Vicksburg, Miss…The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ is enforcing safety rules for all operators of Off-Road Vehicles (ORVs) at its Mississippi lakes at Arkabutla, Enid, Grenada, and Sardis. These rules apply to any motorized vehicle designed primarily for, or capable of, cross-country travel on or over land, water, sand, snow, ice, marsh, swampland, or any other natural terrain.
Anyone operating, riding on, or being carried by an ORV must at all times wear a U.S. Department of Transportation-approved helmet. No person may operate an ORV in streams, creeks, ditches, pools, ponds, lakes, wetlands, impoundments, or other permanent, intermittent, or seasonal water bodies, except to ford at the lowest practicable safe speed, in a manner to cause the least damage to banks and beds, when necessary to continue travel.
No person may operate an ORV between the hours of one hour after sunset and one hour prior to sunrise, except for purposes of hunting and fishing only.
Drivers must possess a state-issued driver’s license or a certificate of completion of an ATV Safety Course as provided in Miss. Code Ann § 63-31-3, except in an emergency situation.
No drivers may be under 16 years of age and all vehicles shall be operated in accordance with posted restrictions and regulations and in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws at each site.
ORVs include, but are not limited to, all-terrain vehicles, trail bikes, motorcycles, all terrain cycles, any motorized wheel or tracked vehicle, four-wheel drive vehicles (jeeps, pickups, sport-utility vehicles, etc), and amphibious vehicles.
If you have any questions, please call the Mississippi Project Management Office at (662) 578-3873, Monday through Friday from 7:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M. For further information you may also call any of the lake field offices: Arkabutla Lake (662) 562-6261, Sardis Lake (662) 563-4531, Enid Lake (662) 563-4571, or Grenada Lake (662) 226-5911.
Release no. 15-056