NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – In April, Cornerstone Chemical Company on the West Bank reported a spill of 3,600 gallons of sulfuric acid. The spill left one employee injured, and the company worked to neutralize the spill. However, environmentalists fear House Bill 615 would allow companies to handle incidents like these outside the public eye. Attorney […]
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Louisiana tribe protects historic sites with oyster shells
A wall of oyster shells has been erected near Montegut to protect historical Native American mounds threatened by erosion and sea level rise. The partially-submerged wall was completed this month by the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL), Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe and more than 100 volunteers. They spent weeks hauling and placing about 200 tons of shells gathered from […]
Oil sludge recycling facility Thermaldyne opens near Port Allen despite court challenges
The Thermaldyne industrial recycling facility near Port Allen has opened for business despite several ongoing legal challenges. The company began advertising job openings in The Advocate over the weekend and told the paper it began operations last week and will start processing sludge in the coming week. Environmentalists and another recycling company have filed for […]
Colonial Landfill operators agree to more testing for gas emissions, odors in suit settlement
The operators of the Colonial Landfill near Sorrento have agreed to increased air monitoring for two years under a settlement ending litigation over a permit allowing expanded dumping at the decades-old waste pile. BFI Waste Systems of Louisiana, a subsidiary of Republic Services, has agreed to hire a third-party company to test for methane and, […]
Judge: Louisiana officials must look anew at Port Allen industrial recycling plant application
A judge has paused — at least for the time being — construction of an industrial recycling facility in Port Allen where residents have raised concerns about toxic chemicals. The company Thermaldyne provided a “deficiency” of information when it applied for a permit with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality last year, 19th Judicial District Judge […]
Tulane Environmental Law & Policy Summit (March 21-23)
Tulane’s Environment and Energy Law Society is proud to present the 24th Annual Environmental Law & Policy Summit featuring our 2020 Vision for the gulf coast and federal government. From oysters on the seabed to eye-in-the-sky SAR mapping, local experts on gulf-focused panels will examine recent cases, laws, and economic developments. National panels will include ongoing litigation about the […]
Tet Fest at The Mary Queen of Vietnam Church — Vietnamese New Year Celebration
Oil & Gas companies owning oyster leases?
Some oyster leases near offshore wells have a surprising owner: oil and gas companies
Hilcorp seeks dredging permit a year after dragging drilling barge through shallow water
Dozens of oystermen and coastal residents spoke out at a public hearing Thursday night, arguing that the state shouldn’t grant an oil and gas company a permit to dredge wetlands around a drilling site near Port Sulfur. But they can’t stop Hilcorp Energy Co. of Houston from dredging. The company already cut the channel back […]
Hilcorp Can’t Beat La. Fishermen’s Clean Water Act Claims
A Louisiana federal judge on Monday rejected Hilcorp Energy Co.’s bid to completely escape a lawsuit in which an association of oyster fishermen accuses the oil and gas producer of dredging without a permit in violation of the Clean Water Act. The Louisiana Oysterman Association Inc., a nonprofit whose members lease or fish on oyster […]