The US Army Corps of Engineers reportedly let out about 10.3 trillion gallons of polluted freshwater, killing as many as 153 dolphins
Wildlife activists say the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers failed to get approval before it opened a Louisiana spillway for a record 123 days, potentially killing or injuring scores of the region’s beloved bottlenose dolphins.
Members of the Mississippi Sound Coalition — including the cities of Biloxi, D’Iberville, and Pass Christian — filed a federal lawsuit arguing that the Corps should have first gotten approval from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration before twice opening the spillway in 2019, the Clarion Ledger reported .
The openings reportedly let out about 10.3 trillion gallons of polluted freshwater into the ocean, killing as many as 153 dolphins — compared with 91 deaths in the wake of the 2010 BP oil spill, according to NOLA.com.
Marine mammals can develop skin lesions, infections, and other health problems when exposed to low-salinity water.
The Corps reportedly opened the spillway because it feared that the Mississippi River could overflow into parts of New Orleans. Even after opening the channel, water levels rose to within just five feet of the city’s flood walls.
But the Coalition said the Corps should find other ways to reduce the threat of flooding, adding that the Marine Mammal Protection Act requires that entities receive a permit before disturbing the local dolphin population.
“Scientists have referred to the bottlenose dolphin as a sentinel of the health of the whole marine ecosystem,” Gerald Blessey, manager of the coalition and former mayor of Biloxi, said at a Monday news conference, per NOLA.
“So the dolphins are telling us something. We must listen to the dolphins.”