News Release Archives

Today, Marc Victoriano, 38, of Marrero, pled guilty in 19th Judicial District Court to knowingly making a false representation on a form filed with DEQ. Victoriano is the operator of Professional Safety Consultants, an asbestos abatement training provider. In 2009, Victoriano knowingly prepared asbestos course forms that falsely misrepresented the number of accredited instructors teaching asbestos training courses. DEQ regulations require that two or more accredited instructors must be listed for each asbestos training course. Victoriano knowingly submitted the false forms to DEQ in Baton Rouge with the name of an instructor that was out of the state on the dates the classes were taught.

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.

Today, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality presented a loan in the amount of $45 million to the city of Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge Parish, through funding under the Clean Water State Revolving Fund.

Today, investigators within the Criminal Investigation Division of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality arrested an East Baton Rouge Parish man for the alleged illegal dumping of gasoline and diesel.

Environmental scientists from the Southeast Regional Office of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality have commenced a widespread water quality inspection of the impaired watersheds within eastern St. Tammany Parish and Washington Parish.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality has partnered with the Information Exchange Workgroup. The Information Exchange Workgroup is a collaboration of Louisiana's petroleum refining and chemical manufacturing industries, which was formed to provide information on environmental protection, identify the most common causes of upsets and malfunctions and provide expertise from industry leaders on efficiency measures. The workgroup also facilitates the identification and sharing of best management practices and other strategies to minimize emissions.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality has announced that the general permit for Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems is being reissued with an effective date of March 1, 2013. Coverage under this general permit applies to operators (parishes, cities, towns, military bases, etc.) of storm water drainage systems that typically serve populations between 10,000 and 150,000 persons.

This year, more than ever, it is important for citizens and businesses to be aware of the air quality. The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency has lowered the standards for many criteria air pollutants which makes areas that have had excellent air quality in the past much closer to being out of attainment with federal standards.