Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, Carolyn Maloney demand Gov. Tate Reeves' plan on water crisis funding

Leaders in Washington are pressing Gov. Tate Reeves on how he is going to spend billions in federal money in regards to Jackson's flooding and continued water crisis.

Mississippi Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Rep. Carolyn B. Malone​y, Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, sent a letter to Reeves on Monday requesting information on how the state plans to ​distribute more than $10 billion in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, including $429 million that was specifically allotted to enhance the state’s water infrastructure.

“We urge you to take action to protect the health and safety of Jackson residents and direct funding to Jackson immediately to fix this life and death issue,” the chairs said in a statement.  “This funding must be sustained to ensure that a safe and dependable drinking water system endures, especially in the face of climate change that will put even more stress on the city’s water infrastructure.”

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On Aug. 30, Biden declared the Jackson water crisis a federal emergency after torrential rain in the Jackson area left residents without reliable access to safe drinking water for more than two weeks.

“Scientists have concluded that the rise in coastal sea-levels and frequent flooding in Mississippi — which contributed to the water crisis in Jackson — are a direct result of climate change,” Thompson and Maloney said. “The city, the majority of whose residents are Black, has also suffered decades of disinvestment, and residents report they have not gone more than a month without a “boil water” notice in effect for over two years.”

The American Rescue Plan and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law made billions of dollars available to Mississippi to address a variety of problems. However, Thompson and Maloney said criteria used by the state​ to allocate federal funding may limit the funds Jackson receives compared to other locales, despite Jackson’s greater need.

“The Mississippi legislature’s decision to allocate federal funding from the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program on a matching basis with municipalities risks further perpetuating underinvestment in Jackson,” they said. “The cost of necessary maintenance to Jackson’s water distribution systems is projected to be as high as $1 billion. Under the matching formula Mississippi adopted for American Rescue Plan funds, Jackson would directly​ receive, at most, around $84​ million for water projects.”

According to the press release, Jackson officials said the state has repeatedly sought to limit funding for Jackson to address its unsafe water systems, including the state’s initial plan to bar communities of more than 4,000 people from competing for additional funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi Reps. demand Gov. Tate Reeves' water crisis funding plan