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Monday, Joseph L. Jones, 58, of St. Landry Parish, pled guilty to 11 felony charges involving criminal violations of Plaisance Development Corporation's water discharge permits in St. Landry Parish. Jones was the president of Plaisance Development Corporation which operated six wastewater treatment plants in St. Landry Parish as well as six wastewater treatment plants in Evangeline Parish. Jones was charged with knowingly violating the Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit by exceeding discharge limitations and not providing monitoring results for the facilities operated in St. Landry Parish.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Enviroschool is offering a free session on DEQ emergency response. This session is in Monroe and will provide an overview of the role and activities handled by the Emergency Response Division of DEQ. Some of the topics will include what happens when there's an emergency situation, DEQ's role and response during emergencies and procedures regarding. The session is geared toward the general public and people working in the emergency response professions such as first responders from the fire department, police department or local offices of emergency preparedness.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality is encouraging the public to submit nominations for the Gulf Guardian Awards Program. As a member of the Gulf of Mexico Program and Gulf of Mexico Alliance, Louisiana residents can nominate citizens, companies and organizations that are taking positive steps to keep the Gulf of Mexico and associated coastal water habitats healthy, beautiful and productive. The deadline for submitting nominations is March 8, 2013.

When people burn waste, it causes air pollution and, in some cases, can be illegal. Open burning of certain materials is prohibited in Louisiana. There are also local ordinances pertaining to what can and can't be burned. If you have a trash pile and burn household waste, construction debris or anything other than vegetative matter, you could pay a fine Some materials that should NEVER be burned are: Plastic and other synthetic materials Tires and other rubber products Paints, household and agricultural chemicals Asphalt shingles, heavy oils, wire Newspaper, cardboard and other paper products Buildings and mobile homes

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality is offering training for permittees on the use of the NetDMR online application for the submission of discharge monitoring reports. A discharge monitoring report, known as a DMR, is a self-reporting document that is generated by permittees that have a Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. The DMR contains information pertaining to water discharges into waters of the state.

Based on a recent review by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Water Permits Division of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality exceeded the EPA's Performance Partnership Grant goals for major, minor and priority permits in Federal Fiscal Year 2012, which ended on Sept. 30, 2012.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Enviroschool is offering two free sessions on DEQ emergency response. These sessions will provide an overview of the role and activities handled by the Emergency Response Division of DEQ including what happens when there's an emergency situation, DEQ's role and response during emergencies, procedures regarding complaint and spill reporting and the Single Point of Contact (SPOC).