News Release Archives

Today, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality issued a penalty to ExxonMobil Corporation in the amount of $61,912.39 for violations associated with a June 14, 2012, steam-cracked naptha release at the Baton Rouge Complex. DEQ has also approved a proposed settlement agreement totaling $2,329,000 with ExxonMobil to resolve other violations which occurred between 2008-2013 at the Baton Rouge Refinery and three other facilities owned and/operated by ExxonMobil Corporation in the Baton Rouge area. The proposed settlement agreement must be public noticed and reviewed by the Attorney General's Office before it can be finalized.

Jan Boydstun, recently retired DEQ Senior Environmental Scientist, was honored with an award from the Association of Clean Water Administrators at the organization's 52nd Annual Meeting in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Yesterday, officers with the New Orleans Police Department 7th District arrested an Orleans Parish man on an outstanding warrant for the alleged illegal dumping of solid waste in New Orleans East. The arrest warrant was signed on June 25, 2013, and originated during an investigation conducted by the Criminal Investigation Division of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality reports that algal blooms and current high temperatures may cause fish kills, odors and an increase in water discoloration in Louisiana waterways. Lake Verret is one of the water bodies reported to DEQ for discolored water. Concerns have also been expressed about the lake's salinity.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality is distributing an updated 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 second year DEQ has compiled the manual for the parishes.

Jeff Dauzat, an Environmental Scientist with Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, recently received two awards from the U.S. Coast Guard at the New Orleans Area Committee Meeting.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality has asked the public to be aware of a possible increase in fish kills and odors throughout area water bodies as a result of algal blooms in waterways as well as the current high temperatures affecting the state.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality's Enviroschool will host four free sessions on environmental regulation updates. The sessions will provide a review of some state and federal regulations and their implications. Included in the sessions will be help in understanding the delegation of authority to DEQ, how regulations govern the DEQ activities and processes and how the public can participate in the rule making process. The session will also include a review of any new regulatory changes resulting from of the recent legislative session.