GREENVILLE, Miss. -- Arkansans asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for increased federal support for Arkansas waterway projects including expansion of bank stabilization work on the Ouachita River during the Mississippi River Commission's annual low-water inspection trip on Wednesday.
The requests are complicated by a warning from one Mississippi River Commissioner that there are "significant financial challenges in the future" for a landmark Corps infrastructure program. The Mississippi River Commission, made up of seven members appointed by the U.S. President, provides recommendations to the Corps and hosts annual inspection trips and public hearings during low and high water.
"We all know there's been a lot of changes in the Federal government in the last six months or so, but I can tell you the Vicksburg District is remaining resilient and strong in delivery of (infrastructure) projects," Col. Jeremiah Gipson, commander of the Corps' Vicksburg District, said at the hearing.
Jennifer Sheehan, chief of Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's environmental coordination division, asked the Corps to initiate a watershed reconnaissance study of the Ouachita River Basin.
According to Sheehan, the last study of this kind was conducted before the Ouachita-Black Rivers Navigation Project began in 1902. The navigation project was completed in 1924.
Watershed management planning studies focus on the development, use and preservation of land and water resources within a specific watershed, like the Ouachita River watershed.
"Much has changed in the river basin, including land use practices, population, navigation needs and municipal and surface water demands. An updated watershed study has been a priority for Ouachita River Basin stakeholders for a decade," Sheehan said at the hearing.
She said that a study would "address the diverse needs of the watershed," and that the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has sent a letter of intent to the Corps expressing willingness to be the study's non-federal sponsor.
The Corps began it's first ever comprehensive study of the White River Basin last year.
David Weeks, executive director of the Ouachita River Valley Association, asked the Corps to include bank stabilization as a part of the Ouachita-Black Rivers Navigation Project. Bank stabilization refers to measures to prevent erosion of river banks.
The Water Resources Development Act of 2024 added bank stabilization on a stretch of the Ouachita River from Monroe, La., to Caldwell Parish, La. as a feature of the Mississippi River and Tributaries Project, a landmark infrastructure project that aims to put into place a comprehensive system of levees, flood walls and channel improvement to protect communities along the Mississippi River basin.
Weeks proposed adding bank stabilization as a project feature to all 337 miles of the project. Efforts in Arkansas should follow the lead of successful efforts in other states, Weeks said.
"Louisiana has a very good success story when it comes to bank stabilization," Weeks said at the hearing. "We've got great concern with Arkansas."
The Mississippi River and Tributaries Project was originally authorized in 1928, after the Great Flood of 1927. It has no single completion date and protects about $2.5 trillion in property from floods.
The project may have issues ahead, according to Commissioner James Reeder. He warned of "significant financial challenges" facing the landmark project. Reeder expressed similar sentiment at the commission's low-water inspection trip in April.
"The problem is the (Mississippi River and Tributaries Project) piece of the pie ... there's just not enough funding," Reeder said at the hearing.
As of February 2025, funds required to complete all tributary improvements outlined in the project add up to $844 million, according to information presented at the hearing. Funds required for main stem improvements on the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers, excluding channel and tributary improvements, is $6.4 billion.
In fiscal year 2022, the project was funded to about $2 billion, stemming from two injections originating from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It's funding has flat-lined since then, going from $385 million to $368 million over fiscal years 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Reeder said the project requires $800 million per year to keep going at a "good rate."
Appropriations for fiscal year 2025, which ends in September, are "still being coordinated with the administration," according to a Corps spokesperson.
Reynold Meyer, vice president of the Southeast Arkansas Levee District, asked the Corps to create a "long-term gravel appropriations program" that would allow for proactive maintenance on around 180 miles of levee infrastructure along the Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers maintained by the district.
According to Meyer, gravel distribution is a part of the district's work in preventing levee slides, a slope failure along a levee usually caused by heavy rain. Gov. Sarah Sanders ordered an inventory of the Natural State's levees last year.
"The health of our levee system is vital not only to southeast Arkansas but to the entire Mississippi River," Meyer said at the hearing.
The Greenville public hearing was the commission's fourth stop on a five-stop tour along the river during its annual low-water inspection trip. Previous stops included St. Louis, Caruthersville, Mo. and Memphis. It's final stop on Thursday will be in Morgan City, La.
Lucas Dufalla is a Report for America Corps member. Financial support for this article came from the Community Journalism Project.