Hyde-Smith announces $32 million for Yazoo Backwater Area pumps, $13 million for Arkabutla Lake

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss) today reported that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is directing $136.5 million in FY2025 appropriations to Mississippi for work on 30 projects, including $32 million for mitigation requirements and pre-construction project planning for the new, recently approved Yazoo Backwater Area Water Management Project. 

Hyde-Smith, who serves on the Senate appropriations subcommittee that funds the Army Corps, said the FY2025 Work Plan outlines the projects that will receive funding from amounts provided by Congress in the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (H.R.1968).

“I am very pleased with the Army Corps FY25 Work Plan funding, which will strengthen Mississippi’s levees, keep our ports and waterways operational, and support critical infrastructure improvements that are already underway,” Hyde-Smith said.

“This funding will also help our state prepare for whatever Mother Nature throws at us,” the Senator added.  “Last fall, the Mississippi River fell to near-record low levels, which caused severe disruptions to barge traffic and waterborne commerce.  Just last month, the Mississippi River swelled to its 10th highest water level since the Flood of 1927, leaving nearly 200,000 acres of land underwater in the South Mississippi Delta.”

Hyde-Smith said she is particularly pleased with the Army Corps’ attention to the Yazoo Backwater Area Water Management Project, for which she advocated strongly in an April letter to the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, as well as to other key Trump administration officials leading up to the release of the 2025 Work Plan today.

“We reached a significant milestone in January when the Corps signed a Record of Decision for the new Yazoo Backwater pumps plan, completing an exhaustive environmental review process and paving the way for the next key stages of making this project a reality,” Hyde-Smith said.  “I’m pleased the Corps agreed with my argument that there is more than sufficient funding in the Mississippi Rivers and Tributaries account to move this project forward.”

Hyde-Smith indicated 2025 Work Plan funding will allow the Army Corps to meet compensatory mitigation requirements and advance into the pre-construction, engineering and design (PED) phase—all precursors to actual construction.

In addition to the Yazoo pumps funding, the FY2025 Work Plan provides $13 million for Arkabutla Lake, which will be used for commonly performed operation and maintenance work as well as for dam inspections, assessments, and dam safety interim risk reduction measures.

The FY2025 Work Plan is the product of HR.1968, which funded Corps Civil Works Functions at FY2024 enacted levels, and directed the Corps to provide a work plan to Congress within 60 days of enactment on how the funds will be allocated.

Hyde-Smith began laying the groundwork for funding for the Yazoo Backwater Pumps and Arkabutla Lake last spring at an Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee hearing.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers FY2025 Work Plan (Mississippi)

Investigations

• Gulfport Harbor, MS – $1,250,000   
• TOTAL – $1,250,000                                   

Mississippi River and Tributaries (MR&T)

MR&T Construction              

• Yazoo Backwater Area – $32,000,000          
• TOTAL – $32,000,000         

MR&T Operations and Maintenance

• Greenville Harbor – $1,334,000        
• Inspection of Completed Works – $647,000 
• Vicksburg Harbor – $1,045,000        
• Arkabutla Lake – $13,062,000          
• Big Sunflower River – $350,000       
• Enid Lake – $6,023,000         
• Greenwood, MS – $1,223,000           
• Grenada Lake – $6,125,000   
• Main Stem, MS – $1,157,000
• Sardis Lake – $6,834,000      
• Tributaries, MS – $841,000   
• Whittington Aux. Channel – $321,000          
• Yazoo Backwater Area – $1,010,000
• Yazoo City, MS – $393,000  
• TOTAL – $40,365,000         

Operation and Maintenance (O&M)

• Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (wildlife mitigation) – $1,890,000          
• Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (O&M) – $34,251,000    
• East Fork, Tombigbee River – $305,000       
• Gulfport Harbor          – $11,270,000           
• Inspection of Completed Works         – $228,000     
• Okatibbee Lake – $1,948,000
• Pascagoula Harbor – $10,602,000     
• Pearl River, MS and LA – $152,000 
• Project Condition Surveys – $173,000          
• Rosedale Harbor – $1,692,000          
• Water/Environmental Certification – $30,000          
• Yazoo River – $237,000        
• Claiborne County Port – $150,000    
• Mouth of Yazoo River – $37,000      
• TOTAL – $62,965,000         

OVERALL MISSISSIPPI TOTAL – $136,580,000