U.S. Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	Contact: Chris Gallegos
January 18, 2012	(202) 224-5054

COCHRAN: $5.4 MILLION IN USDA EMERGENCY AID
WILL SUPPORT DISASTER RECOVERY IN MISSISSIPPI

Congress Appropriated Funding for Emergency Watershed, Forest Restoration Works

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today said he is pleased that Mississippi landowners and communities will have access to more than $5.46 million in emergency funding to restore land and property damaged in floods, tornadoes and other natural disasters last year.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday released its allocation of $308.0 million in federal emergency funding approved by Congress last November as part of an appropriations package to fund the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Nationally, the USDA is releasing $215.9 million for the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program, $80 million for the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) and $12 million for the Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP).

Mississippi will receive a total of $5,465,098 in USDA disaster assistance: $3.05 million in EWP funding, $2.36 million in EFRP funding and $52,000 in ECP funds.

“A number of recovery and restoration projects in Mississippi have been on hold due to a lack of funding in these emergency accounts. Mississippians survived devastating tornadoes and historic floods last year, and these USDA programs can be useful in restoring lands and natural resources,” Cochran said.

“I am pleased that these emergency funds can now be used to implement projects that will help flooded areas and communities like Smithville get back on their feet,” he added.

Cochran, vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, supported the approval of the USDA emergency appropriations funding under the restrictions set in the Budget Control Act enacted last summer.

The EWP is an emergency recovery program administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The $3.05 million for Mississippi can be used for a variety of activities, including stream debris removal, eroded bank restoration, levee and drainage facility repairs.

The Farm Services Administration runs the EFRP, and the $2.36 million allocation to Mississippi is specifically linked to tornado damage incurred last April. This program is used to restore nonindustrial private forest land damaged by natural disasters.

The FSA will also administer the $52,000 designated for Mississippi through the ECP program, which is intended to help farmers and ranchers restore storm-damaged farm and range land.

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