News Release Archives

Today, investigators with the Criminal Investigation Division of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality arrested a waste tire transporter from Church Point on numerous felony counts related to the Louisiana Waste Tire Management Fund.

Today, representatives from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, as well as other state and local officials, participated in a ribbon cutting ceremony at the St. Landry Parish landfill to commemorate the opening of its landfill gas fueling station. The event was hosted by the St. Landry Parish Solid Waste Disposal District.

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 the formation and improve air quality.

In May, the Enviroschool program of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality is offering free workshops on Permits 101: Understanding the Basics. This workshop will give participants an understanding of what permits are, the different types of permits and the permitting process within each media - air, water and waste.

The American Lung Association's State of the Air report was released today and demonstrates the improvement in air quality throughout Louisiana. Several cities were listed as cleanest in the nation for particle pollution, known as PM 2.5, with Monroe-Bastrop listed as one of the top seven cleanest cities in the nation for PM 2.5 and ozone combined.

May is Air Quality Awareness Month and the start of ozone season. This is the time of year when knowing about air quality is most important because of the increased possibility of ozone formation on hot, dry summer days. An easy way to keep informed about air quality is through the EnviroFlash notification system. EnviroFlash is a free e-mail alert system that delivers air quality information straight to an inbox or phone. To subscribe, citizens can fill in basic information such as the frequency with which they would like to receive notifications, e-mail address and ZIP code. The subscriber will then receive alerts either daily or when ozone or particle pollution is expected to be unhealthy. Another benefit to subscribing to EnviroFlash is that DEQ will send out manual emails to subscribers when there is an event such as a fire that affects the air quality.

St. Charles, St. James and St. John parishes are holding a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day, Saturday, April 14, at two locations. In Destrehan, residents can drop off their waste at Jerusalem Shriners Hall, 1940 Ormond Boulevard, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and in Laplace, Plaza Laplace Shopping Center, 1921 Airline Hwy (New Wine Ministries parking lot) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. All residents of those parishes are invited to bring household hazardous waste to either location so the waste can be disposed of properly.

Today, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and the Bossier Parish Police Jury celebrated a loan closure for $17,750,000. The funds will be used for a portion of the construction of wastewater infrastructure for the newly established Bossier Parish Consolidated Waterworks and Sewerage District #1.