# Understanding the Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative Act

The Mississippi River is in trouble, and this bill creates a new federal program to fix it. The MRRRI Act establishes a coordinated effort to restore and protect the Mississippi River and the communities that depend on it, from Minnesota down to Louisiana and everywhere in between.

Here's what's actually happening: Right now, the Mississippi River is facing serious problems. Wetlands have been destroyed, pollution has created a massive dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, invasive species are taking over, and flooding is getting worse. The bill recognizes that over 55 million people live along the Mississippi River, more than 20 million drink water from it, and it supports a $500 billion economy with 1.5 million jobs. The river also provides a critical migration route for 60 percent of North American birds. The bill argues that existing federal programs aren't coordinated well enough or funded adequately to address these problems, especially for rural communities and communities of color that have been hit hardest.

To tackle this, the bill creates a new Mississippi River National Program Office within the Environmental Protection Agency, headed by a director with expertise in river restoration. This office will coordinate work across multiple federal agencies and develop plans for restoration projects. The program focuses on six main areas: improving water quality and reducing pollution, making communities more resilient to floods and storms, protecting wildlife habitat, stopping invasive species, improving communication between agencies and communities, and collecting scientific data to measure progress. The bill allows federal agencies and non-federal organizations—including state and local governments, tribes, nonprofits, and universities—to apply for grants to carry out restoration projects. The program will publish annual reports so the public can track what's being accomplished and where the money is going.

MRRRI Act

McCollum, Betty

Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative Act or the MRRRI Act This bill establishes the Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative to protect and restore the Mississippi River Corridor. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must establish the initiative and the Mississippi River National Program Office to carry out the initiative. The office must (1) coordinate agency actions to protect and restore the Mississippi River Corridor; (2) develop, implement, and update the initiative, actionable goals, and an action plan required by the bill; (3) make updates and information available on a public website; and (4) submit annual reports to Congress. Additionally, the bill outlines the focus areas that each project carried out under the initiative must address, such as improving water quality and protecting wildlife habitat. The office may make grants to certain nonfederal entities to carry out eligible projects. The bill directs the EPA to include the initiative as a separate budget line item in its annual budget submission. Next, the bill directs the Department of the Interior to coordinate with the office to establish four Mississippi River Corridor research centers within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). These research centers must, among other duties, conduct scientific research on the focus areas of the initiative. The bill also directs the USGS to host a science forum to share current science and identify data gaps related to the ecological health of the Mississippi River Corridor. The USGS must, within two years of the forum, develop a science plan for the initiative.