A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must consult with federal fisheries experts on the effects of opening a spillway that protects New Orleans from Mississippi River flooding, but threatens coastal Mississippi marine life and tourism.
The Bonnet Carre spillway control structure is upriver from New Orleans. It was used infrequently after it was completed in the 1930s. But after being opened once in 2018, it was opened twice in 2019 — the first time it was opened in consecutive years and the first time it was used twice in one year.
