Mississippi Sound Coalition files lawsuit against Army Corps to protect marine mammals

The Mississippi Sound Coalition has officially filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

This is now the second lawsuit to be filed about the Bonnet Carre Spillway.

“I think the most important thing that we found out was that the water coming from the Mississippi River, which is polluted, was actually causing damage and was killing the dolphins,” said Dr. Moby Solangi, executive director of the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies.

In 2010, 91 dolphins died – double the yearly average due to the BP oil spill. The coast thought they had seen the worst.

Then, three times the average washed up on the beach when the Bonnet Carre was opened in 2019.

“These animals, being on top of the food chain, serve as a biological indicator of the entire ecosystem,” said Solangi. “So, when they start dying, that means that the ecosystem that is supporting them is also dying.”

The Institute for Marine Mammals Studies has noticed a growing amount of starving dolphins – as well as ones with fresh-water lesions on their bodies.

The Mississippi Sound Coalition is looking to preserve the ecosystem through the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Statistics gathered by IMMS for the Mississippi Sound Coalition show that more dolphins died in years when the Bonnie Carre Spillway was open, however, the Mississippi Sound Coalition has to prove that the Bonnet Carre Spillway is the reason those dolphins are dead.

Established in 1972, this act prohibits the harassment, taking, or killing of marine mammals.

The coalition wants the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to perform their due process before deciding the only option is to open the Bonnet Carre Spillway.

They want to see alternatives.

“You should go through this process first to see whether or not you’re eligible for such a taking,” said Gerald Blessey, manager of the Mississippi Sound Coalition. “We don’t think they’re eligible for taking the whole marine mammal habitat in the Mississippi Sound. We don’t think they’ve shown the evidence that that’s the only thing they can do.”

The coalition is suing for declaratory and injunctive relief.

All claims are being made by Mississippi Sound Coalition, Harrison County, and IMMS.