It seems Mr. Bennie is trying to do something. He’s got the Army Corp of Engineers, his EPA buddies and his flooded constituents all getting together to talk all things pumps and alternatives. In press releases that came out this past Tuesday, one from the Levee Board and one from the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers, there will be five Community Engagement Sessions held on Wednesday, February 15th starting at 9:00 a.m. Each 90-minute session will include members of the Yazoo Backwater Area (YBA) Community along with the Department of the Army and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
It all takes place at the Mt. Lula Missionary Baptist Church Fellowship Hall at 118 Maple Street in Rolling Fork. The Army, the hippies and the flooded ones will dive into “appropriate flood risk reduction solution(s.)” Assistant Secretary of the Army Civil Works Michael Connor will be on hand along with Deputy Regional Administrator for the EPA (Region 4) Jeaneanne Gettle.
“At these community engagement sessions, federal policy makers will gather your input on solutions that reduce flooding and its immediate and long-term impacts on you and your community.”
This meeting is part of a five-month process the Corps and the EPA have “committed” to. The public is invited to attend any one of the five sessions. The sessions are:
• 9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
• 11:00 a.m.- 12:30 p.m.
• 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
• 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
• 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
I got ahold of Levee Board Chief Engineer Peter Nimrod via email to find out a bit more about these “solutions.”
MHS: Are there more meetings to be had over the five months mentioned?
PN: I do not think they will be hosting any more public meetings after the 15th. The goal is that by June 2023 the Corps will have selected the alternative that will work.
MHS: What are your thoughts on this get together?
PN: I think this is great! I think the public meeting August 24, 2022, in Rolling Fork opened a lot of eyes at the EPA and Corps headquarters in Washington DC. The Corps and EPA have disagreed on several issues throughout the past few years but this process is designed to work these issues out and move forward with a solution.
MHS: Will you have any input or be active in the sessions?
PN: I will attend the meetings – but they want to hear from the general public – the people who stand in harm’s way and have to deal with the backwater floods. They want to know if the citizens want the pumps or some sort of non-structural solution – like building ring levees around your house, or raising your house, or buying you out and relocating you. I believe that 99 percent of the people in the South Delta know that only a pump will help solve this backwater flooding. They do not want to build a ring levee around their house. They still would have to boat in everyday and pump out the rainwater and have seep water on the protected side of the ring levee. Plus, their toilets won’t work because their septic tanks will be full of seep water. They don’t want to raise their house because they still can’t drive to it because the roads are underwater. They do not want to be bought-out and be relocated. They grew up in the South Delta and want to continue to live in this beautiful and peaceful area. The citizens need to speak up and let the EPA and Corps know that the only solution to backwater flooding is a pump. A non-structural solution will keep on flooding the area which will further exacerbate the damage to the wildlife, trees and the environment, as well as the people, crop land, roads and homes.
MHS: What will and who will have the final say so on what is done with the information?
PN: The Corps and EPA have agreed to find a solution together by June. The Corps is the lead agency and they will present an acceptable alternative in June 2023.
MHS: Will any bigwigs be in town?
PN: Congressman Bennie Thompson helped EPA set this meeting up. He gave them dates and a location to host the meetings. Therefore, I am assuming he will attend the meetings.
Let’s just hope the meeting wasn’t planned the day after Valentine’s Day so they can serve cheap candy and break South Delta folks’ hearts.
#finishthepumps, Mr. Bennie and friends.
