AG Hood to sue CoE in fed court

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood, who is a candidate for governor, announced that the state plans to sue the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in federal court over the economic and environmental effects from the openings of the Bonnet Carré Spillway that caused damages to the Mississippi Sound. Hood has notified the Corps that the state will be filing a suit in 60 days. He said coastal cities and counties might join the state as plaintiffs. The Corps opened the spillway for a record 143 days this year to relieve Mississippi River flooding, sending trillions of gallons of river water into Lake Pontchartrain and the Sound beyond. It’s crystal clear liability,” he said. “Mississippi doesn’t need to be a dumping ground. It’s just about put our seafood industry out of business.” The Bonnet Carré Spillway poured nearly six trillion gallons of fresh water into the Mississippi Sound. Now thousands of oysters and other wildlife are dying. Mississippi oyster farmers are seeing mortality rates up to more than 90 percent. The CoE has broad legal immunity over the spillway, but Hood said he does not believe it will apply in this case. (Source: Sun Herald 10/24/19) https://www.sunherald.com/news/politics-government/article236602353.html?#storylink=cpy