Blacksher, Menefee, and Stein Records

State of Alabama v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers*


Abstract

This case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama on February 16, 1979. The state filed suit against the Corps and the Secretary of the Army in order to prevent the dumping into the bay of dredged material from a proposed channel from Mobile Bay to Theodore. The channel, which was authorized by Congress in 1965, was to be forty-feet deep and four hundred-feet wide from the bay to the Theodore shoreline and would then extend two miles inland to Theodore Industrial Park. The Corps planned to take dredged material to an inland disposal area, as well as to five unconfined areas in the bay.

The state argued that these "spoil islands" had not been thoroughly investigated as to whether they were needed and if they would negatively impact the environment. The state also argued that the Corps never received Alabama certification for the project, and violated federal law by not providing an environmental impact statement, stating unavoidable adverse environmental effects, and alternatives.

The state asked for an injunction preventing work on the project until such items could be secured. The file does not list any court action or settlement.

*Additional environmental material can be found in the Sierra Club v. Dauphin Island lawsuit and in the Mobile Bay Audubon Society Records.


Box 149

1. Alabama Air Pollution Control Act, Chapter 28
2. Alabama Coastal Area Board, Act 534, Grant Application
3. Alabama Coastal Area Board, Correspondence
4. Alabama Coastal Area Board, Meeting Minutes
5-6. Alabama Coastal Area Board, Workshop Draft, 1978
7. Alabama Coastal Zone Program, Progress Reports
8. Alcoa, Agreements, Drafts and Comments
9. Alcoa, Correspondence
10. Alcoa, Site Maps
11. Coastal Zone Management, Publications
12. Federal Water Pollution Control Act, Amendments, 1972
13. GAF Inspections
14. HMO Study
15. South Alabama Regional Planning Commission, Announcements
16-18. South Alabama Regional Planning Commission, Draft Summaries

Box 150

1. Theodore Ship Channel, Complaint
2. Theodore Ship Channel, Correspondence
3. Theodore Ship Channel, General Information
4. Theodore Ship Channel, New Releases
5. Theodore Ship Channel, Statement of Findings
6. US Department of Commerce, Regulations
7. US Coastal Zone Management Act