One Lake Update

In late July 2022, the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District (Levee Board) transmitted their One Lake Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) document to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works ((ASA(CW)) for the next step in the One Lake project review process.  The ASA(CW) and the federal Office of Water Policy Review have 30-45 days to review the document before sending it to other state and federal agencies for another 30-45 day review period.  If the document passes these 2 sequential review periods, the document will be published to the Federal Register and available for a 30-45 public comment period.  It has not yet been determined if the document would be published as another Draft EIS or as a Final EIS. Public comment could begin as early as October 2022.  The US Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters is responsible for preparing final recommendations and conditions based on the state and federal reviews.  

 
​Many questions remain since the publication of the 2018 One Lake Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) including:  

• Who will be taxed to pay for One Lake construction, maintenance and upkeep? HB 1585, 2017 MS Legislative session, gave the Levee Board authority to raise property taxes for owners they determine are "directly or indirectly benefited by the project."  Will City of Jackson residents struggling under drinking water and sewer consent decrees be required to pay for Lake development and maintenance?  The DEIS cost estimate for One Lake construction is $350 million. $133.8 million will be paid for by the federal government. Who will pay for the additional $216.2 million in construction costs and for the additional yearly maintenance costs?  
• Has MDOT approved a plan that would prevent the catastrophic failure of major interstate bridges? In a Sept 2018 letter to the Levee Board, MS Department of Transportation stated that “If the predicted scour depths occur, there will be a catastrophic failure of all seven of the main channel bridges...” Main channel bridges of concern include two on Lakeland Dr, two on I-55, one on US 80 and two on I-20. MDOT stated that “For this reason all bridges will need to be replaced and the cost to replace the nine bridges should be reflected in the cost of the Pearl River Basin Federal Flood Risk Management Project.”
• How much will it really cost to remove the Hazardous, Toxic and Radiological Waste (HTRW) sites in the project area?  The DEIS states that the environmental impacts associated with their removal could include, “the temporary addition of large additions of sediment to the Pearl River, the release or exacerbation of current releases of leachate and/or solid and hazardous substances to the groundwater and/or surface water...”   ​The 2018 Independent External Peer Review states: "The 3 HTRW sites identified in the Draft FS/EIS are not sufficiently characterized to determine the adverse affects on the Pearl River and on the overall project cost." and "The potential costs of HTRW site remediation may be significantly understated in the cost estimates and risk analysis, potentially affecting the selection of the TSP (Tentatively Selected Plan)."
• Has a thorough evaluation of downstream impacts been completed? Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality comment letter, Sept 2018 states: "In regard to water quality impacts in general, MDEQ believes additional evaluation should be done to consider how the proposed project would affect water quality downstream of the project area, including but not limited to changes in stream flow, changes in water availability, changes in velocities, frequency and duration of high/low flow events, and reaeration rates".   USFWS Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act Report, Jan 2020 states: "The productivity of oyster reefs in Mississippi Sound (Half-moon Island, Grassy Island, Petit Island, Grand Banks) depends on the mixing of fresh water from the Pearl River with salt water from the Gulf of Mexico to maintain a salinity range of 5-15 parts per thousand.  The reduction or disturbance of fresh water flow from the Pearl River may upset the established balance, and a more saline environment would in turn cause devastating consequences to existing oyster populations".  In 2018, Senator Cassidy and Representative Scalise added wording to the WRDA 2018 (America's Water Infrastructure Act) that imposes important restrictions on moving the One Lake project to the next phase of detailed technical design, including a requirement to address all adverse downstream impacts.
• Will the One Lake project increase flash flooding in some Jackson neighborhoods? According to the DEIS (Appendix C, pages 32-36), the higher water level of 258' at the One Lake weir will increase the flood profiles along all 8 Jackson tributaries. The City of Jackson storm drain and tributary channel system is currently not capable of efficiently managing stormwater flash flooding. Heavy rains often cause Lynch Creek to overtop its banks, flooding neighborhood streets, businesses and homes.  Due to the deterioration of century-old sewer infrastructure, this stormwater typically contains raw sewage and other contaminants. 
• ​How will the City of Jackson protect its already beleaguered drinking water supply during One Lake construction?  AllenES Environmental Evaluation of Hazardous, Toxic and Radiological Waste (HTRW) Sites, Sept 2014, p.16 states: "Other immediate effects that may result from construction of the proposed project could include a temporary loss of the secondary water supply intake for the City of Jackson. Jackson utilizes an existing water treatment plant which is located on the Pearl River at a location scheduled for dredging and development of the “Channel Improvement/Weir/Levee” alternative. The dredging of sediments and subsurface soils in the Pearl River could potentially increase the turbidity of the surface waters to levels unacceptable for human consumption; therefore, the City of Jackson would need to evaluate temporary water supply alternatives during the duration of dredging and construction activities." 
• What will the water quality be in a lake impoundment that receives millions of gallons of raw sewage and trash from numerous urban creeks?  A wider, deeper lake impoundment, with a weak current stagnating during droughts, would concentrate sewage and other contaminated runoff from urban creeks, leading to harmful algae blooms and potential fish kills. The Lake could become soupy and green, and combined with visible oil sheens, would be unattractive for recreation or development.  
• Is the One Lake plan the most cost-effective plan? The 2018 Independent External Peer Review states: "The final alternative plans do not definitively demonstrate that the TSP (Tentatively Selected Plan) is the NED (National Economic Development) plan." and "The plan formulation methodology may have failed to identify another alternative that might provide the same or greater NED benefits at a reduced cost." and "It is possible that if additional channelization was included in one or more of the Levees, Floodwalls, and Pumps alternatives described on p. 102 of the Draft FS/EIS, a plan that provides greater benefits with lower costs might exist. It is also possible that if nonstructural management measures (after screening) were included in one or more of the initial array of alternatives, benefits and costs might have been beneficially impacted. As a result, the initial array of alternatives that were considered may have not considered a plan that would be superior to the TSP."  The Aug 2018 USFWS Fish & Wildlife Coordination Act Report is critical of the lake alternative and suggests that the sponsors re-evaluate a levee option without the inclusion of expensive pumps, stating "The levee only alternative includes a cost of 312 million for pumping plants at seven tributaries, however, previous Corp studies found that pumping facilities (i.e., plants) were not economically justified, with costs exceeding benefits by at least an 8 to 1 margin for each of the pump areas (1994 USACE draft Feasibility Study)."
• Is the One Lake plan the most environmentally damaging plan?  US Fish & Wildlife Service, comment letter, Aug 2018 states: "As currently presented in the EIS and planning documents the proposed tentatively selected plan, while containing some environmental features and proposed mitigation, is the most environmental damaging plan. Overall, greater details regarding plan formulation, design, operation, mitigation, and adaptive management should be presented in another draft of the EIS prior to finalizing." The Army Corps of Engineers Agency Technical Review team states in 2018 "Open" (unresolved) comments: 
  • ​Screening criteria are "substantially flawed".  
  • "In my opinion, we are neither compliant with, nor operating within the spirit of the Clean Water Act." 
  • "there appears to be little consideration for environmental impacts within the selection process.  The TSP (Tentatively Selected Plan) does appear to have the most substantial environmental impacts, including over a thousand acres of wetland fill."  
  • "There is no explanation why the most impactful alternative was selected as the TSP." "The report needs to justify why the TSP impacts are warranted..and why these objectives can't be met with other alternatives."
  • "We cannot select an alternative if another practicable alternative could be selected with fewer impacts to waters of the United States."
  • Regarding an Adaptive Management Plan:  "This plan has specific requirements, almost none of which appears within the Feasibility Study."
• Where is flood control for the City of Jackson? In 1996, US Army Corps of Engineers Feasibility Report, Flood Control, Pearl River Basin, Jackson Metropolitan Area, Mississippi recommended a system of flood walls and levees for flood control called the Comprehensive Levee Plan. This plan failed to receive local support, and, in 2001, Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District (Levee Board) took over responsibility for planning and executing flood control projects in the Jackson area. In the 26 years since the Corps Levee Plan, the Levee Board has proposed 3 different Lake plans (Two Lakes, LeFleurs Lake and Lower Lake) that failed to meet the Corps standard for being economically or environmentally feasible. A 2010 MS Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review PEER report 540 states: "Many of the plans for flood control in the Jackson metro area mix flood control with economic development. The plans incorporating economic development cost more than levees." Yet the Levee Board continues its push for economic development with another Lake plan, delaying a flood control solution for Jackson. 

Pearl Riverkeeper will be looking for the answers to these questions and more upon the release of the next edition of the One Lake Environmental Impact Statement. 

**The Levee Board never publicly released the 2018 Independent External Peer Review or the 2018 US Army Corps of Engineers Agency Technical Review Summary Report.  These 2 documents were obtained via FOIA request and can be viewed here: https://www.pearlriverkeeper.com/one-lake-agency-reviews.html