Army Corps Denies Public Hearing on Mobile Bay Dredging Plan That Keeps ‘Mud Dumping’ Option

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has declined to hold a public hearing on its proposed maintenance dredging plan for Mobile Harbor, a plan that would retain open-water thin-layer placement as one of the options for disposing of dredged material.

Environmental groups and affected businesses refer to that practice as “mud dumping.” Bama Bay Oyster Farm owner Jackie Wilson said she has already experienced significant losses tied to the practice, after dredged sediment was dispersed into the bay near her operation.

How the Hearing Decision Works

Under the Corps’ regulations on public hearings, 33 C.F.R. Part 327, a district reviews written requests for a hearing and decides whether they raise issues that cannot be addressed through the written comment record. The Mobile District has said it made its decision in writing after reviewing the hearing requests, public comments and the existing record, and concluded the requests did not raise new facts or unresolved issues that required a formal hearing.

With the Mobile Harbor deepening and widening project complete, the channel is now in its routine operations-and-maintenance phase, in which the Corps must periodically dredge to keep the federal shipping channel at its authorized depth. The Corps has said thin-layer placement is not proposed for the current maintenance cycle but that it is keeping the option available for future use, describing it as a form of beneficial use of dredged material. Mobile Baykeeper, which has campaigned against open-water placement in the bay, disputes that characterization.