WASHINGTON, D.C – U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced that Mississippi will receive $13.3 million in federal funding for recovery from recent severe storms and flooding.
Mississippi will receive $13,306,631 through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program to complete work on 129 projects in at least 29 counties. Many of these projects have been in need of funding since 2013.
“Tornadoes, flooding and other inclement weather have been persistent challenges for Mississippi communities in recent years,” Cochran said. “I am pleased that the Department of Agriculture is making good use of this funding to help our state repair damaged infrastructure and speed up recovery.”
Counties receiving funding include Adams, Calhoun, Carroll, DeSoto, Franklin, Grenada, Greene, Harrison, Hinds, Holmes, Jones, Lafayette, Lamar, Lauderdale, Leflore, Lincoln, Monroe, Montgomery, Oktibbeha, Panola, Pike, Pontotoc, Tallahatchie, Tate, Warren, Wayne, Webster, Wilkinson and Yazoo.
The EWP program, administered by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, is designed to provide hazard reduction and recovery measures to communities impacted by floods, severe storms and other natural disasters. Forms of assistance include disaster cleanup and recovery activities, erosion repair, stream-flow restoration, debris removal and flood prevention activities.
The USDA awarded a total of $93 million in EWP funds nationally to assist state and local governments in 19 states reduce hazards to life and property in areas impacted by natural disasters.
The FY2016 Omnibus appropriations bill provided $120 million for EWP in order to assist Mississippi and other states that have been negatively impacted by tornadoes, flooding and other weather events in recent years. Cochran serves as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which determines funding levels for EWP and other programs.
