EPA Blocks Harmful Mississippi River Pump

WASHINGTON, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today the Environmental
Protection Agency made a rare decision to veto a $220 million Army Corps of
Engineers flood-control project in the Mississippi Delta known as Yazoo Pump.
Such vetoes of Army Corps projects are rare, having happened only 12 times in
the EPA's history and not since 1990.
Audubon, other conservation groups and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
have made the case for years that the Corps proposal would severely impact
tens of thousands of acres of wetlands and aquatic habitat important to
migratory birds, Mississippi Riverfishes, threatened black bears and other
wildlife. Authorized by Congress 67 years ago, the so-called Yazoo Pump is a
relic of an era when wetlands were considered wastelands, and the intent was
to increase the production of crops on marginal farmland.
Audubon hailed the decision.
"We are pleased the EPA has recognized the importance of this ecosystem to
the ecological health of the Mississippi River," said Bruce Reid, Audubon's
Lower Mississippi River Program Director. "Hopefully this decision signals a
new, more sustainable approach to managing the Mississippi River that takes
into account the essential role of wetlands in protecting both communities and
wildlife. Healthy rivers can reduce flooding, absorb pollutants and provide
critical habitat for birds, fish and other wildlife."
The Yazoo Backwater Area, covering nearly one million acres near
Vicksburg, Miss., is one of the few remaining large wetland habitats subject
to backwater flooding from the Mississippi River.
"The Army Corps of Engineers needs to be more environmentally responsible.
This decision doesn't fix the Corps, but it is a start," said Betsy Loyless,
Audubon Senior Vice President and Donal O'Brien Chair for Advocacy and Policy.
"The Corps should focus on ways to protect and restore wetlands along the
river's length and particularly in coastal Louisiana, where wetlands are the
first line of defense against tropical storms."
A recent nonpartisan independent poll released by Audubon and other
conservation groups showed wide public support among affected communities for
restoring wetlands as a defense against tropical storms like Hurricane Gustav.
Protecting the Mississippi is a top Audubon priority. The Mississippi
River Basin drains about 40 percent of the area of the lower 48 states, making
it the largest watershed in the country. Up to 90 percent of all freshwater
entering the Gulf of Mexico comes from the Mississippi River. Taken together,
the Mississippi River Basin and the Gulf of Mexico encompass more than 40
million acres of large river floodplain, coastal wetlands and the waters of
the Gulf of Mexico.
Approximately 60 percent of all North American bird species depend upon
the River's habitats, including 40 percent of all waterfowl and shorebirds
that migrate along the Mississippi flyway.
SOURCE National Audubon Society

Tony Iallonardo of the National Audubon Society, +1-202-861-2242 x3042