NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Mississippi's lieutenant governor says the Army Corps of Engineers ignored its own operating manual when it twice opened a Mississippi River spillway in 2019, causing an environmental and economic disaster in Mississippi and Louisiana.
Delbert Hosemann spoke on the way to see endangered sea turtles released after being cold-stunned in New England and rehabilitated in Mississippi. He said he planned to bring up the topic at the release. Hosemann says the operating manual requires the Corps to open the Morganza Floodway near Baton Rouge before the spillway, which is closer to New Orleans. That allegation was made in May in connection with a suit against the Corps. The federal response says Mississippi's interpretation of the manual is irrelevant.