The federal government has selected a plan to address Pearl River flooding around Jackson, Mississippi, local officials announced Thursday, but the decision has not been confirmed by the federal agency responsible for the project.
During a press conference Thursday morning, members of the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District—known locally as the Levee Board—said Adam Telle, the assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, has chosen a flood-control scheme that would widen a section of the river near Jackson and add a dam south of I-20. Telle made the selection in a Jan. 31 memorandum that was shared with the Levee Board earlier this month, Levee Board attorney Keith Turner told the Mississippi Free Press.
The Mississippi Free Press has submitted a public records request to review the memorandum.
As of Thursday afternoon, neither Telle nor the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the agency overseeing the project’s design and implementation, had independently announced the plan’s selection. When asked for confirmation on Telle’s decision, Army Corps spokesperson Christi Kilroy told the Mississippi Free Press that she could not “say one way or another,” adding that further questions should be directed at the assistant army secretary’s office.
The final plan touted by the Levee Board resembles recent iterations of “One Lake,” the controversial, decades-old scheme to build a lake along the Pearl River offering development opportunities on top of flood management. Last summer, the Army Corps unveiled two similar flood-control proposals, Alternatives D1 and E1, that pair elements of previous “One Lake” plans with levees for increased flood protection. Only Alternative D1 includes a dam.
Telle’s selection combines components of D1 and E1, the Levee Board said Thursday, providing sorely needed flood relief while expanding public access to the river and creating opportunities for economic growth. The hybrid scheme does not yet have an official cost estimate, but Turner said Corps projections currently put the project in the $850 million range.
“First off, our priority is the flood-control project,” Pearl Mayor Jake Windham told reporters at the press conference. “Secondly, there is a lot of development opportunity. We’re just excited this project is moving forward.”
“The main benefit of this project is flood control,” added Jackson Mayor John Horhn. “We’ve had floods that have been devastating to this community, particularly Jackson, over the last few decades, since 1979. This is going to solve that.”
Telle’s decision comes before the Army Corps releases the required Final Environmental Impact Statement for the overall project, which is set to include mitigation plans for Alternatives D1 and E1 and additional information on downstream impacts. That work must still be completed before the project can move to the construction phase, Turner told the Mississippi Free Press, adding that he hopes the FEIS can be finalized by summertime.
Past versions of the “One Lake” plan, including Alternative D1, have drawn heavy criticism from environmental groups and communities downstream of Jackson, who insist that damming the Pearl near the capital city would have disastrous consequences for downriver habitats and water flow. Comprehensive mitigation plans and further hydraulic studies are needed to understanding how specific flood-control strategies would impact communities and the larger Pearl River watershed, residents stressed during public meetings last summer.
The Mississippi Free Press will continue reporting on this story after reviewing the Assistant Army Secretary’s memorandum and as more information on the selected plan becomes available.