would be a classic “camel’s nose under the tent” situation, except that construction of the levees in the first place was no “small, seemingly innocuous act.”
Pumping means winners and losers so south delta property owners, CHS, Bennie, Phil, Tate, et al should use the tactic of pounding the table with requests that all pumping north of Steele Bayou be discontinued so the MS River can go down and everyone can get rid of their backwater in an equitable manner.
Of course this will not happen, but they may just get help from politicians representing the pumpers up north if they feared this could actually happen then joined them and use their pull to allow the Yazoo backwater to be put off on the others down south.
Better idea. Move those delta folks out of that river bottom and let it back up. It would cost less and you wouldn’t be dumping more polluted water into the Mississippi Sound killing our economy. Downstreamers unite and tell upstream folks who build in river bottoms and flood plains to handle their own poor development problems in their own backyard aka floodplains.
So let's recap:
1. Lots of rain
2. Rivers rise
3. Rivers breach the banks into the flood plains
4. People, animals and things in the flood plains get flooded
5. Politicians ask the Fed for money
6. The "dear friends" of politicians belly up to the trough
7. Rinse (pardon the pun) and repeat
Which one of the above was an unforeseen event?
What hasn't even been talked about that will be catastrophic for the south delta is the infrastructure and the hardwood trees in Delta National Forest, Panther Swamp NWR, and the other State and Federal Wildlife management areas as well as private lands. Most people in the state don't know but that area has one of the biggest/continuous blocks of virgin river bottom hardwoods in the US. Oak trees aren't supposed to stay under water, and especially in this heat, for this long. It could possibly decimate them. Also, roads. Road beds aren't supposed to be under water for this long either. Its going to be a mess when the water recedes.
Odd how people that are so "conservative" don't want the government to spend money but then want billions of dollars so people living and farming at the edge of a swamp or river can have 6 inches less of water on their property.
Even under a strict libertarian view, flood control is a natural government function.
What's the strict libertarian view on all the upstream farmers continually laying more tile to better drain their fields? The water discharged from that tile does impact river levels downstream.
Some of the upstream Republican Governors want their Uncle Sugar to build them higher levees to keep the waters off their floodplains. That would impact both upstream and downstream property owners. What's the best libertarian way to balance to all these competing demands for Uncle Sugar to take action?
KF wrote, "[F]lood control is a natural government function."
I would dispute that, but in any case, sometimes "flood control" means "controlling" those who would put their stuff in a natural flood zone rather than attempting to control the flooding. I would suggest that a libertarian would allow those wish to take their chances to do so but make it very clear that they did so at their own risk.
Levee districts vs drainage districts. An expensive spy vs spy exercise?
Socialist!!!
It would be much cheaper to buy the land and add it to the National Forest. It makes no sense to commit to spend billions of taxpayer money to keep water off a few dozen farms. The pumps would release a massive amount of pollution downstream that would harm Louisiana and the Mississippi Gulf Coast which would cost more billions of dollars in damages to other people.
With all the tariffs being collected money should not be a problem. Let's get er done.
Ole Minnie Pearl, bless her little heart. She needs to use some of that tariff money to fix her underbite.
Does a levee work better if it's flying the Stars and Bars? If so then Minnie Pearl outta get busy!
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