A Louisiana appellate court has ordered the state Department of Environmental Quality to analyze the potential harmful effects of a practice that, surprisingly, hasn’t been widely publicized in the wake of the BP oil disaster in the Gulf and decades of coastal land loss: the dumping of waste water that’s used in offshore drilling operations.
According to an Associated Press report published on Forbes’ website, the state’s top environmental watchdog group contends that waste waters from drilling platforms contain radioactive materials, which, over time, seep into marine wildlife and eventually enter the food chain. The Louisiana Environmental Action Network sued DEQ in 2009 when it issued waste water permits to offshore drilling companies without first testing the waste water product for contaminants.
The “produced water,” as termed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, must be treated before its dumped into state sea waters along the coast, according to DEQ. But a 1st Circuit Court of Appeals judge has ruled that DEQ “abused its discretion” when it issued the permits in 2009 without further studying what exactly’s being tossed off of the 98 drilling operations that will be impacted by the ruling:
There are 98 drilling operations located between Louisiana’s coast and 3 miles offshore that are affected by the ruling, said Rodney Mallett, a spokesman for the department.
Mallett said there was no evidence that dumping produced waters in the open sea is harmful. He said the fluids get churned up by the winds, currents and water depths.
The environmental group says the waste water from oil drilling can contain at least 50 chemical and radioactive compounds. It also says some drillers have been known to take waste from drilling operations in federal waters, which lie even farther offshore, and dump them in state waters.
In federal waters, drillers face tough restrictions on produced waters, said Eric Smith of the Tulane Energy Institute. They must treat the waste thoroughly, sometime inject it deep underground or even ship it ashore, he said.
The quality department said it was reviewing the court decision and that it had not decided whether to appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court.
Read more on the court’s decision here.
MAY 22 This post was written the day after the second line shooting in NOLA, by Brentin Mock. Mock is a friend of Deb "Big Red" Cotton, a blogger who was shot in the back and was seriously injured. It is a raw, emotional piece of writing, something the writer obviously felt he needed to get off his chest. But it raises questions that can't be easily dismissed, and might give some insight into where the source of these events truly is.
MAY 22 In this Baton Rouge Business Report post, Rolfe McCollister considers the privatization of bus service in Baton Rouge. After decades of under-funding, it is a mess, and although a tax (partially) passed last year, improvement hasn't happened yet. McCollister apparently feels it is time to let private business get in on the transit business.
MAY 22 This post on Bayou Buzz by Jeff Crouere urges the defeat of a bill that would grant modest pay increases over the next several years to the state's judges and clerks of court. The state is in no position to fund pay hikes, Crouere argues, with the pay increases costing a total of $9 million over several years. It sends the wrong message to the (proverbial) hard-working people of Louisiana, he says.
MAY 22 The Advocate reports here that State Treasurer John Kennedy is complaining about a meeting of the corporation that oversees the state's tobacco settlement. The Governor wanted it restructured, and he has some support, but not a lot. The corporation agreed with his plan, but Kennedy didn't, and it appears that the meeting was noticed in a manner completely different than that of all previous meetings. Kennedy's given to hyperbole, but in this case the fish don't smell too fresh.
MAY 22 In this Advocate story, Carencro Police Chief Carlos Stout says the recent federal indictment of a strip club owner is all wrong. The indictment alleges that drugs and prostitution went on with impunity because club staff made arrangements with "local" police. Stout says it never happened, and while his cops do work security in the parking lot, they're not allowed inside.
MAY 22 This amusing post in DIG Baton Rouge recounts an ad that ran on Craig's List recently; the advertiser was seeking tenants for a Beauregard Town house. He knew his market, and wrote an ad that the most ironical hipster couldn't resist. Apparently, he really did know his market, because the ad worked like a charm.
MAY 22 In this post in The Lens, Mark Moseley comments on the rhetoric Gov. Jindal employed in trying to save his tax "reform" package. One interesting point concerns Jindal's use of his brother, Nikesh, in a little story. Nikesh left Louisiana because of his inability to get a decent job, the story goes, but the story won't hold water: Nikesh lives in DC, which has an income tax level comparable to Louisiana, Moseley says. If income taxes caused the dismal situation, it should exist in DC too. Right?
MAY 22 This post by columnist John Maginnis traces the trajectory of the bill that would fund construction at community and technical colleges -- and bypass the Board of Regents and traditional higher ed funding mechanisms. Sure, it will bust the legislature's self-imposed debt limit, but some leges feel that there's more need (because there is more growth) in the community and technical college area than in the university area, he says.
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