News Release Archives

This week, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality began distributing an updated 2014 Hurricane Resource Manual to all 64 parishes. The manual contains information pertaining to hurricane/emergency recovery assistance as it relates to permitting, debris collection and environmental cleanup resources. This is the third year DEQ has compiled the manual for the parishes.

If your community has abandoned buildings or potentially contaminated property, you may want to attend a free brownfields workshop being held in Shreveport. The workshop is co-hosted by the city of Shreveport, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and the Technical Assistance to Brownfields Program at Kansas State University.

In April, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that Claiborne Elementary school in Baton Rouge won the annual Energy Star National Building Competition: Battle of the Buildings. Claiborne Elementary School competed with teams from more than 3,000 buildings across the country that spent the past year competing to obtain the greatest reduction in energy use. Claiborne won by cutting its energy use nearly in half.

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.

Today, representatives from the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality came together to raise awareness of the importance of air quality for people's health. EPA Regional Administrator Ron Curry and DEQ Secretary Peggy Hatch spoke about ozone and its effects on air quality and people's health as part of Air Quality Awareness Month. Ozone levels usually rise with warmer temperatures, and higher levels can contribute to breathing problems such as increased asthma attacks. Governor Bobby Jindal declared May as Air Quality Awareness Month to encourage Louisiana residents to learn more about ozone, how it forms, and how it can affect their health. May is also EPA's Asthma Awareness Month, which highlights the connection between air quality and people's health.

Gov. Bobby Jindal has declared May as Air Quality Awareness Month in Louisiana. May is traditionally the start of ozone season and the proclamation was made to encourage citizens to become familiar with the Air Quality Index, to understand what causes ozone formation and to take voluntary steps to help prevent ozone formation and improve air quality.

EnviroFlash, DEQ's free automatic notification system, delivers air quality information to you in a timely and convenient manner. Since May is Air Quality Awareness Month and the start of ozone season, knowing the air quality is important in planning your activities. Through EnviroFlash, information is available to you on a daily basis or on demand.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined that the Baton Rouge area is currently attaining the 2008 8-hour ozone standard. The determination is based on a recent review of air quality data from 2011-2013. The State has decreased ground-level ozone in Baton Rouge which improved air quality and human health for more than 800,000 residents.