Current:Home > ScamsArmy Corps of Engineers failed to protect dolphins in 2019 spillway opening, lawsuit says-LoTradeCoin
Army Corps of Engineers failed to protect dolphins in 2019 spillway opening, lawsuit says
View Date:2024-12-23 14:54:26
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers polluted the Mississippi Sound and put bottlenose dolphins in harm's way when it opened the Bonnet Carré Spillway for several weeks in 2019, local Mississippi governments and business groups said in a lawsuit.
The agency opened the spillway in the 2019 floods as water levels rose, at one point rising 6 inches in 24 hours. It discharged about 10.5 trillion cubic feet of polluted water from the Mississippi River, the lawsuit said, severely injuring and killing bottlenose dolphins, which live in salt water.
Harrison County, the three cities of Biloxi, D'Iberville, and Pass Christian, the Mississippi Hotel and Lodging Association, and Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United filed the lawsuit Monday against the Army Corps of Engineers in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.
"The massive volumes of polluted fresh water diverted through the Bonnet Carré Spillway and into the Mississippi Sound caused direct and indirect mortality of resident bottlenose dolphins," the complaint, obtained by USA TODAY, said. "Many of the dolphins that did survive developed extremely painful and debilitating skin lesions."
Bonnet Carré Spillway opened in 2019 floods
Opening the spillway in 2019 released a flood of polluted fresh water from the Mississippi River through the Lake Pontchartrain Basin and into the Mississippi Sound, the lawsuit said, "wreaking havoc on the natural resources, communities, and businesses on the Mississippi Gulf Coast."
The lawsuit argues the Marine Mammal Protection Act requires federal agencies like the Corps to acquire a permit from the U.S. Department of Commerce when its actions may disrupt behavioral patterns of marine life.
Local Mississippi governments and business groups sued the Corps in 2019 over the spillway openings, and the judge ruled in favor of the suit in January 2023, stating the Corps must consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service before opening the spillway.
Lawsuit: 166 dolphin strandings in 2019,
The lawsuit alleges the spillway was opened for the longest time in 2019 since it was completed in the early 1930s at over 120 days. It was opened Feb. 27, 2019, through April 11, 2019, and again in mid-May through July that year.
As a result, the salt content dropped drastically in the water along the Mississippi coast, which can cause skin lesions, abnormal blood chemistry, secondary infections, or death for bottlenose dolphins, the lawsuit said, depending on how low the water's salt content is and for how long.
The lawsuit said the two years that saw the highest number of dolphin "strandings," which means they are either alive on the beach and unable to return to water or dead, in the Mississippi Sound was in 2011 at 147 dolphins and 2019 at 166 dolphins. Both years saw major flooding and use of the spillway.
'We need to look for alternatives that can protect everyone’s interests'
Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann has said the Corps of Engineers ignored its own procedures in opening Bonnet Carré Spillway in 2019, causing an environmental and economic disaster.
Robert Wiygul, one of the attorneys representing the Mississippi Sound Coalition, said the group and Mississippi leaders have no conflict with protecting New Orleans.
“We do have a conflict with the Corps of Engineers and the Corps’ position that the Mississippi Sound and our dolphins have to be sacrificed to prevent flooding,” Wiygul said in a statement Wednesday. “We need to look for alternatives that can protect everyone’s interests, but the Corps refuses to even discuss them. The Mississippi Sound Coalition is working on win-win solutions that protect everyone.”
Contributing: The Associated Press
veryGood! (266)
Related
- Get $103 Worth of Tatcha Skincare for $43.98 + 70% Off Flash Deals on Elemis, Josie Maran & More
- Man accused of killing nursing student Laken Riley pleads not guilty in Georgia court
- Retired 4-star Navy admiral allegedly awarded government contract in exchange for job
- Don’t throw out that old iPhone! Here’s where you can exchange used tech for dollars
- California voters reject proposed ban on forced prison labor in any form
- LGBTQ communities, allies around US taking steps to promote safety at Pride 2024 events
- Dallas Stars coach Peter DeBoer rips reporter who called his team 'lifeless' in Game 5 loss
- Bisons catcher Henry hit by backswing, hospitalized; Triple-A game is called after ‘scary incident’
- Wreck of Navy destroyer USS Edsall known as 'the dancing mouse' found 80 years after sinking
- Pig organ transplants are 'not going to be easy,' researcher says after latest setback.
Ranking
- The USDA is testing raw milk for the avian flu. Is raw milk safe?
- Alleged 'serial slingshot shooter' dies a day after bonding out of California jail
- Malaysian climber who died in a cave near the top of North America’s tallest mountain is identified
- Emma Chamberlain Celebrates Her High School Graduation at Age 23 With Heartwarming Photos
- 'Underbanked' households more likely to own crypto, FDIC report says
- Police in Maryland search for registered sex offender in the death of a parole officer
- Trump’s attacks on US justice system after guilty verdict could be useful to autocrats like Putin
- Downtown Atlanta water service disrupted, forcing business closings, water boil notice
Recommendation
-
Full House Star Dave Coulier Shares Stage 3 Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Diagnosis
-
At least 50 deaths blamed on India heat wave in just a week as record temperatures scorch the country
-
UVA to pay $9 million related to shooting that killed 3 football players, wounded 2 students
-
Pregnant Hailey Bieber Gives Shoutout to Baby Daddy Justin Bieber
-
‘Maybe Happy Ending’ review: Darren Criss shines in one of the best musicals in years
-
World War II veterans take off for France for 80th anniversary of D-Day
-
Dallas Stars coach Peter DeBoer rips reporter who called his team 'lifeless' in Game 5 loss
-
Texas Supreme Court rejects challenge brought by 20 women denied abortions, upholds ban