New Orleans Flood Control Harms Endangered Species, Suit Says

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Mississippi River Commission are violating the Endangered Species Act by failing to consider how a flood-control measure near New Orleans is affecting wildlife and its habitats, conservation groups say in a new lawsuit filed in federal court.

The agencies never completed a mandatory ESA consultation for several animal species and their habitats, and they have failed to ensure that the operation of the Bonnet Carre Spillway isn’t jeopardizing listed species or destroying their habitat, according to the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi Wednesday.

The ...