Louisiana enters Mississippi lawsuits over Bonnet Carré but questions Corps flood policy
The state of Louisiana has stepped into two lawsuits filed in Mississippi over operation of the Bonnet Carré Spillway.
Secretary of State Michael Watson and a coalition of local government and business groups have filed separate lawsuits in U.S. District Court in Gulfport against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Mississippi River Commission, which oversee spillway operations.
The lawsuits are aimed at preventing damage to water quality and aquatic life in the Mississippi Sound during more frequent and lengthy openings of the spillway. Representatives for the state of Louisiana have said in legal filings that they want to protect life and property in their state.
But Louisiana representatives are not saying Mississippi Coast residents are wrong in calling for more study of how the Corps operates the Bonnet Carré.
“Instead, while Louisiana supports the operation of the Bonnet Carré Spillway to protect lives and property, it also recognizes that the Corps could take steps to manage water resources differently during high water events,” Louisiana’s motion to intervene in the case says.
For now, U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. has agreed to add Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority as a defendant, but his order says the state’s status could change as the lawsuit unfolds.
The spillway sends polluted Mississippi River water into Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi Sound beyond to prevent flooding in and around New Orleans.
Recent openings have decimated oyster beds, are believed to have sickened sea turtles and dolphins and spread blue-green algae through the Mississippi Sound during the tourist season of 2019. The river water not only carries high loads of oxygen-eating nutrients from farms but also reduces optimum salinity levels for oysters, dolphins and other species.
The Bonnet Carré opened for an unprecedented 123 days in 2019 and has now opened for a record-setting three years in a row.
The lawsuits contend the Corps has failed to study the environmental impact of the frequent openings as required by federal law. The Corps is asking Guirola to dismiss the case.
“Louisiana could be prejudiced if it is not allowed to intervene because decisions made in this lawsuit may impact Louisiana and its residents,” Guirola wrote.
In its motion to intervene, Guirola noted, Louisiana does not necessarily agree with the Corps’ request to dismiss the case.
