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Corps of Engineers appeals ruling on spillway openings

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is appealing a federal judge’s ruling that it must consult with federal fisheries experts before opening the Bonnet Carre spillway.
Credit: AP
FILE - In a Friday, May 10, 2019 file photo, workers open bays of the Bonnet Carre Spillway, to divert rising water from the Mississippi River to Lake Pontchartrain, upriver from New Orleans, in Norco, La. The Army Corps of Engineers expects to begin closing the Bonnet Carré Spillway north of New Orleans sometime in the second or third week of July. The corps began opening the Bonnet Carré Spillway on May 10 to relieve stress on levees protecting New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge's ruling that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must consult with federal fisheries experts before opening a spillway that protects New Orleans from Mississippi River flooding is being appealed.

The Bonnet Carre spillway control structure is upriver from New Orleans. Opening the spillway diverts Mississippi River water to Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne, after which it flows to the Mississippi Sound in the Gulf of Mexico.

It is rarely used, but when the river is high, opening it eases pressure on the levees that protect New Orleans.

However it also carries pollutants and nutrients into the sound and reduces salinity. The result can be damage to oyster, fish and crab habitats, and algae blooms that affect marine life and beaches.

Coastal Mississippi governments and business interests sued the Corps over the openings in 2019, saying the it was legally required to consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service before opening the spillway. In January, U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. of Gulfport, Mississippi, agreed.

The Corps filed a notice of appeal Monday at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. Written arguments have not yet been filed.

Robert Wiygul, an attorney representing coastal Mississippi interests, said in January that the decision would not preclude the Corps from opening the spillway should high water levels threaten the city.

He said the judge’s order meant the Corps must discuss ways of mitigating the damage to fish habitat caused by opening the Bonnet Carre.

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