The Honorable Jo Bonner

United States House of Representatives

2236 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Jeff Sessions
United States Senate
335 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-0104

The Honorable Richard Shelby
United States Senate
335 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-0104

Dear ____________:

I am writing to request that you use the power of your position as a member of Congress to add Mobile County to the ongoing U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Mississippi Coastal Improvements Program (MsCIP) Study. The MsCIP Study was authorized by Congress to respond to the effects of Hurricane Katrina. The Corps was directed to design improvements “… in the coastal area of Mississippi in the interest of hurricane and storm damage reduction, prevention of saltwater intrusion, preservation of fish and wildlife, prevention of erosion, and other related water resource purposes”. The Hurricane Katrina problems and issues experienced by coastal Mississippi are identical to those suffered by Dauphin Island, the Mobile County mainland, and Alabama’s portion of the Mississippi Sound.

Dauphin Island was greatly weakened by Hurricane Katrina which enlarged a breach that cuts the island in half, allowing high salinity Gulf of Mexico waters to intrude into Alabama’s portion of the Mississippi Sound. The breach has contributed to eliminating oyster production from Alabama’s principal reefs, contributing to the economic problems of our already stressed local seafood industry. The decimated western half of Dauphin Island also exposes Mobile County’s mainland coastal communities to an increased risk of higher wave heights in future storm events.

The Corps MsCIP Draft Report recommends the development of a Comprehensive Barrier Island Restoration Plan. That plan has a projected construction cost of $477,200,000, all of which would be expended to restore the Mississippi barrier islands west of Dauphin Island. The primary purpose of that work is to protect the Mississippi mainland and to maintain Mississippi Sound as an estuary. These needs are just as pressing in Mobile County.

The Corps Study revealed a regional shortage of sand within the barrier island system that threatens the long-term existence of the islands. Although the sand shortage actually begins on Dauphin Island, the Corps did not include Dauphin Island in the restoration plan. As the lead island in the barrier island chain, Dauphin Island must be addressed in an equal fashion to the Mississippi islands to develop a truly “comprehensive” approach to restoring the entire barrier island system.

Dauphin Island makes many important contributions to coastal Alabama that are often not fully appreciated by most Alabamians. Significant among those is the creation of the estuarine habitat conditions that are essential to the production of shrimp, crabs, and finfish of recreational and commercial finfish. Also of great importance is the buffer the Island serves in sheltering the Alabama and Mississippi mainland shoreline during major storms.

Since the Corps recommends the Comprehensive Barrier Island Restoration Plan be subjected to additional analyses it is not too late to include Dauphin Island in the future analyses. I have no wish to delay the progress of work in Mississippi. However, inclusion of Dauphin Island in the future studies provides an opportunity to accomplish a number of positive objectives in Alabama as well as benefiting the down-drift Mississippi barrier islands. The fact that the Comprehensive Barrier Island Restoration Plan will be prepared “…at full Federal expense…” instead of under a cost-shared arrangement means that there would be no costs to the State of Alabama.

There is a compelling case for Mobile County to be added to the MsCIP Study, and Dauphin Island in particular to be included in the Comprehensive Barrier Island Restoration Plan. Governor Riley has recently requested you and other members of Alabama’s Congressional delegation to work toward adding Dauphin Island to the Comprehensive Barrier Island Restoration Plan. Your full support is necessary and essential to make that happen. I request you to devote all efforts possible in that direction for the benefit of a substantial number of your constituents.

Sincerely