HYDE-SMITH BLASTS EPA DECISION TO STOP YAZOO PUMPS
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today issued the following statement regarding action taken by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to stop a new effort to construct a flood control pumps project for the Yazoo Backwater Area of the Mississippi Delta:
“This is an absolutely terrible day for the people who live in the Mississippi Delta and an even sadder day for the country when an agency like the EPA refuses to do the right thing for the people. I also give credit where credit is due. Congressman Bennie Thompson destroyed this project, taking one position in his district but working against it in Washington.
“This EPA action is an abuse of discretion and couldn’t be more arbitrary or capricious. It also opens the door to a host of legal questions that should, and will likely, be challenged.
“I will continue to work for the people of the Delta to try to salvage this project, which should have been built decades ago. I do know we absolutely do not need empty platitudes from the EPA on a ‘path forward’ and environmental justice. We also do not need our own working against a project that will ultimately protect lives and the environment from repeated catastrophic flooding.”
Hyde-Smith has made the Yazoo Backwater Area Pumps project a priority since becoming a U.S. Senator in 2018. The Senator was instrumental in securing funding for pre-construction planning and other activities on the New Proposal for the Yazoo Area Pump Project
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