MRRRI Key Components

Modeled after the successful Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, The Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative (MRRRI) would create the interstate framework needed to reverse the decline of the Mississippi River by working to:

• Improve water quality by reducing the levels of polluted runoff, excess nutrients, and sediments from entering the river system;
• Improve community resilience by restoring riparian ecosystems to a state in which they can minimize flood and storm risks;
• Restore wildlife habitats along the Mississippi River through methods such as reducing the spread of aquatic invasive species in the river system;
• Prioritize these efforts to relieve the disproportionate impacts of the river’s degradation felt by communities of color, rural communities, and economically disadvantaged communities.

The MRRRI budget would deliver funding to projects in the mainstem Mississippi River States, including through grants to states and local governments. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would work in close collaboration with relevant Federal agencies, States, Tribes, local government, and non-governmental organizations to develop the MRRRI Action Plan and identify funding recipients.