HLS 23RS-4237 ORIGINAL
2023 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 293
BY REPRESENTATIVE WHITE
WATERWAYS/RIVERS: Requests the United States Army Corps of Engineers to make
determinations related to the One Lake project on the Pearl River
1 A RESOLUTION
2To urge and request the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to consider all available data and
3 alternatives to make a determination of the One Lake project's technical feasibility,
4 economic justification, environmental acceptability, and potential downstream
5 impacts to the Pearl River Basin.
6 WHEREAS, the Pearl River Flood Risk Management Project, known as the "One
7Lake" project, is the nonfederal sponsor's Locally Preferred Plan (LPP) that includes a
8proposal to dredge and dam the Pearl River to create a one thousand five hundred acre lake
9near Jackson, Mississippi; and
10 WHEREAS, the construction of One Lake is likely to alter the seasonal flow and
11temperature of the Pearl River waters; and
12 WHEREAS, fundamental changes to water flows and temperatures could precipitate
13severe downstream environmental and economic impacts, including saltwater intrusion,
14destruction of plant and animal life and habitat, loss of sensitive cultural sites and artifacts,
15increased pollution, sedimentation, river flooding, storm surge, and adverse effects to
16navigation, land values, and recreation; and
17 WHEREAS, in 2018, the St. Tammany Parish Department of Engineering examined
18evaporation predictions for the proposed One Lake project and found that evaporative losses
19subtracted from either the minimum daily mean discharges by month or the tenth percentile
20of mean daily discharges, indicate the flow of the already impacted Pearl River will be
21further compromised; and
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HR NO. 293
1 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Oyster Task Force and the Mississippi Governor's Oyster
2Council have identified insufficient freshwater quantity flowing down the Pearl River to
3coastal waters as a threat to oyster production in both states; and
4 WHEREAS, stable water flows on the Pearl River and its tributaries are necessary
5for adequate dilution of effluents discharged from dozens of National Pollutant Discharge
6Elimination System (NPDES) permit holders in the counties and parishes south of the
7proposed project site; and
8 WHEREAS, the Pearl River is on the Mississippi Department of Environmental
9Quality's Impaired Waters List due to wastewater runoff originating from parking lots,
10farms, and septic tanks, which results in unacceptable levels of nitrogen and phosphorus
11reaching the river, increasing health hazards to humans and the ecosystem, and necessitating
12limitation of these pollutants in existing permits held by business, industry, and
13municipalities; and
14 WHEREAS, the proposed One Lake project requires close scrutiny from all interests
15that rely on the Pearl River to safely and legally discharge regulated wastewater; and
16 WHEREAS, pursuant to 15 CFR 930.33, federal agencies shall submit consistency
17determinations to relevant state agencies for activities having coastal effects, regardless of
18location; and
19 WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 1176 of the Water Resources Development Act of
202018, the secretary of the Army shall review and determine whether the project is technically
21feasible, economically justified, environmentally acceptable, and will be consistent with
22applicable policies, regulations, and federal laws, and such determination shall assess
23potential downstream impacts to the Pearl River Basin resulting from the project; and
24 WHEREAS, the project shall be designed in a manner that addresses any potential
25adverse impacts or that provides mitigation in accordance with Section 906 of the Water
26Resources Development Act of 1986.
27 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
28Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
29to provide a consistency determination to all relevant state agencies, including the
30Department of Natural Resources, office of coastal management, which will evaluate the
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HR NO. 293
1foreseeable direct and indirect effects of the One Lake project on Louisiana coastal
2resources.
3 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the Legislature
4of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to review all
5available data, assess all potential downstream impacts to the Pearl River Basin that could
6result from the project, and consider all available alternatives, A, A1, C, and a combination
7of these, as well as new alternatives as described in the Notice of Intent to Prepare a Draft
8Environmental Impact Statement for the Pearl River Federal Flood Risk Management
9Project, Pearl River Watershed, published May 18, 2023, in the Federal Register; to further
10demonstrate that it has conducted economic and environmental impact analyses that include
11every river-dependent industry and municipality on the Pearl River and every Clean Water
12Act NPDES permit holder and water withdrawal permit holder in the Pearl River Basin, in
13all counties and parishes on the Pearl River downstream of Rankin and Hinds Counties; and
14to provide a mass-balance water budget for all uses on the Pearl River in determining
15whether the One Lake project is technically feasible, economically justified, and
16environmentally acceptable.
17 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
18United States Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg District.
19 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to each
20member of the Louisiana delegation to the United States Congress.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 293 Original 2023 Regular Session White
Requests the Corps of Engineers to consider alternatives and determine the technical
feasibility, economic justification, environmental acceptability, and potential adverse
downstream effects on the Pearl River Basin of the proposed One Lake project.
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