Judge dismisses lawsuit seeking to protect dolphins along the Mississippi Gulf Coast

GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to protect dolphins along Mississippi’s coast from harm by a spillway used for flood control. The lawsuit was filed in January by several local governments and business groups who said opening a spillway for 120 days in 2019 sent polluted fresh water from the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico and killed bottlenose dolphins that live in saltwater. The lawsuit asked a judge to order the Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the Bonnet Carré Spillway, to seek permits for future actions that might threaten the dolphins. Judge Louis Guirola Jr. dismissed the lawsuit Wednesday, saying the plaintiffs failed to show they face imminent harm.