Commentary: DEIS prefers ‘One Lake’

The Rankin Hinds Pearl River Flood Control and Drainage District’s draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) has been made public, but already a review process is moving toward a U.S. Corps of Engineers tentative decision this year. Information is scarce. The public comments period closed last September. The DEIS has “One Lake” as a preferred alternative for addressing Pearl River flooding in Jackson, Miss. It also ranks alternatives by cost from greatest to least: Floodplain buyouts, Levee improvements, One Lake, and no action. The District’s DEIS minimized some costs and amplified others. The Mississippi Department of Transportation stresses nine bridges around Jackson need replacing – at an estimated cost of $100M - if the lake dredging project goes forward. The bridges could fail if support piers become unstable due to lake dredging, MDOT has calculated. The DEIS didn’t include the $100M bridge costs. (Source: Clarion Ledger ‘COMMENTARY’ 02/05/19) Commentary article was written by Andrew Whitehurst, the water program director at Gulf Restoration Network and who follows wetland and water policy matters in Mississippi and Louisiana; and Martha Watts, mayor of Monticello, who is concerned about the downstream effects to her town from further alterations to the Pearl River’s channel and floodplain.