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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March Appeal letter and Delta Chapter Annual Report released

Haywood R. Martin, Chair
Sierra Club, Delta (Louisiana) Chapter
Lafayette, LA

February 26, 2010

Dear Friends,

The Sierra Club is the oldest environmental organization in the country and justly deserves its reputation for being willing to advocate and fight on issues of global, national and regional importance. Here in Louisiana the Sierra Club Delta Chapter stands up for the health and natural environment of our state and the gulf region by combining our Club’s national resources for information and organization with the efforts of our local volunteers to make a real difference where we live.

Our list of actions this year is extensive. The Delta Chapter and its regional groups have been actively involved on many fronts doing fun things like outings, tree plantings and socials as well as more campaign oriented actions like tabling at events, advocacy in meetings and hearings, letters to the editor and press releases timed to respond to news stories and events. A major effort continues to focus on the climate change issue. Significant victories have been achieved nationally and locally in the campaign to stop construction of new coal fired power plants. In Louisiana plans for new construction or conversion of natural gas to coal fired power were stopped or put on hold at Big Cajun I and II and Little Gypsy.

In other campaign areas an Earthjustice lawsuit on behalf of LEAN and Sierra Club achieved victory in forcing USEPA to promulgate new more restrictive rules for emissions into the air from PVC manufacturing facilities. A settlement was reached in the Enervest case in which Audubon and the Delta Chapter forced a major oilfield pipeline operator to remove mercury flow meters and clean up mercury leakage to the ground and surface water in the northeast part of the state.

After years of effort by the Sierra Club Environmental Justice Program and the Delta Chapter in coalition with adjacent communities and other groups we achieved closure of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO). The MRGO is credited with bringing the Katrina storm surge into the heart of New Orleans, and with causing the destruction of thousands of acres of natural wetlands. In another effort New Orleans group member Barry Kohl and others worked very effectively to achieve an addition of 1,000 acres of cypress swamp to Jean Lafitte Park near New Orleans, advocating for it to be included in congressional legislation despite strong political resistance.
On the legislative front the Delta Chapter is represented by an experienced lobbyist and local volunteers who advocate for good bills in the state legislature and help us to slow down or stop the bad ones. Examples of some of the good bills were the addition of Bayou Manchac to the State Scenic Rivers System and tax credits for residential solar installations. This year we will advocate for legislation to require energy efficiency in operation of state government buildings and motor vehicles and for a comprehensive look at statewide recycling. In April this past year the Delta Chapter coordinated an environmental voter day in Baton Rouge and distributed a revised Louisiana Environmental Briefing Book. We will hold the event again this year on April 21 and all members and interested persons are invited.

Delta Chapter just recently completed the hiring of a Conservation Coordinator, Devin Martin, who will be working on programs that invite membership and volunteer involvement. One such program will be the Water Sentinels citizen volunteer water sampling project on the Bayou Teche. We are planning a citizen water sampler training in Breaux Bridge on April 16 and we are hoping to expand the program to other parts of the state.

These are just a few examples of what we are doing. You can find out more by watching for our quarterly printed newsletters and by visiting the Chapter web site at http://www.louisiana.sierraclub.org/. We also request that you make sure that we have your email address so that you can receive occasional postings on what we are up to. If you are not sure, just send your name and email address to me at chair@louisiana.sierraclub.org and I will check it for you. As always we invite your help and participation in any of our conservation or advocacy programs.

This letter is an appeal to you, our Delta Chapter members to make a contribution that goes directly to the work being done by the Delta Chapter in our state. The funding we receive from the national organization has greatly decreased over the past two years, and is projected to decrease again this year. Once a year, the chapters are authorized by national to make a direct appeal to our members. Your support is extremely important to the work of the Delta Chapter on your behalf. Without your financial support and vote of confidence we would not be able to function.

If you contributed to our March Appeal last year you have our most heartfelt appreciation. A contribution this year will help us to weather the storm of funding cutbacks, and to continue to represent you and your families in protecting the health of our communities and the natural landscape in Louisiana.

Thanks so much for your support, and please feel free to contact me any time at chair@louisiana.sierraclub.org.


Sincerely,

Haywood R. Martin, Chair
Sierra Club Delta Chapter

Sierra Club Celebrates Little Gypsy Victory After A Two-Year Battle

By JENNIFER GROSSO

Just thirty miles west of New Orleans along State Highway 48 is the town of Montz, Louisiana. It is the home of Little Gypsy, a natural gas plant that supplies energy to the residents of Louisiana. In 2007, Entergy Louisiana LLC announced its plans to retrofit the plant to burn coal and petroleum coke (a byproduct of oil refining) instead of natural gas in order to diversify the fuel mix.

Entergy designed the plans for Little Gypsy with the intent of both varying Louisiana’s electricity sources as well as mitigating the continually rising costs of natural gas for consumers. However, as the nation experienced significant economic changes, finance and environmental legislation became two important factors for the repowering project.

In 2007, Entergy had originally estimated the retrofit to cost approximately $1 billion. In October 2007, their proposal was approved by the Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC), despite objections made by the Sierra Club. Sierra Club representatives were among the first to predict the financial problems that would inevitably bring the construction plans to a halt. We filed a complaint with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in January 2008 concerning Entergy’s failure to adequately assess future costs and emission regulations. Two months later, we followed up with an additional request to the LPSC to reconsider the permit as
well.

In June 2008, Sierra Club along with the Louisiana Environmental Action Network, the Alliance for Affordable Energy and the Gulf Restoration Network filed suit against the LPSC’s approval of Entergy’s plans under the Clean Air Act for exceeding the regulations for toxic emissions including mercury, lead and arsenic.

Researchers from the Histecon Associate group, hired by the Sierra Club and affiliates to assess the Little Gypsy construction plans, say that the cost of coal is increasing at a rate of 16% per year. In early 2009, Entergy reported that new environmental regulations, increased costs of construction and labor, and inadequate financing options, Little Gypsy project would be estimated to cost an upwards of $1.76 billion. However, this estimate only includes environmental regulations that have been put in place within the first few months of the Obama administration. In addition to the existing regulations, extensive greenhouse gas emission regulations are expected to be implemented. Considering that coal plants
are the number one source of human derived greenhouse gas emissions, these regulations could increase the cost of the retrofit by another one-third to one-half.

These substantial fiscal changes convinced Entergy that the benefits of the retrofit to the company and consumers would not be realized for another 13 years or more. Not only are the benefits becoming more distant in the future, but they are also decreasing in relevance. The rising natural gas prices Entergy sought to avoid have since stopped and began to fall with the discovery of the Haynesville shale formation, leaving the company with one less reason to convert Little Gypsy.

After filing several additional petitions opposing the Entergy permits to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) and Environmental Protection Agency, the LSPC ordered Entergy to review their construction plans to convert Little Gypsy on March 11th, 2009. Less than one month later, Entergy Louisiana LLC formally asked the LPSC for permission to suspend the project for a minimum of three years, at which point the project will be eligible for review. Sierra Club representatives believe that the delay is long enough to allow the continually increasing costs of coal to put the project on hold indefinitely.

Travel's most endangered destinations - see them before they're gone

"Travel's most endangered destinations"

"Put these special wonders on your must-visit list before they disappear"

Those are the headlines of an article in the Travel/Destinations section on MSNBC's Website. The article lists ten of the world's most endangered travel destinations and recommends that you see them before they cease to exist. The destinations range from the Alpine glaciers of Europe to the Taj Mahal. Destination number 9 on the list is Louisiana's coastal salt marshes of the Atchafalaya Basin. While the coastal salt marshes are mostly the final interface between land and sea, the article does get the details mostly right.

When the article gives readers an option to learn more about the Atchafalaya Basin, it cites a page on your very own Delta Chapter Website. The page it refers to is the "Introduction to the Atchafalaya Basin" page written by our very own Atchafalaya Basin expert, Charlie Fryling.

The original article came from the concierge.com Website but you can be sure that it enjoyed a much larger audience on the MSNBC site. It is certain that the widest possible exposure of the problem of coastal erosion can only help us fight it before it truly is too late.

The 2 page article on MSNBC.com:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25737162/

The page on concierge.com specifically about the Louisiana coastal salt marshes:
http://www.concierge.com/ideas/activeadventure/tours/2113?page=9

The original article on concierge.com:
http://www.concierge.com/ideas/activeadventure/tours/2113?page=0

The authoritative article written by Charlie Fryling:
http://louisiana.sierraclub.org/atchafalaya.asp

And please, no autographs!

Environmental Voter Lobby Day held in Baton Rouge on May 19th.

This event featured the kickoff of the the Louisiana Briefing Book (see above). This was an opportunity to meet fellow activists, learn about the legislative process, show our state legislators that we care about the environment and that let them know that we vote.

Welcome to our new Senior Regional Representative

Sierra Club Friends – On behalf of the staff of the Sierra Club’s Southeast Office, I would like to welcome Jill Mastrototaro as our new Senior Regional Representative – Manager (Northern Gulf Coast). Jill will manage the delivery of our programs within the states of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. She will begin her service to the Sierra Club effective March 10 and will be based in New Orleans, LA. Our office in Baton Rouge, LA will then be closed.

A native of Connecticut, Jill has also spent the past decade residing in the New Orleans, LA area. Over the past eight and a half years Jill has led advocacy and outreach efforts for the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation in southeast Louisiana’s 10,000-square mile watershed.

Jill’s experience includes monitoring and lobbying state and federal laws including the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, spearheading a coalition to protect cypress forests, launching a campaign on sprawl using multiple media outlets, leading the state’s first effort to quantify wetland loss from unplanned development, and creating and implementing regional strategic conservation plans.

Her successes include leading a broadly based coalition in getting Wal-Mart to stop the purchase and sale of cypress mulch harvested or manufactured in Louisiana, thwarting proposals such as cell towers, subdivisions, or a 10,000-acre airport in ecologically sensitive areas, protecting already stressed waterways from receiving millions of gallons of wastewater effluent, and mobilizing hundreds of volunteers to protect natural resources.

Jill has authored a myriad of resources such as, A Citizen’s Guide to Protecting Wetlands in the Pontchartrain Basin, and more recently, Growing Smarter: Guidelines for Low Impact Development in the Pontchartrain Basin, which have engaged and trained thousands of citizens. Jill is the founding Vice-President of the Land Trust for Southeast Louisiana, the only grassroots-based, land conservation group active in the state, and she chairs the Land Committee, negotiating land acquisitions and to-date securing $100,000 in endowment funds. She also is working to create a regional Gulf Coast network of land conservation groups. Jill serves on the board of Smart Growth for Louisiana, a non-profit working to encourage responsible land use throughout the state.

She holds a Masters Degree in Environmental Policy from the State University of New York – College of Environmental Science and Forestry (Syracuse, NY) and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Science from the University of Rochester (Rochester, NY).

We hope that you will join us in welcoming Jill to the Sierra Club family.

Thanks!

Regards – Jim Price, Southeast Staff Director, Sierra Club

Delta Chapter of the Sierra Club Announces Green Tie Award winners

First Club Award Ceremony Post Katrina and Rita Highlighted Environmental Hurricane Response Leadership

In the spirit of John Muir, founder of the Sierra Club and Father of our National Park system, local Sierra Club members and community volunteers acts as stewards of our environment. The Delta Chapter presented awards to celebrate this good work on April 21st, at a reception at Boutin’s restaurant in Baton Rouge, LA.

“We felt that it was fitting to give awards to deserving club members and our community partners on John Muir’s birthday, the eve of Earth Day” says Delta Chapter Chair, Leslie March. “ We want to recognize that the dedication of these people preserve our environment and make Louisiana a better place to live.”

Awards presented to our community partners and members include:

PELICAN AWARD FOR LEGAL SERVICES

Joel Waltzer of the Walzer Law firm and Adam Babich, Director of the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic for their excellent work in protecting communities from hazardous waste post-Katrina. Adam Babich photo at right.

SWAMPRAKER AWARD FOR ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING

Mark Schleifstein of the New Orleans Times-Picayune is granted this award for his coverage of environmental issues before and after the storms. Mark Schleifstein shown at left.

LOUISIANA LORAX AWARD FOR YOUTH ENGAGEMENT

Stacy Hess - Lafayette Middle School for being an inspiration to all environmental educators. Stacey Hess shown at right.

BAYOU STEWARD AWARD FOR CORPORATE LEADERSHIP

Sharp Solar Corporation for contributing solar panels to houses being rebuilt in the lower ninth ward.

EVERYBODY'S BACKYARD AWARD FOR COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP

Father Vien of Citizens for a Strong New Orleans East and Mary Queen of Vietnam, for helping to lead the recovery of his community to develop sustainably and to protect the environment.

"RED" BOURG AWARD FOR ENVIRONMENTAL COLLABORATION

Mike Bienvenu, Louisiana Crawfish Producers Association West. The LCPAW has been a strong partner in protecting the Cypress and the Atchafalaya Basin. Mike Bienvenu shown at left.

PAUL TEMPLET AWARD FOR GOVERNMENTAL LEADERSHIP

Suzanne Hawes, Army Corps of Engineers, has been an inspiration to all who work with her. Her dedication to preserving our environment and to encourage citizen participation with government is unsurpassed. Suzanne Hawes is shown at right.

WOOD DUCK AWARD FOR LEGISLATIVE LEADERSHIP

Henry "Junior" Rodriguez , President of St. Bernard Parish is an unfailing opponent of the MRGO, an ecological disaster commonly known as the hurricane highway. He has been a leader among public officials in negotiating the closure of this coastal cancer. Henry "Junior" Rodriguez is shown at left.

OUR COAST, OUR FUTURE AWARD FOR ENERGY ACCOUNTABILITY Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco.
We applaud the governor for having the courage to ask for a comprehensive environmental impact statement (EIS) of the Gulf of Mexico, post Katrina. She was willing to stand up to the oil and gas industry and the Minerals Management Service and demand that before they offer any more leases they needed to survey the current damage. Additionally, the Governor stood up for fisheries in the Gulf and opposed open loop liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals proposed for offshore Louisiana.

In addition to community awards, there were awards presented to outstanding club members. Each award winner received a framed plaque with a photograph donated by outdoor photographer and Sierra Member Charles Fryling.

Thanks to Jeffrey Dubinsky for providing the photographs.

And the winner is...

I am pleased to announce that the Delta Chapter is the recipient of two of the 2006 Sierra Club National Awards.

The Delta Chapter and Aaron Viles have won the Environmental Alliance Award.

This award honors Club members or entities who have helped further environmental goals through collaboration with other, non-Sierra Club constituencies.

The award was given for the creation and ongoing efforts of the Gumbo Alliance an unlikely alliance between commercial fishermen, recreational fishers and environmental groups. Credit for creating this alliance goes to Aaron Viles, secretary of the Delta Chapter Executive Committee with staff support from Darryl Malik-Wiley.

Barbara Coman is the recipient of the Special Service Award.

The Special Service Award honors a Sierra Club member, committee or group for strong and consistent commitment to conservation or the Club over an extended period of time.

This award is given to Barbara in recognition of the many years and many different roles she has taken at all levels of the Club. Currently she is serving as the Sierra Club Gulf Environmental Restoration Taskforce Chair and as the Chair of the New Orleans Group.

An award ceremony will be held in San Francisco at the Council of Delegates Meeting in September.

A huge round of applause, congratulations to Aaron and Barbara. Thank you to the Darryl and Maura; all of the Delta Chapter members and Gumbo Alliance partners too!

Leslie March
Delta Chapter Chair

Welcome to the Sierra Club's Delta Chapter blog

Welcome to the blog for the Delta Chapter of the Sierra Club. We have initiated this blog as a forum for discussion of the environment, and issues affecting it, in the State of Louisiana. We welcome input on relevant issues and reserve the right to delete posts that stray too far afield from the topic at hand.