Durbin Stands With Southern Illinois Leaders In Urging EPA To Stop Dangerous Flood Project

Press Release

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) wrote today to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging the agency to protect the future of communities and habitat along the Mississippi River in Southern Illinois and Southeastern Missouri by vetoing the St. Johns Bayou New Madrid Floodway project. Durbin also wrote to Council on Environmental Quality Managing Director Christy Goldfuss to ensure that both agencies be made aware of his concerns regarding the project's impact on the area.

"The St. Johns Bayou New Madrid Floodway project is in direct conflict with the Clean Water Act and this Administration's commitment to wetlands protection, wildlife conservation, and modern flood risk management," Durbin wrote. "I urge EPA to veto this project to protect the environment and the safety and well-being of Illinoisans."

This St. Johns Bayou New Madrid Floodway project would close the last remaining floodway along the Mississippi River in Missouri. As a result, it would force flood waters into river communities -- like Cairo, Illinois -- during heavy rains and major floods.

In addition, in separate reviews of the projects, the EPA itself, the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Department of the Interior have all found that moving forward with the St. Johns Bayou New Madrid Floodway project would have an irreversible, negative impact on the Mississippi River and the surrounding environment.

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