A resolution calling for an “all-out” stop to the Jefferson Island Storage & Hub expansion project by AGL Resources is up for a vote by the Iberia Parish Council this Wednesday, and if passed, will be sent to Commissioner James Welsh of the state Office of Conservation.
The Assumption Parish sinkhole catastrophe is a shining example of why an Atlanta-based company’s plans to create underground caverns for storing natural gas deep underneath Lake Peigneur in Iberia Parish must be stopped, says Nara Crowley of the Save Lake Peigneur environmental group.
“We’re hoping it passes unanimously,” says Crowley.
Lake Peigneur is situated where Iberia and Vermilion parishes meet, and the push to stop the underground expansion by AGL Resources has so far warranted the passage of a resolution by the Vermilion Parish Police Jury, as well as two letters of support from U.S. Sen. David Vitter and U.S. Rep Charles Boustany. A third letter of support, Crowley adds, is expected from Sen. Mary Landrieu, but has yet been sent to Welsh’s office.
Officials from AGL Resources and the state Department of Natural Resources have also been invited to share their thoughts Wednesday before the Iberia Parish Council votes on the resolution calling for a halt to the company's expansion plans.
“We’re just trying to stop something bad from happening here, and no matter what [AGL] says about the bubbling (at Lake Peigneur), the problem has never been studied,” Crowley tells The IND. “They can give whatever excuse they want, but it’s just not true.”
Another worry for Crowley is the possibility that the sinkhole in Assumption Parish will continue expanding, eventually impacting other natural underground salt domes like the one situated beneath Lake Peigneur.
“I’m worried this could have a domino effect, because it just keeps spreading and spreading,” Crowley says of the Assumption sinkhole. “If they can’t stop it, other caverns will become involved.”
The likelihood of a domino effect, Crowley says, was discussed Friday by LSU geologist Jeffrey Nunn, who spoke at a luncheon of the Baton Rouge Geological Society. Covering the luncheon was the Baton Rouge Advocate, which reports:
Nun told geologists Friday that one of the scientists’ worst-case fears is that the salt dome could continue to break up from its western edge and threaten other underground caverns.‘We don’t know. That’s a worst case scenario. That’s simply an expressed concern, he said in a later interview.
He noted that testing by operators on the dome have showed those other caverns have integrity. He said those tests probably settle those concerns in the short term, adding the fear is probably unlikely but more study is needed to be certain.
Click here to read the Advocate’s full coverage of Friday’s geological luncheon, and here for more on the issues facing Lake Peigneur.
JUNE 19 Former Saint Steve Gleason, who is paralyzed by ALS, released a statement Tuesday in response to the Atlanta radio station's skit making fun of him and the disease, this Picayune post reports. What did he say? He said he'd accepted the apology of the DJs who did it, notes that at least the incident has got people talking about ALS, and asks anyone who is burning to take action about it to do so -- by helping him fight ALS.
JUNE 19 Blogger Ian McGibboney takes a look at the Gleason incident in this post. He makes a good argument about the difference between having free speech and being free from consequences for your speech (which none of us is). He also admits that many of us got upset before we listened to the skit -- but lets us know that the reality is far worse than we can imagine. It was the incredibly bad judgment, even more than the actual speech, that probably got those DJs fired, he opines.
JUNE 19 Washington Post blogger Aaron Blake writes about Sen. Guillory's switch to the GOP in this post. He writes what most political watchers in Louisiana know: Guillory was a Republican before he decided to run for the senate seat in a mostly-D St. Landry district, and has switched back now that he plans to run for Lt. Gov. in a mostly-R state. But how come Blake missed Guillory's appearance on a TLC pageant show? Now that is a video we'd like to see. (Again).
JUNE 19 Here's another Washington Post blog post about a Louisiana politician, and it's just plain scathing. Ezra Klein says Jindal's Politico post was "insulting" to the intelligence of voters, and adds that Jindal is personifying the "stupid" he's railed against, by being an "elite" who convinces GOP activists of "things that aren't true." Me-ow.
JUNE 19 Here's Gov. Jindal's post in Politico, in which he asks the GOP to get over losing to Obama (again) and stop "the bedwetting." (Uh, what?) He gives his Republican buddies what is probably a nerd's idea of a coach's motivational talk, which starts with a list of accomplishments that they can't seem to exploit and ending with an absurd description of liberals that sounds like a character treatment for a Fox "News" movie scripted by Gordon Liddy. Sure, he's preaching to the choir, but even the choir's not this gullible.
JUNE 19 Lamar Parmentel read Gov. Jindal's post on Politico, but thinks it was so dumb it probably was published in the wrong paper. This post by Lamar on the Daily Kingfish opines that possibly Jindal's post was destined for the Onion -- because the governor couldn't possibly be serious here. If you listen closely, you can hear the staff of the Kingfish giggling.
JUNE 19 Blogger Robert Mann posts from Turkey, a country he has visited several times in the past few years. Mann gives an interesting overview of the current political and societal climate of the country, which -- if you're living under a rock and don't know -- is experiencing protests and turmoil these days. Mann promises to post as much as he can during his trip, which should be fascinating reading.
JUNE 19 Blogger CB Forgotston says the legislature is keeping the vicious cycle going with its funding of new buildings for the community college/technical college system. Universities across the state need maintenance and improvement on existing buildings, and the solution is to build new buildings at other schools? By the time the bonds are paid off, those buildings will be falling down, too, CB says.
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