Public Hearing re: Yazoo Pump

[mottlet]

The EPA will hold a public hearing to get comments on the proposed EPA veto of the Yazoo backwater project. April 17th, 7 pm at the Convention Center in Vicksburg. Make your voice heard. I'm gonna try and fly my booty down from DC just to get my $.02 in.

[Double R 2]

Ray Mabus held a public hearing on the project back in 1987 at the City Auditorium. And here we are today.

[HDC]

I went to Costa Rica for Spring Break with the family. We were on a small tour bus traveling through a flat area where they primarily grow sugar cane. There were numerous small homes along the road. The tour guide started explaining how rich and fertile the land was in that area and how a nearby river would flood every year to replenish the nutrients in the soil. He explained that the yearly floods typically require the residents of the area to be evacuated for a few weeks, but when the flood waters reside, they return to clean up and live in their homes that apparently flood every year.

When he finished, my 12 year old son turned to me and said, "Dad, back home the COE would levee up and dredge that river wouldn't they?" To which I responded, "They sure would, and they might even throw in a multi-million dollar pumping station just for kicks."

Maybe one day those poor people down there will be lucky enough to have a government committed to levees, dredging and draining everything in sight.

[Bully]

[HDC]

LOL.......good point

The roads and airport down there are in pretty bad shape.

[Po Monkey Lounger]

Or better yet, maybe we could implement better land use practices, including not developing natural river bottoms and wetlands for residential or commercial use, leaving such for recreational use. Maybe such development, if done, should be done in such a way as to survive inevitable seasonal flooding (put recreational or other structures up on piers, off the ground above the highest recorded flood level, etc.). And if such development is done, against better judgement, perhaps the financial risk of such should be 100% to the owner, as opposed to being subsidized in any shape, form or fashion by other taxpayers. Such a concept is not "third world", but the "right" thing to do, IMO.

Good example of what I am talking about ---- the recent flooding along the MS River and its main tributaries in Missouri. ON the news we see footage of homeowners having to evacuate their homes due to the flooding. And most, when interviewed, reference the LAST TIME they had to evacuate and had flood damage to their homes. To some, this just means that the govt. failed to protect these poor folks as they were "entitled" to flood protection from levees and COE projects. And to the more rational thinkers among us, we simply say........

Good lord almighty!!! How many times do you have to have your home flooded to figure out it may be time to move to higher ground? And I will bet that the federal govt. bailed out those who had no insurance the last time it happened. And probably will once again. IS there no end to this ridiculous cycle of poor land use decisions by other individuals affecting the rest of us? At what point do we start drawing the line? Sometimes, you just can't protect folks from their own stupidity. You can't fix stupid.

[YazooValley]

Sounds like Sam Kinnison on starving people who live in the desert:

"YOU LIVE IN A DESERT! YOU LIVE IN A FREAKING DESERT! NOTHING GROWS OUT HERE! NOTHING'S GONNA GROW OUT HERE! YOU SEE THIS? HUH? THIS IS SAND. KNOW WHAT IT'S GONNA BE A HUNDRED YEARS FROM NOW? IT'S GONNA BE SAND! YOU LIVE IN A FREAKING DESERT! GET YOUR STUFF, WE'LL MAKE ONE TRIP, WE'LL TAKE YOU TO WHERE THE FOOD IS! WE HAVE DESERTS IN AMERICA -- WE JUST DON'T LIVE IN THEM!"

[Wildfowler]

[mudsucker]

[BR549]

Predictions are as of what's here now the gates will reopen on April 13th. Water should crest at 91 on the landside with no more rainfall. There was a good bit of rain in the mid delta yesterday morning but haven't looked to see what if anthing that did to the crest forcast yet.

Just looked no change in forcast as of yet. Landside reading was 85.96 as of 9 tonite.

[Hammer]

Go to http://www.nytimes.com for article on Pumps

[Wingman]

[Hammer]

According to http://www.fedstats.gov, federal payments per capita in 2004:

ISSAQUENA COUNTY $10,851
SHARKEY COUNTY $8,914

MISSISSIPPI AVERAGE $7,695

Been to Sharkey or Issaquena County lately? If so, maybe you can explain to me exactly what we are getting for our federal tax dollar investment.

[BR549]

This is to you Hammer. Just what kind of a S.O.B. are you? Do we have a bunch of democrats on welfare? Sure we do but not near as many as Jackafrica. We just don't have all the filthy rich to offset things here.
But that has nothing to do with flooding. Am I to understand that just because these two counties are poor then they should flood? I tell you what YOU CAN GO STRAIGHT TO HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[donia]