Water News Archives

Based on a recent review by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Water Permits Division of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality exceeded the EPA's Performance Partnership Grant goals for major, minor and priority permits in Federal Fiscal Year 2012, which ended on Sept. 30, 2012.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality has selected Livingston Parish as the next stop for its drinking water protection campaign, "Protect Drinking Water One Drop at a Time." The program's goal is to increase the public's awareness and participation in protecting their area's drinking water.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Enviroschool is offering two free sessions on DEQ emergency response. These sessions will provide an overview of the role and activities handled by the Emergency Response Division of DEQ including what happens when there's an emergency situation, DEQ's role and response during emergencies, procedures regarding complaint and spill reporting and the Single Point of Contact (SPOC).

On Saturday, volunteers from the Department of Environmental Quality recycled 97 five-gallon buckets of paint that would have otherwise ended up in landfills or been disposed of improperly. The DEQ team was participating in the Greater Baton Rouge Household Hazardous Materials Collection Day and Paint Swap. East Baton Rouge residents brought household hazardous materials and leftover paint to Memorial Stadium parking lot. More than 762 residents dropped off recyclables.

State and local agencies have worked closely with the oil and gas industry to produce the Field Guide to Environmental Compliance for the Oil and Gas Industry. With this business sector growing, environmental regulations changing and environmental technology expanding, the field guide is an attempt to help industry officials better understand the complexity of environmental regulations and create a better understanding of what regulations are applicable for certain business practices.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality recently issued its second Notice of Potential Penalty to Stolthaven New Orleans, LLC, in Braithwaite for alleged environmental violations stemming from unauthorized discharges that occurred in late August and early September. Stolthaven failed to take the necessary precautionary measures in anticipation of Hurricane Isaac, thereby allowing for unauthorized releases to the waters of the state.

The Department of Environmental Quality issued a penalty today to Stolthaven in Braithwaite for $12,189.61. The penalty was issued because the facility failed to notify DEQ of an emergency situation within one hour of the occurrence. DEQ was notified of a release of 1-octene and Ethyl Acrylate from the facility on Sept. 1. The release occurred on Aug. 30th in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac.