FAIRHOPE — State lawmakers announced legislation Monday, Jan. 12, at the Fairhope Municipal Pier aimed at ending the practice of disposing dredged material directly into Mobile Bay, a method commonly known as “mud dumping.”

State Sen. Chris Elliott, R-District 32, and state Rep. Rhett Marques, R-District 91, said their companion bills, to be filed on the first day of the 2026 legislative session, would prohibit in-bay, thin-layer placement of dredged sediment created in the expansion and dredging of the bay's ship channel, by defining what qualifies as “beneficial use” under Alabama law.

“The United States Army Corps of Engineers has been dredging Mobile Bay longer than most of us have been alive, and over that time they’ve used a variety of different methods to dispose of the resulting dredge material,” said Elliott, who represents Spanish Fort, Daphne, Fairhope, Foley, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Perdido Beach. “Recently, they’ve been using something called thin-layer placement. It’s not pretty — in fact, it’s downright nasty — but it’s cheap, and that’s why the Corps likes it.”

The announcement follows federal legislation passed in 2024 that requires at least 70% of dredged material to be put to beneficial use, such as marsh creation, shoreline protection or habitat restoration. After that law took effect, the Corps’ Mobile District classified thin-layer placement as beneficial use, a designation the proposed state legislation would reject.

“They deemed unilaterally that this open-water disposal method was beneficial,” Elliott said. “I’ve talked with charter fishing captains, commercial fishermen, some of the best and most reasonable marine scientists in the world, and nobody’s buying it.”

Elliott said concerns raised by residents and those who make their living on the bay pushed lawmakers to find a way to limit the practice through state authority.

Marques, who represents much of Coffee County but is from Spanish Fort and grew up along the bay, said the legislation — his bill has bipartisan support — is intended to protect both the environment and the local economy.

“I was born and raised right here in Baldwin County,” Marques said. “I have a lifetime of memories on this bay, and I want to protect it for the generations to come.”

Marques said Mobile Bay is central to the region’s economic health, supporting industries ranging from commercial fishing to tourism and shipping.

“This bay is the economic driver for this area,” he said. “The fishermen, the shrimpers, the oystermen, the shipping industry, the property owners and the tourism industry all depend on it.”

The legislation would not change maintenance dredging of the Mobile Harbor Ship Channel, which Elliott emphasized remains critical to commerce and is fully federally funded. Instead, it would restrict how dredged material is disposed of.

Under the bill, disposal of dredged material into public waters would not qualify as beneficial use. Elliott said the measure relies on Alabama’s Coastal Area Management Program, administered by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, to ensure federal actions are consistent with state coastal policy.

“This bill defines the term beneficial use, and specifically what it is not,” Elliott said. “It is not the deposition of dredge material into public waters.”

William Strickland, executive director of Mobile Baykeeper, said the announcement reflects years of work by advocates and growing public awareness of the issue.

“This is a huge first step,” he said. “Make no mistake about it, this is the largest single source of sediment entering our bay every year.”

Elliott said lawmakers intentionally kept the bill brief to clearly define what qualifies as beneficial use of dredged material.

“This bill is two and a half pages long,” he said. “It’s simple, it’s direct, and it’s aimed at one thing — the beneficial use of dredge material for Mobile Bay.”

The Alabama Legislature's 2026 regular session opened Tuesday, Jan. 13. Session is held usually twice a week, barring special sessions.

When these mud-dumping bills were filed and had first reading on Tuesday, House Bill 181 was sponsored by state Reps. Marques; Donna Givens, R-64, Baldwin County; Jennifer Fidler, R-94, Baldwin County; Frances Holk-Jones, R-95, Baldwin County; Matt Simpson, R-96, Baldwin County; Chip Brown, R-105, Mobile County; Margie Wilcox, R-104, Mobile County; Jeff Sorrells, R-87, Geneva and Houston counties; Brett Easterbrook, R-65, Baldwin, Choctaw, Clarke and Washington counties; Napoleon Bracy, D-98, Mobile County; Sam Jones, D-99, Mobile County; Adline Clarke, D-97, Mobile County; Matt Shirey, R-100, Mobile County; and Shane Stringer, R-102, Baldwin and Mobile counties. It currently sits in Ports, Waterways and Intermodal Transit Committee.

Senate Bill 119, file by Elliott, had one co-sponsor upon filing in Sen. David Sessions, R-35, Mobile County. This bill sits in the County and Municipal Government Committee.

Baldwin County Legislative Delegation members to not sign on upon filing include Rep. Alan Baker, R-66, who represents portions of Loxley, Elberta, Perdido, Phillipsville, Pine Grove, Gateswood, Clear Springs, Loxley, Stapleton, Robertsdale, Summerdale and Foley; Sen. Greg Albritton, R-22, who represents part of Bay Minette, as well as Little River, Blacksher, Tensaw, Lottie, Latham, Vaughn, Stockton, Crossroads, Bromley, Malbis, Plantation Hills, Ellisville and Belforest; and Sen. Vivian Davis-Figures, D-33, who mostly represents Mobile County but has a small portion of the Eastern Shore.

Gabriella Chavez is a Report for America corps member who writes about growth and development in Baldwin County and our natural spaces for Gulf Coast Media. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://tinyurl.com/yaf8yf5n.