LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY | Secretary Aurelia S. Giacometto
A DEPARTMENT OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
Prescribed burning is an agricultural management practice and, in Louisiana row crop production, is used primarily during sugarcane harvest. There are a number of environmental concerns associated with this practice and the state has instituted a voluntary smoke and ash management training program to assist growers in addressing these concerns.
Through the Agricultural Solid Waste Management Program, agricultural producers can learn how to manage agricultural waste for beneficial uses; By the use of Best Management Practices adopted through this program, facilities such as rice dyers, grain elevators, cotton gins, seafood processors and similar operations, or facilities generating wood waste or stable manure can carry out their activities in an environmentally sound manner, where otherwise these operations would be subject to the LDEQ solid waste permitting process at public expense. By affected producers and processors implementing prescribed BMPs through this program, agricultural waste and by-products may be utilized beneficially as organic fertilizer, mulch, and other useful products.
Discusses using approach of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) to involve all sources of water in planning; addressing water quantity, water quality and ecosystem needs; incorporating principles of equity, efficiency, and public participation in water planning; and sharing information across disciplines and agencies. however, implementation of this approach has been slow. The AWRA attempting efforts to advance and develop a better understanding of IWRM. Report includes case studies.
The U.S. Geological Survey's Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) is divided into seven regions. The south-central region includes the States of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. We are currently conducting research projects designed to monitor amphibians on Federal lands in these States and to research possible causes of declines in amphibian populations. These potential threats include loss or degradation of habitat, disease, and contamination or pollution.
Watershed model for overland flow, runoff; addresses nitrogen and phosphorus in addition to other parameters.
Dynamic model that can simulate nutrients and their impact on the ecosystem, including fish, invertebrates, and aquatic plants.
The Arkansas Master Farmer program is being developed to assist the agriculture producers in the state address the key environmental concerns. The curriculum is being developed using a modular approach focusing on five commodity areas. These are poultry, dairy, swine, beef and agronomic crops. The program will be a collaborative effort that will include many agricultural and environmental agencies in Arkansas. The Master Farmer program will make our water quality education more effective in two major ways. First it will provide us a name recognition program that allows us to market our skills and knowledge on a largely untraditional subject to a largely traditional clientele. While we are not the end all agency on water quality issues, we can provide a producer with a “road map” as to what agency does what. We have made tremendous efforts in water quality education, but we need to be more focused. The Master Farmer program would provide the framework for this focus.
The Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program (BTNEP) is one of 28 National Estuary Programs throughout the United States and its territories. The National Estuary Program was established by Congress through section 320 of the Clean Water Act or 1987. The Barataria-Terrebonne estuarine complex became a National Estuary in 1990.