Coast leaders push Congress to protect Mississippi Sound from Bonnet Carré Spillway openings

Coast leaders push Congress to protect Mississippi Sound from Bonnet Carré Spillway openings

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) — Members of the Mississippi Sound Coalition met Tuesday at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College with U.S. Reps. Mike Ezell and Trent Kelly, urging them to support the proposed Northern Gulf Estuary Protection Act.

The legislation would require the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to take a longer-term approach to managing Mississippi River flooding rather than relying on emergency spillway openings.

Adam Telle, assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, attended the meeting and heard testimony on the impact of repeated Bonnet Carré Spillway openings, which send freshwater, sediment and pollution into the Mississippi Sound.

“The fundamentals are really good for this organization,” Telle said. “We work every day to try to make a difference.”

Fifth-generation oysterman Ryan Bradley said the 2019 and 2020 openings devastated the oyster industry, forcing some fishermen out of business.

“Unfortunately, many of them aren’t in business today,” Bradley said. “It took a good 5 to 6 years for our oyster to recover.”

Bradley added that without action, the long-term outlook remains uncertain. “If we don’t try, you know, who knows where we’ll end up,” he said. “Change the way the Army Corps of Engineers operate the spillway, so we’ve got to start looking for long-term solutions.”

The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies reported that the 2019 spillway openings killed 153 dolphins and more than 250 sea turtles.

Mississippi Sound Coalition Managing Counsel Gerald Blessey said the bill would modernize the Bonnet Carré and Morganza spillways in Louisiana to better manage rising Mississippi River water before emergency openings are needed.

“Manage the Mississippi River in such a way that you protect people from floods and you protect the environment from being destroyed,” Blessey said.

Blessey warned against inaction. “History will condemn any last-minute congressional efforts,” he said.

Rep. Ezell said he supports any solution that could reduce the impact of future spillway openings on the Mississippi Sound.

“Anything we can do to improve or keep that from happening again like we saw in 2019 — the water that was just dumped into the Mississippi Sound — anything I think we can do to improve upon that, I fully support it,” Ezell said.

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