The United States Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) released the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement (RDEIS) for the Pearl River Basin, Mississippi, Federal Flood Risk Management Project Commander’s Report and Environmental Impact Statement.
The current RDEIS has included Alternatives D1 and E1 into its proposal and has eliminated Alternative A1 from consideration. LWF requests that the Corps reject Option D1 and E1 (“One Lake”) and all similar plans that dam and/or dredge the Pearl River. We urge the Corps to reconsider Alternative A1.
In addition, LWF requests that the Corps conduct a “Downstream Impact Study” on the possible environmental effects of Alternative A1, D1, and E1, on the Pearl River. As identified in the Corps’ presentation of the RDEIS, the current study only reflects concerns within a ten-mile area of the project. We feel a more comprehensive study should be conducted to evaluate concerns further downstream, particularly concerns for wildlife, wildlife habitat, and water hydrology issues in Louisiana. Lastly, LWF asks that the Corps follow through with the request that an additional public meeting on the project be held in Washington Parish, Louisiana, as requested by Louisiana State Representative Stephanie Hunter Berault.
Any plan that digs up the Pearl River would be ecologically devastating and encourage new development that puts more people and property in harm’s way. These plans would worsen Jackson’s flooding and drinking water crisis, expose local and downstream communities to toxic contamination, destroy hundreds of acres of wildlife habitat, and alter freshwater flows critical to the region’s important seafood and tourism economies. Taxpayers are on the hook to foot the bill yet the true costs of Alternative D1 and E1 continue to be woefully underestimated. The Corps latest assessment of D1 and E1 in the RDEIS shows that the costs will skyrocket, compared to DEIS estimates.
Read LWF’s letter of comment to the Corps HERE.
You can send in comments to the Corps by August 18, 2025 HERE.
Read LWF’s past comments on the proposed Pearl River project HERE.