State Rep. Margie Wilcox (R-Mobile) is weighing in on the dumping of dredge materials into Mobile Bay. The Mobile Baykeepers have sounded the alarm over what it calls harmful dumping into the Bay due to a project to deepen and widen the Mobile Port. The Army Corps of Engineers has permitted dumping into the Bay as part of the project and ongoing maintenance, which is expected to place 90 million cubic yards of dredge spoil into the bay over the next 20 years. 

Those in the shrimp, oyster and fishing businesses have shared the impact on the quality of life for working people and residents. 

“When I was growing up, my dad owned two shrimp boats, and my uncle was an oysterman,” Wilcox said. “My family ties to Bayou La Batre and Coden run deep. My parents were married, and I made my first communion at St. Margaret's parish. Recently, I have attended oyster certification courses to deepen that connection to my heritage.”

Wilcox, who represents District 104, said she has always kept the fishing industry in mind while working in Montgomery.

She wrote a letter explaining her connection with the water and reminding leaders to be good stewards.

“The water is our way of life, and we bless the natural treasures that God gave us here in Coastal Alabama,” Wilcox said. “Over time, Mobile has become a 21st-century city. The hustle and bustle of the Port City has lifted our entire area economically, and I'm proud to be a champion of that growth.”

While growth is a positive thing, Wilcox said that serious concerns from her constituents have brought the negative impact of dredge dumping to the forefront.

“No one questions the need for a successful Port nor a well-maintained ship channel,” she said. “The way we dispose of the byproducts of those projects, however, does not need to harm our commercial seafood industry or our way of life.”

“I am urging all stakeholders to adjust course and work together as partners to restore our environment,” Wilcox continued. “In the meantime, we must not and cannot dump dredged material in a way that harms the folks who depend on the water to make a living.”

In recent months, Senator Katie Britt addressed the subject during a Washington D.C. hearing. State Senator Chris Elliott spoke out during an Alabama Senate session against the Corps of Engineers' open-water disposal of dredge spoil in Mobile Bay.

"I enjoy fishing," Sen. Elliott says. "My son enjoys fishing. We catch crabs, we catch shrimp. Many of my constituents do as well. And I am concerned. I am concerned about seeing a dredge spoil pipe, essentially casting out into open water -- spoil material. And it's just shooting there out on top of the water and it floats down ... I'm gonna continue to work with our federal partners in D. C. to see if we can figure out a way to do this better, to do this better for Mobile Bay, to do this better for Fairhope and Daphne, for Magnolia Springs, for Fort Morgan, for Weeks Bay."