MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2020 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Wiggins, Seymour, Moran, DeLano, Thompson, Carter, England, Jackson (32nd), Caughman
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION URGING CONGRESS TO HEAR THE CONCERNS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI REGARDING THE BONNET CARRÉ DISASTER AND TO WORK COLLABORATIVELY WITH THE STATE TO FIND LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS FOR THE PREVENTION OF FUTURE DISASTERS CREATED BY FRESHWATER RELEASES INTO THE MISSISSIPPI SOUND.
WHEREAS, the Mississippi Legislature urges the United States Congress to hear the concerns of the State of Mississippi and to work collaboratively with the state to find long-term solutions for the prevention of future disasters created by freshwater releases from the Mississippi River into the Mississippi Sound; and
WHEREAS, the United States Army Corps of Engineers opened the Bonnet Carré Spillway for a record 143 days this year to relieve Mississippi River flooding, sending trillions of gallons of river water into Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi Sound beyond; and
WHEREAS, recent openings of the Bonnet Carré Spillway have increased in frequency and duration and created an ecological disaster in South Mississippi, causing a mixture of negative effects on the state's fishing industries, tourism, environment and economy; and
WHEREAS, the freshwater releases from the Bonnet Carré Spillway have harmed our fishing communities just as hurricanes and the BP drilling disaster have devastated our fisheries in years past, killing 70% of the oyster population and damaging the shrimp and crab harvest as well; and
WHEREAS, the Bonnet Carré Spillway has opened four times in the past four years, and will likely open with more regularity as upstream wetlands continue to be filled, increasing the volume of water circulating from the Gulf into the Mississippi River and Pearl River watersheds; and
WHEREAS, the State of Mississippi desires to work collaboratively with the United States Congress, United States Army Corps of Engineers, and other agencies to find long-term solutions for the prevention of future disasters created by freshwater releases into the Mississippi Sound:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby urge the United States Congress to hear the concerns of the State of Mississippi and to work collaboratively with the state to find long-term solutions for the prevention of future disasters created by freshwater releases into the Mississippi Sound.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, each member of the Mississippi congressional delegation and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.