U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith reports 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
