VICKSBURG, Miss. -- The Mississippi River Commission will conduct its annual low-water inspection trip on the Mississippi River, August 23 – August 27, 2021.
Four public meetings have been scheduled aboard the Motor Vessel MISSISSIPPI in select towns along the river. Commission members will meet with local partners, stakeholders, and residents and hear their concerns, ideas, and issues. The meeting dates, times, and locations are as follows:
- August 23 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Caruthersville, Mo. (City Front)
- August 24 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Memphis, Tenn. (Beale Street Landing)
- August 25 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Greenville, Miss. (City Front)
- August 27 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Morgan City, La. (Port Commission Dock)
Interested parties are invited to present their views on matters affecting the water resources infrastructure needs in the valley, including flood control, the Mississippi River and Tributaries project, and other water resources challenges.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the Mississippi River Commission (MRC) will limit the audience in the hearing room to 80 people during the public hearings. The MRC encourages members of the public who wish to address the Commission in person to pre-register at https://mvd.usace.afpims.mil/About/Mississippi-River-Commission-MRC/ and those who do not wish to attend in person to please consider sending testimony for the public record via email to edie.whittington@usace.army.mil. The Commission will accept testimonies for the record until 5:00pm (CDT) on August 28, 2020.
All meetings will be video recorded and posted to the MRC webpage and to each local USACE district's webpage. The agenda for each public meeting is as follows:
1. Maj. Gen. Diana Holland provides a summary report on national and regional issues affecting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and commission programs and projects on the Mississippi River and its tributaries.
2. District commander provides an overview for the commission on current project issues in the respective area.
3. Local organizations and members of the public provide comments on issues affecting the Commission and the Corps of Engineers programs and projects.
The Mississippi River Commission, established in 1879, is composed of seven members, each nominated by the President of the United States and vetted by the Senate. Three of the organization's members are officers of the Corps of Engineers; one member is from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and three members are civilians, two of whom are civil engineers.
General duties of the MRC include recommending policy and work programs, studying and reporting on the necessity for modifications or additions to the flood control and navigation project, and conducting semi-annual inspection trips. The authority of the commission extends the entire length of the Mississippi River from its headwaters at Lake Itasca, Minnesota, to Head of Passes, Louisiana, where the Mississippi River empties into the Gulf of Mexico.
The public hearing process is unique to the Commission and the Corps. The purpose of the public meetings is to maintain a dialogue between watershed interests, the public, and USACE. Presentations by the public are made orally, and a copy of the remarks is presented to the Commission for official record and written response.
The benefits of hearing the issues and concerns firsthand through the public hearing process are invaluable to the MRC and the Corps of Engineers. Also, the interaction with congressional, federal and state interests, local boards, non-government organizations, and the public is crucial to the decision-making process for the nation’s water resources.
The MRC brings critical engineering representation to the drainage basin, which impacts 41% of the United States and includes 1.25 million square miles, over 250 tributaries, 31 states, and two Canadian provinces.
- end -