Land News Archives

In May, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the City of New Iberia celebrated the completion of a Brownfields and Ready for Reuse project for the Timeless Treasures site in New Iberia. Plaques were awarded to the city of New Iberia and the Brownfields participants in the remediation: Acadiana Regional Development, KourCo Environmental Services, Inc., Leaaf Environmental and Berard Habetz & Associates, Inc. A Ready for Reuse determination letter and certificate signifying that the land has been cleaned and can be put back into use was presented to New Iberia Mayor Hilda Daigre Curry.

Two long time DEQ employees received prestigious awards for service at the recent Louisiana Solid Waste Association's Environmental Partnership of Business, Industry and Government Conference in Lafayette.

On March 18, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued an order through its Region 6 office in Dallas to the U.S. Department of the Army to address 15 million pounds of abandoned explosives and propellant stored on the grounds of Camp Minden in Minden.

It is dry in Louisiana right now and wildfires could be started easily, so it is important to know the regulations and laws concerning open burning in the state. When people burn waste, it causes air pollution and, in some cases, can be illegal. Open burning of certain materials is prohibited in Louisiana. If you have a trash pile and burn household waste, construction debris or anything other than vegetative matter, you could be subject to a fine.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality is sponsoring a free Enviroschool class on "Understanding MS4 Permits: Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems" in six cities around the state. The training session will help municipalities and contractors understand the MS4 permits and will provide practical applications to clarify permitting issues. All classes will be held from 10 a.m. until noon.

A review copy of the draft Louisiana Nutrient Management Strategy is now available and the state is accepting public comment on it until Jan. 31, 2014. Louisiana Nutrient Management Strategy: Protection, Improvement, and Restoration of Water Quality in Louisiana's Water Bodies focuses on factors such as nitrogen and phosphorus that may impact local water bodies as well as contribute to seasonal low dissolved oxygen in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality has compiled a list of commonly used environmental acronyms and it is now available on the DEQ website. Understanding the technical terms and abbreviations connected with environmental regulation and protection can be difficult. The Acronym Directory is an alphabetical list of acronyms commonly used by DEQ and other state agencies as it relates to matters concerning environmental protection and DEQ-related operations. This directory should make it easier to decipher documents and technical writing