Enviro groups sue CoE again

Louisiana-based and national environmental groups are suing the US Army Corps of Engineers (CoE) over alleged failure to consider the ecological impacts of repeated openings of the Bonnet Carre’ Spillway along the Mississippi River that could cause harm to sea turtles, manatees and other threatened marine species. New Orleans-based Healthy Gulf and the national group Defenders of Wildlife filed a federal lawsuit last week in the Southern District of Mississippi that says the CoE violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to consult with federal wildlife agencies about the harm opening the spillway may cause to marine species. The fact that the CoE had to open the Spillway four times in three years is unprecedented and has impacted the environment “never contemplated” when it was built almost a century ago, said Cynthia Sarthou, Healthy Gulf’s executive director. The CoE does not comment on ongoing litigation. (Source: NOLA.com 04/20/20) https://www.nola.com/news/environment/article_2dfd8866-8349-11ea-9b5e-6ff3328e7163.html.