On the shimmering waters of Mobile Bay, a storm is brewing—not from the Gulf’s infamous tempests, but from a heated debate over the future of Alabama’s most iconic estuary. At the heart of the controversy is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ plan to deepen and widen the Port of Mobile’s shipping channel, a move that promises economic growth but has united a diverse group of local voices in opposition to the Corps’ method of disposing dredged material.
According to NPR, the Army Corps has long permitted the dumping of dredge material—essentially the mud and sediment scooped from the bay’s bottom—back into Mobile Bay itself. While this practice supports the port’s ability to welcome larger container ships, especially those now traversing the expanded Panama Canal, it’s raising alarms among fishermen, environmentalists, and even some elected officials who fear for the health of the bay and the livelihoods it supports.
Patrick Gormandy, a 47-year-old shrimper who has worked these waters since childhood, described the mounting challenges facing his industry. “It seems that every year is worse than the last. This one’s the worst one on record,” he told NPR, his voice tinged with frustration as he unloaded a meager catch. Gormandy blames the decline in part on the Corps’ dredging and dumping, saying, “They have just ruined all the places that we work.” While he acknowledges other factors—overpopulation on land and frequent sewage spills—he insists, “As a fisherman, I understand why they should do that, but what they’re doing with the material is our problem. We want to leave this bay better than we found it. It’s going to be hard to do that.”
Gormandy is not alone in his concerns. The coalition opposing the Corps’ dumping practices is a rare alliance of commercial and recreational fishers, property owners, environmental groups like Mobile Baykeeper, and Republican officials. Their shared goal: to stop the dumping of dredged material in Mobile Bay and seek alternative uses, such as coastal restoration or offshore disposal in the open Gulf.
Bayou la Batre Mayor Henry Barnes, whose town is renowned as the seafood capital of Alabama, has emerged as a vocal critic. “We’re not against economic development. I’d love to see Mobile grow, especially the port. But there’s a right way and a wrong way to do it, and the way they are doing it is wrong,” Barnes told NPR. He’s even traveled to Washington, D.C., to press lawmakers, including Senator Katie Britt, to scrutinize the Corps’ practices and consider compensation for fishermen suffering losses. “We’re fighting foreign imports, domestic regulations out the wazoo. I mean, it’s crazy. But yet, they can come and just dump on us? You know, that’s ridiculous. Makes no sense to me.”
Mobile Baykeeper, the environmental group at the forefront of the opposition, has filed a notice of intent to sue the Corps under the Endangered Species Act. Executive director William Strickland, as reported by NPR, has been monitoring the offshore dredging operation closely. On a recent trip across the bay, Strickland pointed out the dark plume where dredged mud spews into the water, noting, “Now we’re downwind, so you can smell how—that’s the smell of low-oxygen dead stuff. And then you can see the birds trying to pick whatever they can out of that heaping mess.” Baykeeper’s position is clear: “We can keep our channel open. We can have a healthy ecosystem. We want to have both.”
The Army Corps of Engineers, for its part, staunchly defends its approach. Justin McDonald, chief of civil works programs and project management for the Corps’ Mobile District, explained to NPR that sediment naturally “renourishes the system, and you need to keep the sediment in the system. It’s not good to haul it out. So that’s where the real disconnect in kind of the public perception right now is.” According to McDonald, the Corps dredges the equivalent of about 200,000 large dump truck loads a year. While some of this material is indeed used for coastal restoration or is taken offshore, the majority is deposited back into Mobile Bay. McDonald maintains, “I think the environmental impact is temporary and short-term in nature while we’re out there placing it, but it’s actually beneficial for the long-term health of the bay.”
The Port of Mobile, a key economic engine for the region, backs the Corps’ project. Former Congressman Bradley Byrne, now president of the Mobile Chamber of Commerce, trusts the environmental assessments of agencies like the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “They’re the ones that are going to be the most concerned about, you know, what is this doing to the biological life in the bay? And they have signed off on this,” Byrne told NPR. Personally, he hasn’t noticed any changes: “There’s no more silt around my house on Mobile Bay today than there was when I moved in 24 years ago.”
Still, the outcry from locals cannot be dismissed. State Senator Chris Elliott (R-Josephine) is among the most outspoken critics. “This isn’t good for the bay. This is universally almost opposed by the people that live here. And there are better ways to do it,” Elliott told NPR. He’s currently reviewing a Maryland law that prohibits similar dredge disposal in Chesapeake Bay, suggesting Alabama’s legislature might intervene to protect state waters. “I just want to make sure that what we’re doing for the big guys, for the port to keep that up and operating so that big container ships are coming in—which I’m fully in favor of and supportive of—that it doesn’t squeeze out these locals, these guys that have been here forever that are trying to make their living catching seafood.”
The stakes are high. Mobile Bay is not only an economic asset but a source of cultural pride and ecological diversity. The estuary supports a vibrant seafood industry and is home to countless species, making the debate over dredge disposal both urgent and deeply personal for those who depend on the bay.
As the coalition of “unlikely allies” pushes for legislative action and legal remedies, the Army Corps remains steadfast, arguing that their practices are grounded in science and necessary for the bay’s long-term health. But for fishermen like Gormandy, the issue is not just about science or economics—it’s about legacy. “We want to leave this bay better than we found it, and it’s going to be hard to do that,” he said, echoing the hopes and anxieties of a community fighting to balance growth with preservation.
With both sides digging in, the future of dredge disposal in Mobile Bay is far from settled. What’s clear is that the outcome will shape not only the fortunes of the port and the seafood industry, but the very character of Alabama’s Gulf Coast for generations to come.
