State Rep. Rhett Marques (R-Enterprise) and State Sen. Chris Elliott (R-Josephine) plan to introduce companion bills to curtail mud dumping in Mobile Bay.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for maintaining the depth of Mobile's ship channel. The current plan is to dump up to 4.5 million cubic yards of dredge material into the bay each year for the next 20 years.
The proposed legislation would end in-bay disposal.
"I'm committed to protecting Mobile Bay and making sure Alabama leads on coastal stewardship," Marques said. "This legislation reflects conservative principles: protect what drives our economy, use taxpayer dollars wisely, and follow the science on what works."
U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) carried federal legislation in 2024 that required the Corps to use the majority of dredge material (70%) for beneficial use, such as restoration and shoreline protection. Marques and Elliott said that following that legislation, the Mobile District began referring to mud dumping as "beneficial use."
"Senator Britt has been a strong advocate for meaningful action to stop this practice and has paved the way for our legislation here on the state level," Elliott stated.
State legislation will build on the federal bill to prohibit dumping in the bay.
"Mobile Bay is one of Alabama's greatest economic assets, and protecting it strengthens, not weakens, our business climate," Elliott said. "These bills will ensure we maintain a navigable ship channel while adopting proven, dredge-management practices that benefit our coast instead of harming it. This is the right move for business, for coastal communities, and for the long-term health of Mobile Bay."
The lawmakers want to require the Corps to maintain the ship channel using "responsible disposal options," rather than the cheapest option for the federally funded operation.
"Banning the practice of in-Bay disposal of dredge material would likely increase the overall cost to maintain the Mobile Harbor Ship Channel, which is 100 percent federally funded per federal law," said Elliott. "Meanwhile, beneficial-use projects are made more affordable for non-federal sponsors of those projects — a non-federal project sponsor's cost-sharing obligation only applies to the difference between the standard cost for dredge disposal and the cost for the beneficial use activity."
"In short, stopping mud dumping will incentivize beneficial-use projects and increase the amount of shoreline protection and other beneficial restoration projects that can be done with dredge material," Elliott continued.
Elliott said the bill allows the business community and environmental advocates to work together.
"The right move for business, for coastal communities and for the long-term health of Mobile Bay," he added.
Elliott said the legislation is endorsed by local leaders and organizations including Bayou La Batre Mayor Henry Barnes, Spanish Fort Mayor Brad Bass, Daphne Mayor Robin LeJeune, Baldwin Realtors, Alabama Beaches, The Gulf Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Point Clear Property Owners Association, the Fort Morgan Civic Association, the Little Lagoon Preservation Society, Alabama Commercial Fishermen's Association LLC, East Alabama Wild Seafood, Admiral Shellfish Company, Bama Bay Oyster Farm and the Organized Seafood Association of Alabama.
"I am for protecting our bay," LeJeune said.
"It allows for dredging for the new deeper ship channel for improved trade and commerce for the entire State of Alabama and U.S.," Bass told 1819 News. "But also allows the dredge material to be used for marsh creation, shoreline protection/creation, and even a commercial use, like in other areas around the U.S.
"The City of Spanish Fort has a new passive park being built (Valor Park) that will have a living shoreline," he continued. Material like this would allow similar projects like ours all along Mobile Bay."
Mobile Baykeeper has been at the forefront of efforts to protect Mobile Bay. Executive director William Strickland told 1819 News he is grateful to see real leadership on the matter from both Elliott and Marques.
"This mess started because a federal agency stopped listening to the people who actually live and work on Mobile Bay, the fishermen, the folks who make their living on the water, the scientists who've spent their careers studying it, and the families whose way of life is tied to the Bay," Strickland stated. "Instead, the Corps decided it could pick winners and losers and coastal communities were told they'd just have to be the losers. That's not right. These elected officials are doing what they were sent to Montgomery to do: stand up for their people and protect our rights. We're hopeful Senator Britt will stand with the people of coastal Alabama in Washington and help see this through at the federal level."
Elliott and Marques will come together for an official announcement of the proposed legislation at 10:30 a.m. on January 12 at the Fairhope Municipal Pier.
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