To maintain certain depths in the shipping channel, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredges approximately 4.1 million cubic yards of sediment from the stretch
of the channel in Mobile Bay annually. Since 2014, the majority of that material has been put back in the bay using a method called thin layer placement, where no more than 12" of sediment is spread out at least 2,500 feet away from the channel.
McDonald says the Corps will continue with that plan for future maintenance dredging after it finishes deepening and widening the channel next March. McDonald says they expect the quantity of sediment to increase by approximately 15%. Mobile Baykeeper has recently called that disposal method into question and threatened legal action.
McDonald disagrees with that prediction. He says the Corps knows where sea grass beds are in the bay and does not place dredge material on top of them. McDonald also pointed out that approximately 2.6 million cubic yards of sediment naturally enters Mobile Bay from the rivers every year. Baykeeper says putting dredged sediment back in the bay threatens Gulf Sturgeon and pointed to 2023 research showing hundreds spend their winters in the bay. McDonald says Mobile Bay is not considered a critical habitat for Gulf Sturgeon.
Dredging Mobile Bay Lawsuit Environmental Shipping Channel Material Backlash
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