"A measure to permanently ban the practice of “thin-layer disposal” of dredged sediment nationwide has advanced through a House committee with bipartisan support."

"For decades, fishers, swimmers and environmental groups have complained that mud and silt from dredging operations in the Mobile Bay shipping channel have been smothering seagrasses, choking out oysters and clouding water that was once pristine. 

Now those groups are one step closer to getting the practice of “thin-layer placement” in the sensitive estuary banned by federal law. 

U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Ala., says he has included an amendment in the Water Resources Development Act of 2026, or WRDA, that would ban the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from using thin-layer placement in most circumstances. 

“It essentially removes that option away from the Corps to dispose of dredged material,” Figures told Inside Climate News. “They can no longer just spray it across the bay.”"

Dennis Pillion reports for Inside Climate News July 17, 2026. [2]