Environment
Biden reinstates bird protections gutted under Trump
The Interior Department on Monday revoked a Trump administration policy that would have undercut a century-old law protecting migratory birds. The move strengthens federal regulators’ authority to enforce the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, a 1918 law that allows the government to prosecute polluters whose actions are responsible for the deaths of about 1,100 protected bird […]
United Nations experts condemn pollution of Cancer Alley as environmental racism
A group of United Nations Human Rights experts has raised “serious concerns” about the continued industrialization of the region of Louisiana known as “Cancer Alley,” calling the permitted development of petrochemical facilities and ongoing pollution of St. James Parish a form of environmental racism against the mostly-Black community. The group of 14 U.N. Human Rights […]
AG Jeff Landry signs onto $100M settlement offer from Freeport -McMoran for its damage to Louisiana’s coast
A lawsuit pursuing financial restitution for damages by a petrochemical company to Louisiana’s natural storm buffer moved forward Thursday, when the state’s attorney general signed onto a $100 million settlement agreement. For years, parishes have been pursuing lawsuits against oil and gas companies for ripping up the state’s wetlands, furthering the state’s coastal land loss […]
Insurance companies reminded to obey law after complaints stream into commissioner’s office
Following complaints against insurance companies that are refusing to give policyholders full copies of their policies and refusing to work with public adjusters, Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon released a statement Wednesday reminding insurers of their legal obligations to consumers as they work on claims from the devastating 2020 hurricane season and last month’s extreme […]
Cancer Alley’s been ignored by state’s top Democrats, activist says in Poor People Campaign event
One of the nation’s most prominent defenders of the poor and their right to live in environments free of pollution included Louisiana’s Cancer Alley in his weekly call to activism Monday during which a St. James Parish resident accused the state’s leading Democrats, specifically Gov. John Bel Edwards and former Rep. Cedric Richmond, of ignoring […]
State’s climate task force open to public’s ideas
Gov. John Bel Edwards’ Climate Initiatives Task Force is seeking ideas from the public it can incorporate into its final climate report to be released next year. Members of the public can make those public comments between now and April 30. The report itself is scheduled to be published in February 2022. “Two of the […]
Haaland faces GOP critics at her Interior confirmation hearing
WASHINGTON — Rep. Deb Haaland confronted expected tough questioning from Republican senators on Tuesday at her confirmation hearing to become the first Native American secretary of the Department of the Interior. But the New Mexico Democrat also drew support from Rep. Don Young, a longtime Alaska Republican who made a quick appearance to praise her […]
Insurance claim deadline for Hurricane Laura is Tuesday
Tuesday, Feb. 23, marks the 180-day insurance claim deadline for Louisiana policyholders to file a proof of loss for any claims related to Hurricane Laura, and similar deadlines are approaching for hurricanes Delta and zeta. Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon urged all property and casualty insurers to grant deadline extensions to property insurance policyholders who […]
Report: Internal memo shows DuPont knew its LaPlace plant was polluting air
Chemicals manufacturer DuPont decided to sell its LaPlace plant after determining it would cost too much to reduce its emissions of a toxic chemical, according to the Guardian, which based its report on an internal memo from DuPont that was entered as an exhibit in a lawsuit filed in St. John the Baptist Parish. The […]
Louisiana’s timetable for road, power and water system repairs unknown
State officials say there is still no timetable for when state highways will fully reopen because the weather has been so unpredictable. Gov. John Bel Edwards said on his monthly radio show on 89.3 FM WRKF in Baton Rouge that Interstate 10 from Baton Rouge to Lafayette would undergo a “staged reopening” because temperatures in […]
Louisiana officials defend oil and gas industry, criticize President Biden’s order pausing offshore drilling
Members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation and officials from the state’s executive branch lined up Wednesday alongside parish-level politicians and oil and gas lobbyists to express concern with or outright condemn a Jan. 20 executive order from President Joe Biden pausing offshore drilling. The president’s executive order, issued in the hours after he was sworn into […]
The term ‘Cancer Alley’ has a long history in Louisiana — and even a history before Louisiana
Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy said he took offense to President Joe Biden using the term “Cancer Alley” to describe an 85-mile stretch along the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to New Orleans that has 150 chemical plants and refineries that nearby residents have long blamed for a variety of illnesses. Cassidy called the president’s remark […]