Federal agency to help pay for Mississippi flood control

By MICHAEL GOLDBERG
Associated Press/Report for America

JACKSON, Miss (AP) — A federal agency has set aside money to help guard Mississippi’s capital city and surrounding areas against flood damage following two deluges in three years. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Monday that it has budgeted $221 million to help fund a flood-control project in the Jackson area. Officials say the current levee system doesn’t protect Jackson and nearby suburbs prone to flood risk. The Pearl River Flood Control Project would widen the river that runs through Jackson. The project will cost $340 million in total. The Army Corps of Engineers still needs to give local officials the final approval to begin construction.