The Sierra Club, National Audubon Society and other groups have filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency over their decision to authorize the completion of the Yazoo Pumps project. The effect of this lawsuit would be the continued devastation of hundreds of thousands of acres and tens of thousands of residents in the lower Mississippi Delta. The affected areas is one of the most underserved regions in the county with low per capita income and significant underinvestment and outmigration made even worse with the recurring flooding.
SierraClub Lawsuit by yallpolitics on Scribd
Local support of the Yazoo Pumps project has been nearly unanimous. Governor Reeves, Lt. Gov. Hosemann and other local mayors and officials are on board and bipartisan support from Mississippi’s congressional delegation including that of Rep. Bennie Thompson, whose district encompasses the region, have been notable.
Most notably, the impact to wildlife of the flooding has been devastating.
“People don’t understand how bad this has been,” Eddie Hatcher, District 1 Supervisor for Issaquena County told the Commission as part of its public forum in June. “I live on (Route) 465 in the floodwater, and when I go out every day … there are new dead animals along the highways or laying out in the yard.
“Wildlife is our resource in the Delta. We do not want to lose our resource.”
The Delta is replete with images of people flooded out of their homes, farmers who have lost everything they have and wildlife being devastated with the ongoing effects of flooding.