A federal judge has ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to consult with federal wildlife officials on the impact the opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway has on fish habitat.
The order, handed down on Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr., based in Gulfport, Miss., is part of a broader damages lawsuit filed by Mississippi Gulf Coast local governments, fishers, and vacation businesses in 2019 against the Corps and the Mississippi River Commission. The lawsuit charges they violated federal environmental laws in allowing the diversion's freshwater and nutrients to disrupt fishing in Mississippi Sound.
