LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY | Secretary Aurelia S. Giacometto
A DEPARTMENT OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
Established in LAC 33:IX. Subpart 2. Chapter 23. Requires permits fro the discharge of pollutants from any point source into waters of the state. Applies only to facilities and discharges within the scope of the NPDES program.
Established in Louisiana Revised Statutes, Title 30, Chapter 17, Section 2391 et seq. (Louisiana Reclaimed Water Law). Declares that the use of potable water for nonpotable uses is a waste of our most precious natural resource. Requires the use of reclaimed waters if a source exists. The law may encourage facilities to reuse or reclaim wastewater thereby eliminating discharges to waters of the state.
Established in LAC 33:IX.Subpart 3.Chapter 73. Establishes standards for the use or disposal of sewage sludge generated during the treatment of domestic sewage. Consist of general requirements, pollutant limits, management practices, and operational standards. Sewage sludge (biosolids) applied to the land has nutrient management requirements found at LAC 33:IX.7303.
LID is an approach to land development (or re-development) that works with nature to manage stormwater as close to its source as possible. LID employs principles such as preserving and recreating natural landscape features, minimizing effective imperviousness to create functional and appealing site drainage that treat stormwater as a resource rather than a waste product. There are many practices that have been used to adhere to these principles such as bioretention facilities, rain gardens, vegetated rooftops, rain barrels, and permeable pavements. By implementing LID principles and practices, water can be managed in a way that reduces the impact of built areas and promotes the natural movement of water within an ecosystem or watershed. Applied on a broad scale, LID can maintain or restore a watershed's hydrologic and ecological functions. LID has been characterized as a sustainable stormwater practice by the Water Environment Research Foundation and others.
This seven-part series of fact sheets is primarily intended for state and local decision makers who are considering adoption of Low Impact Development (LID), but who have concerns with LID. These fact sheets explain the benefits of LID in clear terms and through examples. Specific fact sheets in this series directly address specific concerns that have been raised about adopting LID, thereby busting barriers.
Summary of data sources on nutrient loading and removal in the LMR sub-basin.
The Lower Mississippi River Sub-basin Committee on Gulf Hypoxia is being formed as part of the Action Plan for Reducing, Mitigating, and Controlling Hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico.* The states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee signed onto the Action Plan in October 2000. The LMR Sub-basin Committee will establish a process of communication and coordination aimed at the following efforts: 1.Supporting implementation of the Action Plan throughout the Mississippi River Basin, and working with other states to ensure federal funding for implementation; 2.Coordinating implementation of the Action Plan in the lower river basin. Under 2), states will work in a cooperative manner to: a. Compile information on nitrate/nutrient loading to the Mississippi and Atchafalaya River basins, and assess the impacts of federal and state programs aimed at reducing nitrate/nutrient loading; b. Coordinate interstate watershed programs that can improve water quality and reduce nutrient loading in the Lower Mississippi River sub-basin and connected smaller watersheds; c. Promote and coordinate complimentary regional and state efforts to improve water quality, such as the Lower Mississippi Valley Initiative (LMVI), the Lower Mississippi River Conservation Committee, the Gulf of Mexico Program Nutrient Enrichment Focus team, and others. d. Establish an open process in which interested stakeholders, along with partner agencies and universities, can participate, and support water quality/nutrient reduction programs initiated by those participants.
Strategy document produced by the LMRSBC on Hypoxia outlining strategies for nutrient reduction. Strategies include setting reduction targets, establishing a baseline, identify opportunities to restore floodplain wetlands, detail needs for additional assistance to meet goals and promote additional funding.
Material available for various environmental concerns for poultry, including poultry litter, bmps, and sampling
Poultry production is Louisiana’s largest animal industry and its $1.5 billion contribution to the state’s economy makes it the second-largest segment of Louisiana’s agricultural industries. Commercial broilers are produced by 350 growers in 11 parishes including Bienville, Claiborne, Jackson, Lincoln, Natchitoches, Ouachita, Sabine, Union, Vernon, Webster and Winn. There also are 580 commercial and small table egg producers in Louisiana housing more than 1 million egg-laying hens and producing more than 21 million dozen eggs. On-farm receipts from broiler production, breeder flocks and table egg production bring in nearly $812 million. Poultry processing and other value-added enterprises doubled this amount to nearly $1.9 billion. Poultry production represented the largest part of the $2.6 billion in economic contributions by animal agricultural industries in Louisiana for 2010. It ranks second only to forestry in its overall economic contribution to the state. Poultry production, by its nature, requires specific practices to conserve and protect soil and water resources. Best management practices (BMPs) have been determined to be an effective and practical means of reducing point and nonpoint-source water pollutants at levels compatible with environmental quality goals. The primary purpose for implementation of BMPs is to conserve and protect soil, water and air resources. BMPs for poultry farms are a specific set of practices used by farmers to reduce the amount of soil, nutrients, pesticides and microbial contaminants entering surface water and groundwater while maintaining or improving the productivity of agricultural land. This BMPs manual is a guide for the selection, implementation and management of those practices that will help poultry farmers conserve soil and protect water and air resources.