TRCP Applauds EPA Decision to Veto Yazoo Pumps

News for Immediate Release

September 2, 2008

Contact: Geoff Mullins, 202-654-4609, gmullins@trcp.org

TRCP Applauds EPA Decision to Veto Yazoo Pumps

Mississippi project would destroy valuable wetlands, diminish sporting opportunities

WASHINGTON – The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) today applauded an Environmental Protection Agency announcement that it will veto a proposed project in Mississippi that would include a massive pumping station in the Yazoo River Basin. The construction and operation of the proposed pumps would alter and degrade the critical functions of roughly 67,000 acres of wetland resources in the surrounding area.

“This is the right decision for a lot of reasons,” said TRCP Chairman James D. Range. “This project and its potential impact to the environment, people, and fish and wildlife of the region have been studied for many years. The EPA has determined that it cannot be done in a way that meets federal standards and therefore should be scrapped forever.”

“This veto of the Yazoo Pumps project will ensure that tens of thousands of acres of natural wetlands will continue to provide the most efficient and natural method of flood control there is,” said TRCP initiative manager Geoff Mullins. “The EPA estimates that one acre of wetlands can store up to one-and-a-half million gallons of floodwater. We don’t have to look far beyond the nightly weather report to see why this is so important.”

“It must be understood that more than half of our nation’s and nearly three-fifths of Mississippi’s original wetlands have been converted to non-wetlands,” said TRCP Director of Communications Tim Zink. “Along a flood-prone Gulf Coast and in a vitally important state for waterfowl and fisheries, the Yazoo Pumps project could have done exceptional damage to both.”

“This historic decision extends the spirit of the Clean Water Act,” said TRCP Senior Vice President Tom Franklin. “It also protects the best interests of America’s sportsmen. The EPA should be commended.”

For more information and to add your name to a petition calling for new wetlands protection legislation, please visit: www.wearewetlands.org.

Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the TRCP is a coalition of organizations and grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions of hunting and fishing.

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