County focusing on storm water plan

Jul. 20, 2022

Source: Rankin County News by Charles Bailey

RANKIN- Rankin officials are investing approximately $26 million in federal funding to address numerous storm water management needs throughout the county.

Rankin County received approximately $30 million in federal funding through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). About $4 million has been used for permitted projects under the Act, and the remainder will go toward the implementation of the County-Wide Storm Water Management Plan, which was adopted in 2018.

"The Board of Supervisors has identified between 50 and 100 critical locations across Rankin County for potential use of ARPA funding, Board Attorney Craig Slay said. "A number of project locations have been prioritized and are in some stage of preparation for construction, among them a project targeting a portion of the Mill Creek Watershed Basin and a project targeting drainage areas near the Oak Grove Subdivision on the west side of Old Fannin Road," he said.

"There are also a number of targeted projects that will benefit each and every supervisor district in the county that are in some form of planning and development. These projects will positively impact storm water management issues throughout Rankin County.'

State funding will also be sought.

"The state Legislature has established a program designed to match or partially match investments being made by local governments for qualifying projects," Slay said. "Rankin County is well positioned to garner state funding based on the strength and quality of the county's ARPA plans.

"The supervisors have done an outstanding job of identifying uses of its ARPA funding that will qualify for additional match funding from the state. With matching funding from the state, the county will be able to dramatically expand its storm water management activities beyond what could have possibly been envisioned when the plan was adopted in 2018.'"

ARPA funding will not fully fund implementation of the Storm Water Act, Slay said.

"The totality of the storm water management issues in Rankin County greatly exceed the amount of ARPA funding, local and state, that the could be acquired in the present term, county's plan, therefore, is a long term solution that will require significant additional investment into the foreseeable future. The projects identified have been selected primarily because the board desired to move quickly to implement its storm water plan, and it selected roughly five projects that were elevated in priority due to the critical need for action."

The Rankin County Storm Water Management Plan was developed by Waggoner Engineering, Slay said.

"Over many years, the county has made numerous attempts to secure help with its storm water management needs, specifically at the federal level, and, while at times the county has received limited federal help with small point source issues, that help was often short-lived and mostly ineffective," Slay explained.

"The supervisors have wisely seen the need to have a detailed, scientifically sound and wide-ranging storm water management plan that also includes our municipalities so that our federal partners better understand our needs and our requests for assistance. By having a well-received plan in place, the county has better positioned itself to qualify for badly needed federal assistance with our storm water projects. The future looks very bright for Rankin County from a storm water management perspective.“