The long and winding road to flood management

After the 1979 Easter Flood, one of the most costly and devastating floods in Mississippi, Congress authorized the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to develop flood control plan for Jackson. Flood control planning for Jackson reached a stalemate decades later when the USACE Comprehensive Levee Plan and the local Two Lakes Plan were both rejected. 

In 2001, the USACE relinquished control and the local Levee Board took over responsibility for planning a Jackson flood control project. The Levee Board published the LeFleur Lakes Plan, a flood control and economic development plan which, despite numerous modifications was rejected by the USACE due to unacceptable cost and environmental impact. After decades of reviewing failed local lake plans, in 2010, the USACE wrote a letter to the Levee Board stating that the Corps will not resume any further study of flood control for the purpose of considering any lake alternatives or private development features.  In 2009, the Levee Board, led by Flowood Mayor Gary Rhoads voted to move ahead with the USACE Comprehensive Levee Plan. 

Despite the Levee Board vote and admonishments by the Corps, in 2011, John McGowan and other local developers persist in forming the Pearl River Vision Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to promoting another lake development idea called One Lake. 7 years and millions of dollars of local, state, and federal funds later, in 2018, the Levee Board released their Draft Environmental Impact (DEIS) report, which includes their "preferred plan",  Alternative C, the One Lake plan. 

In 2022, 43 years after the Easter Flood, the USACE is charged with completing the data gaps in the Levee Board's DEIS/FS to inform the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works)'s final decision on Jackson flood risk management.
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In 2023, the USACE released a Notice of Intent to publish a Pearl River Flood Risk Management DEIS/FS. Flood management options being evaluated include non-structural alternatives, hybrid options, and Alternative C ("One Lake"), the Levee Board-preferred plan. The USACE scheduled DEIS release for Sept 1, 2023. 

Flood management for Jackson again hits a stalemate. 

On August 8, 2023, Watkins & Eager, the Levee Board's law firm received a copy of a USACE Internal Presentation outlining the Corps estimated "One Lake" cost ($1.3-2.1 billion) and cost/benefit analysis of "One Lake". 

On August 31, 2023, USACE announced 1st delay of DEIS. 

An October 5, 2023, WLBT newspaper article quotes Keith Turner, the Levee Board's Watkins & Eager attorney, saying that USACE Secretary Connor's decision to delay the release, "wasn’t due to the lack of funding. Instead, it was made at the behest of the Rankin-Hinds flood district."

On Oct 21, 2023, USACE announced 2nd delay of DEIS citing lack of funds. Updates in December 2023 and March 2024 provided no timeline for release of the DEIS. 

2024 Pearl River Flood Risk Management Draft Environmental Impact Statement

Many critical studies and analyses are missing or incomplete in the 2024 USACE DEIS. The USACE states in the document that many of the studies required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process will not be conducted until the Pre-Construction, Engineering, and Design (PED) Phase, which occurs after the USACE Assistant Secretary of Civil Works makes his Record of Decision about the project. It will be difficult for agencies and the public to fully assess and understand the project Alternatives without this information. Additional NEPA studies and analysis will further delay flood risk relief for Jackson.