Jackson Free Press

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Monday threatened to withhold certification of the incomplete levee system between Hinds and Rankin counties, potentially raising insurance rates for homes along the Pearl River in those counties.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Chief of Project Management Doug Kamien made clear to mayoral representatives on the Rankin-Hinds Pearl Flood and Drainage Control District levee board that if the Board and the Corps did not begin some version of a flood-control plan by February 2010, then the Corps would not certify the Pearl River Levee System.

"If we're in the middle of upgrading the levee system at that time, then we can say the system will be certified and costs in that area will not be impacted," Kamien told the board.

The message was clear, however, that the Corps considers the clock to be ticking.

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, on behalf of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, notified the city of Jackson and the Corps in January 2007 that it planned to modernize local maps to more accurately reflect the probability of flooding in the area. The following month, the city of Jackson put in a request to the Corps for levee certification.

If the Corps certifies the levees, then the Flood Insurance Rate Map will suffer no changes. Without certification, however, the new resulting map will reflect the area flooded from the 1979 flood without the benefit of levees.

The Pearl River experienced a 100-year flood in '79, which inundated Jackson's fairgrounds area and many spots in North Jackson and Flowood, causing more than $200 million in damage.

Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. said after the meeting that the Levee Board would have to move forward with a plan.

"We've got the information," Johnson said. "The only thing to do now is move ahead."

Moving ahead will likely mean an expansion of the present levee system, if the Corps has its way. The levee board is considering two alternatives to a Corps-endorsed levees-only plan, and both involve flooding the Pearl between Hinds and Rankin counties. One plan creates a 1,500-acre lake costing about $605 million, according to estimates. An even bigger lake plan, proposed by Jackson oilman John McGowan, consists of 4,133-acre lake containing numerous islands, which he claims costs $400 million or less.

Kamien made clear on Monday, however, that the Corps has no intention of recommending any lake plan, due to environmental concerns. Any lake plan, despite its size, will require more environmental mitigation than a simple levee system.

After Monday's meeting, Two Lakes developer John McGowan had strong words for the mayors and other members of the Levee Board who, he said, did not stand up strongly enough for his vision.

"Did you see those mayors sitting up there? The Corps were basically telling those mayors to basically shove the lake plan up your ass. Did you see anybody stand up and challenge them on the facts? Where's the backbone? I've got an army that doesn't shoot," McGowan told the Jackson Free Press Tuesday, the day after the Levee Board met with the Corps in Vicksburg.

Previous Commentsshow

When did elected officals like the mayors become McGowan's army? They represent the people not just him.

BubbaT

Sep 30 2009

Amen BubbaT. John McGowan and his cohorts think everything that happens is supposed to financially benefit them.They do not give a d-m about the citizens of Hinds and Rankin countys. Flood control is not really their concern. All they want to know is "how much money can I make". They do not care how many homes are flooded. Just let them make more money!! I personally want to commend the three mayors that were there. Maybe they were telling McGowan to take his plan and shove it up his a-s. More power to them!!!

wellington

Sep 30 2009

I'm more worried we have McGowan on one side who'll take nothing but his vision, and now we have the Corpse Of Engineers saying it's their way or pay up, losers. We don't need either of them.

Ironghost

Sep 30 2009

Respect for the natural river and floodplain is the place to start...Taking development away from the river is the wise thing to do. Recreational uses are fine for the floodplain but building in a hazardous area is stupid. Impounding water to prevent a flood is like killing fleas with your fingers without vacuuming and keeping the pets out of the house. Levees and respect are the answers to flooding. The Army Corps of Engineers knows how to do that and the mayors and citizens would do well to let them engineer it...without any other objective besides flood mitigation (control).

Aeroscout

Oct 1 2009

Iron, I'm not sure what the alternative is to the Corps providing flood control to Jackson. We sure don't need a bunch of pricey, environmentally shakey development, but we need flood control. Seems to me that the Corps is tired of the games ... Jackson's been playing footsy with grandiose lakes plans for decades. I'm not a big fan of Corps, don't get me wrong; it's done a lot of damage and made a lot of mistakes. But what's your suggestion?

Ronni_Mott

Oct 1 2009

Flood control is one thing, what we don't need is the Corpse going into one of their "Our Way. Now." attitudes that they're famous for.

Ironghost

Oct 1 2009

What they r famous for is building defenses for the army, doing river navigation, and building floodways and levees to protect farmlands and populations. What mucks things up for them is when levee boards like the one in New Orleans start messing the money and playing political games like doing economic(read political) development. The word in army culture is mission creep. Politicians and levee boards should respect them for what they are --a military engineering group that is politically neutral.

Aeroscout

Oct 1 2009

If by neutral, you mean arbitrary, this article suggests you are right. The Corps can choose to certify or decertify the levee system based on whether the levee board does what the Corps wants? What does that say about the integrity of the certification process? It looks more than a little political.

Jackson

Oct 1 2009

Well, *maybe* the Corps is politically neutral. Like all U.S. military, they serve at the pleasure of the current administration, so its mandate is politically motivated even if the organization is supposed to be neutral. And like all bureaucracies, it makes some bad decisions, too, even without local "mucking." The Corps like to think it can fight mother nature like they fight an opposing army; nature often wins in those battles, with a vengeance.

Ronni_Mott

Oct 1 2009

I don't think anyone is arguing that the Corps is perfect. If they weren't so influenced by politics in the past, I doubt they'd have let the lakes plans linger as long as they have with some straight talk about them. I really think that some folks are just not paying attention when they stand up for one or both of these plans based on the developers' own public relations. It's a dangerous echo chamber there. We've wasted enough time on costly pipe dreams. Let's figure out the damn levees and some damn green space to go with them and get on with it.

DonnaLadd

Oct 1 2009