News Release Archives

On Wednesday, members of the San Diego Regional Fugitive Taskforce arrested a Caddo Parish sewage treatment plant operator on 19 felony violations of Louisiana's Water Control Law.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Enviroschool Program will present free workshops on Emergency Response in August and September. These workshops will provide an overview of the activities and role of the DEQ's Emergency Response Division. They will include what happens when there is an emergency situation, DEQ's role and response during emergencies, procedures concerning reporting complaints and spills and information about DEQ's Single Point of Contact line.

The departments of Environmental Quality and Natural Resources have reviewed Crosstex Entergy Services' updated risk management plan for its storage cavern in Assumption Parish. Both agencies agree with Crosstex's calculations that the cavern poses little-to-no threat to the population near where a slurry hole appeared in early August.

Cedyco Corporation ordered to cease all operations in Louisiana and divest itself of its Hydrocarbon business interests in the state. A Delaware company was fined $557,000 for negligently discharging oil into the bayous of Jefferson Parish, La., the Department of Justice announced. Cedyco Corporation, headquartered in Houston, was sentenced today in federal court in the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Readings from monitoring equipment indicated there were no detectable levels for naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) on the surface of a slurry hole in Assumption Parish. Scientists from the Department of Environmental Quality began executing a sampling plan today.

Scientists from the Department of Environmental Quality will be in and around a slurry hole near Bayou Corne in Assumption Parish today to sample for naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM). Because the location of the slurry hole is in the proximity of areas that had been previously used for oil and gas exploration, there is the possibility for low levels of NORM to be present. The location of the sampling is remote and not in a populated area. However, out of an abundance of caution, and to gather more information, DEQ Secretary Peggy Hatch is requiring certified scientists to develop and execute a sampling plan that includes soil and water samples for NORM to verify there are no health risks.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality's Water Permits Division has announced a modification to the Sewage Sludge and Biosolids Use or Disposal General Permit, effective August 1, 2012