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Floodplain Resilience Presentation Debut in Hammond, La.

Andrew Whitehurst

The first of two community meetings on wetlands and floodplain resiliency was held in Hammond at the old train depot. Wetland fill permit data from the past 5 years for St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Livingston, East Baton Rouge, St. John and St. James Parishes was presented in a series of maps showing where impacts have been most intense. We also looked at available mitigation banks to offset those fill permits. Possible restoration of sand and gravel mines was also presented as a way to stabilize river floodplains and restore riverine wetlands above population centers along the Interstate 12 Corridor along the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain.

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Bayou Bridge Pipeline: Field Notes

Naomi Yoder

A spoil bank is the pile of soil and debris left behind by the excavation and dredging machines that dig a trench through the swamp. In coastal Louisiana, all of the pipelines are buried or submerged (as opposed to being built above ground). The method for burying the pipe, then, is to dig an enormous trench. The material from the trench is then dumped right next to the new channel, and suddenly a wall is created that cuts off water and organisms from each other that were connected before. Companies are required by law, according to their permits, to return these spoil banks to their natural state once constructions is complete. However, very few companies comply with this stipulation in their permit leading to a basin filled with spoil banks, limited access to bayous and less productive crawfishing harvests. 

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Antenna Art Gallery Partnership: Oil & Gas in the New Orleans Art Community

Scott Eustis

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Community forum discussion veered away from Bonnet Carre Spillway at Sun Herald event in Gulfport

Andrew Whitehurst

At the Sun Herald newspaper's recent Community Forum on the opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway and its effects on coastal Mississippi, the discussion moved from the advertised topic to Louisiana's Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion, as yet unbuilt, but part of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority's coastal master plan. Unfortunately, the sponsoring Louisiana agency, CPRA, was not represented on the Sun Herald's speaker panel to take part in the discussion.

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Miss. River Commission's Low Water Inspection Tour visits Vicksburg

Andrew Whitehurst

Damage to Mississippi and Louisiana fisheries from the 2019 River Flooding, Nutrient levels in the River, Climate Change, the Yazoo Backwater Pumps, and the operation of the Morganza and Bonnet Carre Floodways were some of the topics the Mississippi River Commissioners heard when they docked their towboat in Vicksburg and invited the public to go aboard and address them.

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Baucum oilfield waste injection well lawsuit advances in Laurel, Mississippi

Andrew Whitehurst

This article updates a blog post from 2014 on the oilfield waste deep injection well on land next to Marlan and Deidra Baucum's home in Laurel, Mississippi. The Jones County Circuit Court decided that it will hear Mrs. Baucum's claims for damage to her health. She is able to avoid presenting these claims to the Mississippi Oil and Gas Board. This agency process can be a quagmire of delay and frustration for a person making a damage claim due to the actions of a company that the Board regulates.

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Endangered species under attack by Trump Administration

Raleigh Hoke

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Louisiana Watershed Initiative sets regional watershed boundaries

Andrew Whitehurst

The Louisiana Council on Watershed Management met and voted on boundaries for the 8 watershed regions of the state and announced the availability of Capacity Building Grants for Parishes.

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North Gulfport citizens address MDEQ Permit Board on inland rail port

Andrew Whitehurst

MDEQ should protect people, and not wedge projects into communities that already have plenty of health and environmental problems to deal with. The August 13th Permit Board meeting was another example of why the MDEQ Environmental Permit Process needs to be examined by the Legislature soon, and made more responsive to the citizens whose health and property are meant to be protected by the agency.

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La. Oyster Task Force takes on post-flood recovery with D.C. fly-in

Andrew Whitehurst

The July meeting of the La. Oyster Task Force looked at post flood damage assessments to oyster stocks in southeast Louisiana and discussed how oyster growers can be compensated when the U.S. Dept of Commerce designates the 2019 flood aftermath as a fishery disaster. Everyone urged patience with the process.