Sierra Club Summer Outings

Although it doesn't officially start for another 3 weeks, summer is in full swing here in Louisiana. It's a great time to get out and experience the outdoors, get a little sun, and enjoy what Nature has to offer. Of course, our spicy southern sun can make even the most die-hard outdoors enthusiast appreciate the creature comfort of A/C.

But there's another way to beat the heat, and that's by enjoying the shade of old growth trees on a wooded path, feeling the Gulf breeze while combing a quiet beach, or taking a quick dip in a creek, lake, or waterfall (one that's clean and free of major pollution, which isn't always the case).

The Delta Chapter is happy to announce it's lineup of summer outings for 2011 to help you do just that. As always, they are free and open to the public--membership in the Sierra Club is encouraged but not necessary. Sierra Club outings are a great way to not only enjoy the best of what our region has to offer, but also to meet likeminded people and learn more about how you can get involved to help others explore, enjoy, and protect Louisiana.

To attend, simply RSVP to the contact listed. Directions and details will be given. If you have ideas, suggestions, special questions or concerns, feel free to contact the trip leader or Devin Martin at devin.martin@sierraclub.org or 985-209-5454 (cell) or 337-826-8387 (home).

Click here to see a list of Summer 2011 Outings.

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Legislative Update, May 30, 2011

Sierra Club Delta Chapter

This update highlights in readable form some bills of general interest that Sierra Club is watching. It includes updated status of bills that we have listed previously, and some not included before. We are also following other bills not listed here for their potential impact on the environment and public health.

HB 70 by Jane Smith expands the authority of political subdivisions (parish, municipality, and any other unit of local government, including a school board and a special district) to purchase or lease “hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles.” They had the authority as provided in existing law but this new law extends the authority to include emergency vehicles and those vehicles used by law enforcement agencies. Passed the House, referred to Senate Transportation Committee.

HB 219 (Jones) Allows funds in the Atchafalaya Basin Conservation Fund to be used to purchase, from willing sellers, land in the Atchafalaya Basin. Passed house by unanimous vote, referred to Senate Finance Committee.

HB 595 (Labruzzo) retains current tax credits for installation of residential solar and wind systems but adds that the state tax credit shall be in addition to any federal grant earned for the same system. This minor tweak will help to maintain Louisiana’s lead as one of the most generous of states when it comes to incentives for installation of solar and wind systems on new or existing homes and apartments. This bill has passed the house and has been referred to Senate Committee on Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs.

HCR 48 (Gisclair) is a House Resolution that Asks the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals to conduct investigations into health effects of the oil spill, subsequent cleanup and how residents should act to protect their long-term health." Such resolutions do not carry much weight but it would show recognition by the legislature that serious health problems caused by BP may exist and deserve investigation. Passed by the House, referred to Sen Cmte on Health and Welfare.

SB 70 (Karen Carter Peterson) Repeals the Louisiana Science Education Act. The Science Education Act is the one that requires LA school science classes to treat creationism and intelligent design as credible alternative theories to evolution. That law is an embarrassment to the state of Louisiana and should be repealed. This bill was deferred (killed) in Sen Education Committee.

Two good bills from Senator A.G. Crowe of Slidell deserve our support. First is SB 97, the Oil Spill Response Act that would require any dispersants to be listed on the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan, and would require dispersants to be non-toxic and have a substantiated endpoint of carbon dioxide and water. This legislation would have force only in state waters. This bill comes up for hearing on May 31 in Senate Committee on Environmental Quality.

The second good bill from Senator Crowe is SB 184 which seeks to open up the time period for claims against BP such that “any right, claim, cause or action which would have expired during the time period of April 20, 2010 through September 30, 2011 shall lapse on November 1, 2021.” The principle of opening up restrictive time periods for claims against BP is one we can agree with. This bill has not been heard by its first committee.

A good one by Senator Willard-Lewis is SB 245 that provides a state income tax credit for sales tax paid by homeowners when purchasing green materials for residential home building or remodeling. This could encourage green building by offset of the higher cost of such materials. This bill has not been heard by its first committee.

Another one by Senator Willard-Lewis, SB 247 creates the crime of “illegal disposal of waste” (including toxic waste) and sets penalties for illegal dumping of waste. It turns out this bill is all about who gets to collect revenue from junk cars confiscated in New Orleans. This bill was voluntarily deferred because of administrative problems that came to light in hearing. The bill will be heard again in Sen Judiciary C.

Other bills of interest are:

HB 513 (Williams) Provides relative to bicycle and pedestrian traffic on roadways. Clarifies right of way of pedestrians and requires nighttime lighting front and rear for bicycles. Passed House, referred to Sen Transportation Committee.

HB 615 (Simon) Adds geothermal energy systems to systems eligible for the wind or solar energy systems tax credit. This bill has not been heard by its first committee.

HB 622 and 623 (Jackson) Allow additional forms of taxation to support mass transit in ozone non-attainment areas. These bills have not been heard by committee.

SB 133 (Marionneaux) Provides relative to the Louisiana Smokefree Air Act. This legislation would ban smoking in any restaurant or bar. Passed Sen Committee on Health & Welfare, awaiting Sen floor vote.

SB 255 (Willard-Lewis) Grants a refundable "residential energy efficiency tax credit for the qualified elderly" Passed Sen Rev and Fiscal Affairs, awaiting Sen floor vote.

You can follow these and other legislative bills at http://www.legis.state.la.us/

We encourage you to voice your opinion and/or organize call ins to state legislators. Feel free to contact me at hrmartin2sc@gmail.com if you have questions, comments or suggestions.

Woody Martin, Chair
Sierra Club Delta Chapter

Legislative Update, May 22, 2011

Sierra Club Delta Chapter

For those of you who like to watch environmental and progressive issues in the Louisiana State legislature I have identified here some proposed legislation that will be of interest to you. This includes the updated status of bills that I listed previously, and some not included before.

Our top priority this year is opposition to HB 563, HB 564 and SB 146. These bills from Representatives Cortez, Seabaugh, and Senator Adley seek to remove the right of property owners to sue oil companies for damages to their property, and to throw resolution of all such disputes into the State Dept of Natural Resources Office of Conservation. This department is known to be very friendly to the oil industry. The first hearings on these bills were Wednesday, May 11. HB 563 was deferred (killed) in House Nat Res & Environment Committee. Hearing on HB 564 was cancelled and SB 146 still has not passed one committee. It looks like this one is stopped but we must stay vigilant for a resurgence in some form later in the legislative session.

Two good bills from Senator A.G. Crowe of Slidell deserve our support. The first one is SB 97, the Oil Spill Response Act that would require any dispersants to be listed on the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan, and would require dispersants to be non-toxic and have a substantiated endpoint of carbon dioxide and water. As you know the dispersants used by BP were highly toxic and still reside in the ecosystem over a year after the disaster. Of course this legislation would have force only in state waters. This bill has not been heard by its first committee.

The second good bill from Senator Crowe is SB 184 which seeks to open up the time period for claims against BP such that “any right, claim, cause or action which would have expired during the time period of April 20, 2010 through September 30, 2011 shall lapse on November 1, 2021.” There will of course be legal arguments over this but the principle of opening up restrictive time periods for claims against BP is one we can agree with. This bill has not been heard by its first committee.

SB 247 by Senator Willard-Lewis of New Orleans creates the crime of “illegal disposal of waste” (including toxic waste) and sets penalties for illegal dumping of waste. Waste is defined in the proposed law but limited to those identified and designated as waste by the Department of Environmental Quality. Federal law already prohibits illegal disposal of wastes but this state law would allow quicker legal action and would prescribe for fines, possible prison time and confiscation of vehicles used by offenders. This bill has not been heard by its first committee.

Another good one by Senator Willard-Lewis is SB 245 that provides a state income tax credit for sales tax paid by homeowners when purchasing green materials for residential home building or remodeling. This could encourage green building by offset of the higher cost of such materials. This bill has not been heard by its first committee.

HB 595 (Labruzzo) retains current tax credits for installation of residential solar and wind systems but adds that the state tax credit shall be in addition to any federal grant earned for the same system. This minor tweak will help to maintain Louisiana’s lead as one of the most generous of states when it comes to incentives for installation of solar and wind systems on new or existing homes and apartments. This bill has passed the house and awaits consideration by the Senate.

HB 70 by Jane Smith is another good one. This bill expands the authority of political subdivisions (parish, municipality, and any other unit of local government, including a school board and a special district) to purchase or lease “hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles.” They had the authority as provided in existing law but this new law extends the authority to include emergency vehicles and those vehicles used by law enforcement agencies. Passed the House, now in Senate Transportation Committee.

HCR 48 (Gisclair) is a House Resolution that Asks the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals to conduct investigations into health effects of the oil spill, subsequent cleanup and how residents should act to protect their long-term health." Such resolutions do not carry much weight but it would show recognition by the legislature that serious health problems caused by BP may exist and deserve investigation. Adopted by the House, reported to the Senate.

SB 70 (Karen Carter Peterson) Repeals the Louisiana Science Education Act. The Science Education Act is the one that requires LA school science classes to treat creationism and intelligent design as credible alternative theories to evolution. That law is an embarrassment to the state of Louisiana and should be repealed asap. This bill may be up for hearing on Thursday, May 26 in Senate Education Committee. Watch for hearing schedule for that committee at http://www.legis.state.la.us/

Other bills of interest are:

HB 513 (Williams) Provides relative to bicycle and pedestrian traffic on roadways. Clarifies right of way of pedestrians and requires nighttime lighting front and rear for bicycles. Passed 1st committee, pending vote in House.

HB 615 (Simon) Adds geothermal energy systems to systems eligible for the wind or solar energy systems tax credit. This bill has not been heard by its first committee.

HB 622 and 623 (Jackson) Allow additional forms of taxation to support mass transit in ozone non-attainment areas. These bills have not been heard by committee.

SB 133 (Marionneaux) Provides relative to the Louisiana Smokefree Air Act. This legislation would ban smoking in any restaurant or bar. Passed 1st committee and has been referred to the Senate floor.

SB 255 (Willard-Lewis) Grants a refundable "residential energy efficiency tax credit for the qualified elderly" This bill will be heard in Sen Rev and Fiscal Affairs on Monday 5-23-11 at 2 pm.

Sierra Club Delta Chapter is in active support of the good bills listed here and we are in active opposition to the HB 563, HB 564 and SB 146. Our legislative lobbyist will be representing us at hearings and in the halls during the session. We are working together with volunteer lobbyists for LEAN, League of Women Voters and other groups to form a unified position on legislation of concern to our members and allies.

You can follow these legislative bills at http://www.legis.state.la.us/and we encourage you to voice your opinion on these bills to your state legislators. Feel free to contact me at hrmartin2sc@gmail.com if you have questions, comments or suggestions.

Woody Martin, Chair
Sierra Club Delta Chapter

Legislative Update, May 16, 2011

For those of you who like to watch the Louisiana State legislature I have identified here some proposed legislation that will be of interest to you.

Our top priority this year is opposition to HB 563, HB 564 and SB 146. These bills from Representatives Cortez, Seabaugh, and Senator Adley seek to remove the right of property owners to sue oil companies for damages to their property, and to throw resolution of all such disputes into the State Dept of Natural Resources Office of Conservation. This department is known to be very friendly to the oil industry. This legislation will directly affect the ability of property owners to clean up after the oil companies. The industry as usual wants to get a free pass at somebody else’s expense. The first hearings on these bills will be Wednesday, May 11.

Two good bills from Senator A.G. Crowe of Slidell deserve our support. The first one is SB 97, the Oil Spill Response Act that would require any dispersants to be listed on the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan, and would require dispersants to be non-toxic and have a substantiated endpoint of carbon dioxide and water. As you know the dispersants used by BP were highly toxic and still reside in the ecosystem over a year after the disaster. Of course this legislation would have force only in state waters but there is also an effort in the legislature to extend the boundary for state waters out from the current three mile limit.

The second good bill from Senator Crowe is SB 184 which seeks to open up the time period for claims against BP such that “any right, claim, cause or action which would have expired during the time period of April 20, 2010 through September 30, 2011 shall lapse on November 1, 2021.” There will of course be legal arguments over this but the principle of opening up restrictive time periods for claims against BP is one we can agree with.

SB 247 by Senator Willard-Lewis of New Orleans creates the crime of “illegal disposal of waste” (including toxic waste) and sets penalties for illegal dumping of waste. Waste is defined in the proposed law but limited to those identified and designated as waste by the Department of Environmental Quality. Federal law already prohibits illegal disposal of wastes but this state law would allow quicker legal action and would prescribe for fines, possible prison time and confiscation of vehicles used by offenders.

Another good one by Senator Willard-Lewis is SB 245 that provides a state income tax credit for sales tax paid by homeowners when purchasing green materials for residential home building or remodeling. This could encourage green building by offset of the higher cost of such materials.

HB 595 (Labruzzo) retains current tax credits for installation of residential solar and wind systems but adds that the state tax credit shall be in addition to any federal grant earned for the same system. This minor tweak will help to maintain Louisiana’s lead as one of the most generous of states when it comes to incentives for installation of solar and wind systems on new or existing homes and apartments.

HB 70 by Jane Smith is another good one. This bill expands the authority of political subdivisions (parish, municipality, and any other unit of local government, including a school board and a special district) to purchase or lease “hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles.” They had the authority as provided in existing law but this new law extends the authority to include emergency vehicles and those vehicles used by law enforcement agencies. We are seeing a push here in Louisiana for conversion of vehicle fleets to compressed natural gas because of its local availability and price but we may also get some hybrid vehicles on the road with this legislation.

HCR 48 (Gisclair) is a House Resolution that Asks the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals to conduct investigations into health effects of the oil spill, subsequent cleanup and how residents should act to protect their long-term health." Such resolutions do not carry much weight but it would show recognition by the legislature that serious health problems caused by BP may exist and deserve investigation.

Sierra Club Delta Chapter wanted to go for legislation this year to set up a system for recycling of E-waste (computers, monitors, and other electronic trash) but we were limited by the five bill limit imposed on each legislator for this year’s fiscal session. We will try this one again next year. But we are in active support of the good bills listed here and we are in active opposition to the HB 563, HB 564 and SB 146. Our legislative lobbyist will be representing us at hearings and in the halls during the session. We are working together with LEAN, League of Women Voters and others to form a unified position on legislation of concern to our members and allies.

You can follow these legislative bills at http://www.legis.state.la.us/ and we encourage you to voice your opinion on these bills to your state legislators. Feel free to contact me at hrmartin2sc@gmail.com if you have questions, comments or suggestions.

Woody Martin, Chair
Sierra Club Delta Chapter

Washington Parish Reservoir District to be abolished (we hope)

Representative Smiley,

You have no idea how relieved that I was to see the Washington Parish Reservoir District included on the list to be abolished. The creation of this district has caused much grief to many of the residents of Washington Parish including my own family and neighbors. Unfortunately, we have no voice with our own elected representatives (Sen. Nevers and Rep. Ritchie). They are very much in support of the reservoir district. These two representatives well know the opposition to this project is strong, but they would have others that are not in tune with this matter believe that the whole parish is in support of it. There has been so much controversy and even the air of corruption surrounding all of the reservoir districts. The paid reservoir consultant, Michael Thompson, was even convicted of a felony in relation to the Poverty Point Reservoir (a model for future reservoirs). It is a money making scheme to milk millions of tax dollars from our state and forcefully take land and homes from hardworking people. With the help of other concerned people from our state, a web site was created to compile all of the wrongdoing surrounding the creation of the Washington Parish Reservoir District and other reservoir districts across our state. Here is the link to that web site: http://oakgrovecommunity.tripod.com/

The Bouey Moore House and site that would sit dead center under the Washinton Parish Reservoir has since been placed on the National History Parks registry, and my dad received federal funds totaling $48,000 in the form of a grant to restore the old home place after Hurricane Katrina damaged it. The state will actually have to go to bat with the federal government to take this historic site. There are also several well-kept cemeteries to be moved. To be blunt, I am sick to death of fighting this battle, but I continue to fight it for my family's sake. The Washington Parish Reservoir Commission could not get approval with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build the reservoir because they could not prove the need for potable water, and the data that was submitted by the contracted engineering firm, Denmon Engineering, was not in-line with the information reported by the federal agency that monitors factual data on our ground water and aquifers. I believe it the USGS. We don't even need the reservoir for recreational purposes with the completion of the state park in Franklinton. If the governor and elected officials are truly concerned and interested in cutting waste, then abolish the reservoir districts and commissions and you'll save about a billion right there. I implore you to really look into this matter before arbitrarily removing this abomination of a reservoir district from HB 584.

Best Regards,


Jalon Beech
Licensed Private Investigator