NATCHEZ — Members of the St. Catherine Creek Project Committee decided Thursday to begin drafting a bill in hopes of acquiring federal funding for the estimated $55 million project.

The committee will work in conjunction with the National Resources Conservation Service in drafting a bill requesting $19 million for their plans to place five dam-like structures called weirs along an 11-and-a-half mile section of the creek.

The weirs will cause the dammed portions of the creek to flood, allowing enough depth for canoeing, kayaking and fishing, said committee member and City Engineer David Gardner.

“What we want to do is have a lake-like atmosphere year round,” Gardner said.

Members agreed it is best to request funding in increments rather than seek one lump sum.

“Working on the bill is absolutely the first priority,” committee member Brent Bourland said. “We’ve got to do all the work by putting it together in one piece and handing it to (legislators).”

The committee envisions St. Catherine’s Creek as a destination for recreation and economic development, said chairman Tony Byrne, also former mayor of Natchez.

The second and third weirs of the 11-and-a-half mile project, which account for the committee’s $19 million request, are upstream of U.S. 61 South and upstream of the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians, Gardner said.

The first, fourth and fifth weirs are upstream of Lower Woodville Road, downstream of Liberty Road and upstream of Natchez Trace Parkway.

Gardner said the project will not only boost recreation opportunities in the area, but also curb bank erosion and improve water quality.

“The water quality will be at a much higher level than it is today,” Gardner said. “We’ll tighten up discharges and reveal those who are illegally dumping into the creek.”

The committee was given $75,000 by the Mississippi Development Authority to conduct a feasibility study. However, a required detailed environmental assessment has not been conducted, said committee member Jim Barnett, director of the historic properties division for the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

The committee hopes to fund the assessment using the $19 million it hopes is granted to them.

Gardner said Sens. Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker have expressed interest in the project. Gardner and other committee members will travel to Washington, D.C., in February to meet with the legislators for further discussion.