Environment
LDEQ draft permit rattles neighbors of hazardous waste disposal site
COLFAX – Sliska Larry read the proposed operating permit for the expanded Clean Harbors hazardous waste disposal site, less than 2 miles from her home, with her 9-year-old grandson at her side. She instinctively pulled him closer, as if to shield him, as she absorbed its details. “It’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Larry said. […]
Plans still shaky for BR-NOLA passenger rail
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development has about two weeks left to draft its initial plans for a proposed passenger rail line between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Act 764, which lawmakers passed last year, calls for DOTD to prepare the scope, schedule and budget to secure all necessary approvals and permits to begin […]
Opinions vary on departing DEQ Secretary Chuck Carr Brown; data is definitive
It’s not unusual that a state agency leader leaves during the last year of a governor’s term, so the exit of Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Chuck Carr Brown doesn’t jump out as out of the ordinary. Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson resigned to enter the governor’s race, but there’s no indication Brown has any […]
Solar microgrids planned for Shreveport neighborhoods
Community leaders in Caddo Parish are proposing solar microgrids for neighborhoods around Shreveport to give residents places to shelter during disasters. North Louisiana Interfaith, a coalition of congregations and community groups in the northern part of the state, joined with local and state officials Monday to announce plans for four Community Lighthouses in the Shreveport […]
‘Sacrifice zone’: Gulf Coast helps meet global natural gas needs, but at what cost?
About 30 miles south of New Orleans, a construction site visible from space is rising. Sandwiched between the Mississippi River and disappearing wetlands, the 632-acre site is visited by a stream of tipper trucks and concrete mixers that stir up dust on Louisiana 23, the state highway that goes down to Venice, the last spot […]
Louisiana utility regulators increase cybersecurity spending with questionable contractor
The Louisiana Public Service Commission has agreed to pay more money to a contractor with questionable ties to one of its members. The commission unanimously approved budget increases Wednesday of $73,450 and $68,750 on two cybersecurity contracts awarded to the McQ Group, a company owned by former attorney Scott McQuaig. McQuaig has personal and professional […]
States to receive $2.5B from feds for electric vehicle charging infrastructure
The federal government will send $2.5 billion over the next five years to states, local governments and tribes to build electric vehicle charging infrastructure, Biden administration officials said Tuesday. The new Charging and Fueling Infrastructure grant program, which was authorized by the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, will spend $2.5 billion over five years to build […]
Bill would end eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines
A Louisiana legislator wants to help keep landowners from losing their property to pipelines needed for the dozens of carbon capture projects proposed around the state. Rep. Robby Carter, D-Amite, has prefiled a bill for the upcoming 2023 Louisiana legislative session that would remove eminent domain rights given to private companies 14 years ago allowing […]
Norfolk Southern CEO apologizes for Ohio crash, but won’t back bipartisan rail safety bill
The CEO of Norfolk Southern, the railroad operating the train that last month derailed and spilled toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, apologized for the derailment at a U.S. Senate hearing Thursday, but declined solicitations to endorse a bipartisan rail safety bill. Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw opened his testimony to the Senate Environment and […]
FEMA gives 90 more days for Hurricane Ida appeals
Desperate Louisiana bayou residents lined up from morning until night earlier this week, trying to file complicated FEMA documents by the agency’s March 1 deadline for Hurricane Ida recovery aid. Rosina Philippe, a tribal elder with Atakapa-Ishak/Chawasha tribe, barely slept all week, as she and a group of housing advocates set up folding tables in […]
Wind and whales: ‘No evidence’ links projects to deaths
The U.S. offshore wind power industry is in its infancy, with just a handful of turbines installed along the Atlantic coast. But they’re already being blamed for the deaths of whales that have washed up on beaches in New Jersey, New York, Virginia and elsewhere. A Fox News story on Feb. 13 made strenuous attempts […]
Louisiana 2nd worst state for electric vehicle infrastructure, but ‘we’re going to catch up’
Louisiana has fallen far behind the rest of the nation when it comes to electric vehicle infrastructure, according to a recent study that analyzed the latest U.S. Department of Energy data. However, the state has plans to change that. The vehicle research company iSeeCars.com published a study Monday that analyzed data from the Department of […]