What's next for One Lake?

​One Lake project's Feasibility Study/Environmental Impact Statement (FS/EIS) and other required documents may be sent to the Army Corps of Engineers as early as this September, a spokesperson for the Pearl River River Vision Foundation reported at the Rankin Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District (Levee Board) meeting  this morning.  Here's a partial list of all of the potential hurdles required of the Levee Board before and after the FS/EIS report is sent to the Corps. 

Before sending the FS/EIS to the Corps, the project sponsors must:

• Incorporate and address all Draft EIS public comments submitted during the most recent public comment period
• Incorporate and address all Army Corps of Engineers Draft Agency Technical Review comments to Draft EIS 
• Obtain required Independent External Peer Review
• Obtain required Biological Opinion from United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
• Obtain required Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act Report from USFWS
• Obtain required comment letters from all pertinent Federally Recognized Indian Tribes and conduct additional cultural resource studies/examinations, per Section 106, National Historic Preservation Act
• Schedule, pay for and obtain Final Agency Technical Review from Army Corps of Engineers

Once complete, send FS/EIS and other required documents to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works ((ASA(CW)).  Upon receipt of the FS/EIS, the ASA(CW) will refer the study to the Chief of Engineers for review and comments.  The ASA(CW) will review for compliance with law, policy and procedures.  ASA (CW) will submit to the Committee on the Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report that describes whether the project if feasible and any recommendations or conditions.  Office of Water Project Review (OWPR) will prepare comments. OWPR will dispatch letters transmitting information regarding the project proposal, draft environmental compliance documents and related documents to State and Federal agencies for comment.

Once the FS/EIS is deemed acceptable to the ASA (CW), the project sponsors must:

• Publish the FS/EIS to the Federal Register for comments
• Facilitate another public comment period
• Incorporate and address public and agency comments into the FS/EIS
  
• Transmit Final FS/EIS to ASA(CW)

ASA(CW) will prepare a Finding of No Significant Impact or Record of Decision.  ASA(CW) will submit its recommendation to the Office of Management and Budget and then to Congress.

If ASA (CW) issues positive Record of Decision, the project sponsors must then:​

• Raise money to pay for project design
• Conduct pre-construction engineering and design 
• Develop required Adaptive Management Plans for habitat loss replacement and reconstruction
• Complete purchase of mitigation properties necessary for Adaptive Management Plans
• Conduct engineering, technical and environmental studies of identified Hazardous Toxic and Radiological Waste (HTRW) locations in the project area to include several unregulated, unlined landfills and a creosote slough (Map of HTRW locations)
• Develop HTRW mitigation plans and obtain approval from EPA and Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ)
• Pay for removal and/or mitigation of project-area HTRW sites
• Obtain Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) approval for bridge engineering solutions (One Lake Project could lead to bridge failures, MDOT says)
• Facilitate creation of a multi-city development master plan (Jackson, Flowood, Pearl and Richland will be responsible for developing, maintaining, and policing new properties)
• Establish covenants to control land use and development along the riverfront
• Obtain necessary EPA/MDEQ permits including ACE wetlands permits, ACE rivers/harbors permit, endangered species and marine mammals takings permits, coastal consistency review, Section 401, 402 and 404 permits, Federal Clean Water Act Letters of Permission, MDEQ minimum flow requirements and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits
• Conduct public comment periods associated with EPA/MDEQ permits
• Receive authorization from Congress to create a structure that impedes the navigable capacity of   waters of the United States (Rivers and Harbors Act)
• Outline legal arrangement between Pearl River Valley Water Supply District (Ross Barnett Reservoir management) and the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District (Levee Board)
•  Conduct voluntary buy-outs of any properties in the project area
• Expand the Levee District to encompass any residences or properties in the One Lake project area that will directly or indirectly benefit from the project
•  Levy special improvement assessment taxes on properties in the new Levee District
•  Obtain state bonds to pay for the local cost share of the project
•  Lobby Congress for funding appropriation of the federal cost share
•  Receive funding appropriation from Congress
•  Conduct project construction 
• Obtain new Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) mapping of the flood plain
•  Sell property along newly constructed lake
•  Pay annual maintenance and debt service costs estimated at $600,000 per year

Follow Pearl Riverkeeper for news as this process progresses.