Tell the Army Corps to dump the pump proposal that would endanger the Big
Sunflower and Yazoo Rivers

Ducks in swamp, photo by Stephen Kirkpatrick — Ducks in a Mississippi swamp | Stephen Kirkpatrick

The heart of the Mississippi Flyway, home to more than 450 species of birds, fish, and wildlife -- and one of America’s last intact bottomland hardwood forests -- is threatened by a proposed agricultural drainage project known as the Yazoo Backwater Pumps. The project would damage tens of thousands of acres of wetlands under the guise of flood control, while reinforcing the Mississippi Delta’s systemic racial injustices. This is especially concerning since the Supreme Court recently eliminated Clean Water Act protections for more than half of wetlands in the country. Considered some of the nation’s “richest wetland and waters”, it is now more unacceptable than ever to put critical wetland habitat like the Yazoo Backwater at risk.

These environmentally damaging pumps are not necessary and would be destructive to the river. In fact, similar proposals in the past were so problematic that they were vetoed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) due to their environmental impact. Unfortunately, this project was revived in 2021.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and EPA should say no to the incredibly destructive pumps and instead prioritize immediate, effective flood relief using nature-based and non-structural solutions to help local communities while conserving vital wetlands that provide natural flood protection and climate resilience.

About You

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

Address

City

State

Zip Code

Personalize Your Letter

Assistant Secretary

Michael

Connor

Army, Civil Works

Dear Assistant Secretary Connor, Administrator Regan, and Director Williams,

I oppose the Army Corps’ effort to revive the destructive Yazoo Pumps, which would damage tens of thousands of acres of some of the country’s most important wetlands. Instead, I ask that the Army Corps, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (Service) prioritize nature-based and non-structural flood measures that can promptly be implemented to protect local communities and the environment of the Yazoo Backwater Area.

The Big Sunflower and Yazoo Rivers are home to some of the richest wetland and aquatic resources in the nation, and support more than 450 species of birds, fish, and wildlife.

But these rivers are already in crisis. More than 80 percent of wetlands and native forests in the Lower Mississippi alluvial floodplain have already been lost, and the Supreme Court’s recent Sackett decision endangers more than half of our nation’s remaining wetlands. In addition, agricultural practices and water withdrawals are wreaking havoc on river health. Now is the time to protect the ecologically vital Yazoo Backwater, not to put it at even greater risk.

The Yazoo Pumps project would cost more than $1 billion and do little to protect communities from flooding. Eighty-three percent of the land that flooded during the 2019 flood event would still have been underwater if the Pumps had been in place. Not only would the proposal hurt the environment but the pumps would provide little flood protection for local communities and could worsen downstream flooding in marginalized Black communities.

EPA’s Clean Water Act veto of the Yazoo Pumps in 2008 was based on a rigorous analysis of potential impacts and broad public input, and was reasserted by the Biden administration. The veto was issued to permanently block construction of the ecologically destructive Yazoo Pumps—including this revived pumps proposal.

I urgently ask the Army Corps to abandon this and any version of a pumps proposal, and instead ask the Army Corps, EPA, and Fish and Wildlife Service to pursue prompt and effective flood relief that prioritizes nature-based and non-structural measures to protect local communities while conserving vital wetlands that provide natural flood protection and climate resilience.

Sincerely,

{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name}
{user_data~Address}
{user_data~City}, {user_data~State}
{user_data~Zip Code}
{user_data~Email Address}

Tell the Army Corps to dump the pump proposal that would endanger the Big Sunflower and Yazoo Rivers

Tell the Army Corps to dump the pump proposal that would endanger the Big
Sunflower and Yazoo Rivers