Cochran: Emergency Watershed Protection Funding Approved (USA)

U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) reported that Mississippi will receive more than $6.2 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to support recovery from recent natural disasters.

The USDA this week approved Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program funding to assist in the recovery from damages incurred during Hurricane Isaac and flooding in 2012, as well as flooding earlier this year.

“These resources will help carry on work to restore storm-damaged land and natural resources in a manner that will protect the public. I’m pleased that this funding will also help reduce a backlog of this type of recovery work in our state,” Cochran said.

Cochran, as a member of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Development Appropriations Subcommittee, worked this spring to secure funding for EWP as part of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2013.

The EWP is an emergency recovery program administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service that provides on-site technical and financial assistance to communities recovering from natural disasters. The funding approved for Mississippi can be used for a variety of activities, including stream debris removal, eroded bank restoration, levee and drainage facility repairs.

The bulk of the EWP funding will be directed toward projects associated with Hurricane Isaac destruction, with nearly $5.9 million approved for financial assistance and technical assistance. For damages caused by flooding in February 2013, $167,264 will be made available. Another $165,001 was approved for recovery efforts from flooding in July 2012.

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Press Release, June 13, 2013