Bayou La Trash Pollution

I was not going to post any more on Mobile area waterway trash pollution but my paddle today in Bayou La Batre warrants another post.

These are all photos from today's paddle which coincided with an organized event called "Paddle Bayou La Batre" that attracted about 90 paddlers.

Much of the Bayou La Batre shoreline is real trashy, especially along the first mile of the waterway. So I paddled up to the Alabama Marine Resources Enforcement boat which was occupied by two officers. "What's up with all the trash along the shoreline? Why isn't Alabama Marine Resources Enforcement doing something about the pollution?" I asked.

One of the officers replies to the effect, "We deal with the Saltwater Marine environment and this waterway (Bayou La Batre) is under the jurisdiction of the City of Bayou La Batre." 

The pollution of the Gulf of Mexico from the Bayou La Batre trash is not their problem huh? Excuses are like butts. Alabama has some big ass butt excuses when it comes to dealing with waterway pollution.

I tried again and asked, "But isn't Bayou La Batre a STATE waterway and so shouldn't Alabama Marine Resources Enforcement care about the pollution of a STATE waterway?" No reply.

If the City of Bayou La Batre is polluting a STATE waterway that connects directly to the Gulf of Mexico then the Alabama Marine Resources Enforcement division should be crawling all over the ass of City of Bayou La Batre officials and inspecting boatyards and shrimp boat docks for sources of trash. Same with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.

I've filed complaints with ADEM for years about Bayou La Batre trash pollution and this is what the waterway looks like today. Obviously, after the apathetic responses by Alabama Marine Resource Enforcement today to the very visible trash pollution problem along Bayou La Batre, it is obvious the City of Bayou La Batre, the County of Mobile, Environmental Enforcement Agencies, the State of Alabama and the Federal Government do not care what is floating in Alabama public waterways. That is the UGLY truth.

I am willing to bet that not a single one of the 90 paddlers in today's organized Paddle Bayou La Batre event will ever file a complaint with ADEM about the trash pollution in Bayou La Batre that they paddled right next to.

Could the apathy about the Bayou La Batre pollution be due to foreigners taking over the community? Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laotian foreigners now make up a third of the Bayou La Batre population according to the 2000 census. I wonder how many foreigners are sucking on the financial nipple of the American Government. I wonder how many are here illegally not paying taxes. 

An influx of residents who pay no taxes can burden a community to the point of collapse. Maybe that might explain why the City of Bayou La Batre is so broke it can't afford to provide basic services. A bankrupt City explains why the Bayou La Batre Public Boat Ramp park is littered with excessive amounts of trash while the garbage can overflows.

Just who is responsible for dealing with the pollution of Bayou La Batre? Someone needs to go to jail for neglecting very visible pollution.

Trashy Bayou La Batre Boat Ramp Area.

Trashy Gulf of Mexico Shoreline. I put the lighters found along 100 yards of beach together.

Trashy Bayou La Batre shoreline.

About 90 paddlers attending the Paddle Bayou La Batre event.

Paddlers in the background oblivious to the density of trash pollution along Bayou La Trash.

Some of the shoreline trash is very visible.

Where might a white boot come from? Fishing or shrimping boat worker? Yeah, much of the trash along Bayou La Batre is directly related to the boats and industries along the polluted waterway.

Kayakers passing by a trashy shoreline.

Alabama Marine Resources Enforcement says the Trash pollution is not their problem.

Kind of hard to not see the trash pollution along Bayou La Batre.

A lot of the trash floating in Bayou La Batre is hazardous to the environment.

While shoreline trash is visible, much of it floats in the water hidden behind shoreline weeds.

This is the inset view from the previous photo showing what lurks behind the shoreline grass.

Poor bird suffering from fishing line trash.

This is normal for Bayou La Trash.

But trashy shorelines are not normal to wildlife.