Alligator Bayou Swamp Tours owner files appeal

The fight over Alligator Bayou isn’t over. Alligator Bayou Swamp Tours owner Frank Bonifay has filed formal notice that he intends to appeal a district judge’s ruling against him. Attorneys declined to comment on the decision, saying briefs detailing their argument will be filed with the First Circuit Court of Appeal in a couple of weeks. Bonifay’s 17-year-old ecotourism business shut down four years ago after Iberville and Ascension parishes decided to open the floodgate that prevented backwater from Bayou Manchac from entering Alligator Bayou, maintaining the water level. That action dropped the water level in Alligator Bayou, ending the prospect of tours. Bonifay’s company sued, but 23rd Judicial District Judge Thomas Kliebert granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment on Feb. 5. He concluded the parishes’ decision to close the floodgate in December 2009 was based on a duty to regulate drainage, and the damage to Bonifay’s business was not an “intentional act” or “abuse of right.” At the time of the ruling, Bonifay told Daily Report: “Some of the facts on the table are incorrect. There are procedures for government to act responsibly, and those procedures were not followed when they opened the gate and drained the bayou. I look forward to information getting out to all of the people of Louisiana.” You can learn more about the dispute in a 2009 Business Report cover story here. —Penny Font