Mississippi Gains $2.7 Million for Watershed Protection

Press Release

U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today confirmed that Mississippi will receive $2.7 million in federal funds to continue the state's recovery from massive tornado damage inflicted last April.

The funding for Mississippi is derived from FY2015 agriculture appropriations approved by Congress for the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The state will apply the EWP resources to road stabilization, utilities protection, debris removal and other work associated with damage caused by the more than 20 tornadoes that swept through Mississippi on April 28, 2014.

"Mississippi continues to make progress in recovering from the fatal tornadoes that did so much damage last April. The Emergency Watershed Protection program is another tool the state can use to restore our state," Cochran said. "I'm pleased the Department of Agriculture is supporting this work in Mississippi."

The EWP is an emergency recovery program administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service that provides on-site technical and financial assistance to communities recovering from natural disasters.

Cochran, as a member of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Development Appropriations Subcommittee, worked last year to secure funding for EWP, which is rarely included in budget requests sought by the Administration. The FY2015 omnibus appropriations bill enacted in December provided $78.5 million for this program.

As ranking member on the Senate Agriculture Committee in the 113th Congress, Cochran also worked to reauthorize the EWP within the 2014 farm bill enacted last year.

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