Alabama Lawmakers Target Mobile Bay Dredging
The Alabama House of Representatives unanimously passed HB181 on January 27, legislation that aims to restrict the way the Mobile Engineer District disposes of dredged material in Mobile Bay.
Known as the “Save Our Bay” bill, HB181 would require “personal annually dredging over 1 million cubic yards of material in coastal areas” to use at least 70 percent of dredged material beneficially. The bill then defines the beneficial use of dredged material as “the productive and positive use of dredged material, including fish and wildlife habitat development, human recreation and industrial and commercial uses.” Furthermore, the bill stipulates that the beneficial use of dredged material “does not include the deposition of dredged material into public waters unless that deposition is part of a shoreline restoration or marsh creation project.”
The bill also directs the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to adopt rules implementing and administering the legislation, including updating the Alabama Coastal Area Management Program as needed.
At issue is the Mobile District’s practice, through its dredging contractors, of “thin-layer placement” of dredged material in the open waters of Mobile Bay, which opponents have labeled “mud dumping.” The issue goes back to 2024, when the Mobile Baykeeper, a Mobile, Ala.-area environmental advocacy group, threatened to sue the Corps over the practice. Since then, the issue has drawn the attention of Alabama legislators, with state Rep. Rhett Marques (R-Enterprise) sponsoring the bill and 13 other representatives signing as co-sponsors.
“Today’s unanimous vote proves we can stop irresponsible mud dumping in Mobile Bay while protecting our strong Alabama economy,” Marques said after the House vote. “I am proud to sponsor this legislation and pass it through the Alabama House of Representatives.”
Opponents of the practice argue it increases cloudiness of the bay water and threatens native wildlife, like oysters and Gulf sturgeon.
At press time, the bill was progressing through state Senate committees.
The issue has drawn such public debate in Alabama that Brig. Gen. Zachary L. Miller, commander of the Corps’ South Atlantic Division, released an open letter on the Mobile District’s website just days before the Alabama House vote.
Miller first sought to establish the scientific basis of thin-layer placement.
“It is a measured, monitored and science-based sediment management practice designed to mirror natural sediment processes that have shaped Mobile Bay over thousands of years,” he said. “This practice has been used in Mobile Bay for more than a decade under state and federal permits, with continuous environmental monitoring and regulatory oversight.”
Miller also pointed to a multi-agency working group in 2014, which included Mobile Baykeeper, he said, that identified thin-layer placement as “an acceptable beneficial use practice for Mobile Bay.”
Miller said the Corps “respects the role of public dialogue and environmental advocacy,” but he added that policy decisions ought to be informed by science and carry a “full understanding of environmental tradeoffs.”
“Policy outcomes based on incomplete or misleading characterizations risk unintended consequences that could undermine both environmental stewardship and economic sustainability,” Miller said.
