Sierra Club Requests Governor Jindal to Develop a New Management Plan for the West Pearl River

PRESS RELEASE

February 1, 2012

Today the Delta Chapter of the Sierra Club sent a letter to Governor Bobby Jindal requesting his assistance by requiring the  Secretary of Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to prepare a new management plan for the West Pearl River.  

Last August illegal discharges from the Bogalusa paper mill killed hundreds of thousands of fish and mussels and also impacted scenic values and water quality of the West Pearl River.  Hundreds of citizens attended legislative hearings last year expressing their concern about water quality and public health and asked for state action to clean up the River. The Secretary of LWLF has the responsibility under the Louisiana Scenic Rivers Act, to issue a management plan for each of the State’s designated Scenic Rivers. 

The Sierra Club stated, in a November 18th letter to LDWF Secretary Robert Barham that the current management plan for the West Pearl River is outdated, does not consider current water quality problems, and contains no management strategies that are specific to the river.  

Further, there is no program or plan to preserve important natural features, including the species identified by the Louisiana Natural Heritage database as threatened or endangered.  The USF&WS reports that twenty-six threatened Gulf Sturgeon were killed by Temple-Inland's illegal discharges.

Haywood Martin, Chair of Sierra Club Delta Chapter said, "The outdated plan ignores the fact that the river is classified as impaired and has a mercury-in-fish consumption advisory for pregnant women and children under 7 yrs of age.  Since Secretary Barham has not responded to our letter after three months, we have asked Governor Jindal to intercede."   Martin continued, "We hope Governor Jindal will advise the Secretary of his responsibilities to enforce provisions of the Act."

The Sierra Club reviewed the Scenic River permit and outdated management plan for the West Pearl and determined that State oversight under the Act is so seriously deficient that scenic value and quality of water in the West Pearl River are not being protected as mandated by the Scenic Rivers Act.  The current management plan does not provide for continued involvement of the public in the development, implementation and administration of the plan as required by the Act.  

 “We are appalled to find, after the recent disaster on the Pearl River, that the State of Louisiana has consistently failed its management responsibilities for the river",  stated Louie Miller, Director for the Mississippi Sierra Club Chapter.  "The Basin is an asset for both states," he added, "The Louisiana paper mill continues to discharge toxic chemicals into the Pearl river polluting both states' waters."

For further information contact:

Haywood Martin, Chair

Sierra Club Delta Chapter

Email: hrmartin2sc@gmail.com

Phone: 337-232-7953

Address: P.O. Box 52503

Lafayette, LA 70505

Louie Miller, Director

Mississippi Chapter

Email:     louie.miller@sierraclub.org
Phone:    601-352-1026

Hugh Penn

Law Office of George H. Penn

Email:  ghpnn@bellsouth.net

Phone: 985-867-9254

Delta Chapter Legislative Updates 2012

Delta Chapter Legislative Updates 2012

The 2012 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature convenes at noon on Monday, March 12, 2012 and final adjournment is no later than 6:00 pm on Monday, June 4, 2012. 

The length of the session is 60 legislative days during an 85 calendar day period.

The subject matter of the session is general in nature; however, no measure levying or authorizing a new state tax, increasing an existing state tax, or legislating with regard to state tax exemptions, exclusions, deductions, or credits can be introduced or enacted.

See the full text of the legislative information bulletin at http://www.legis.state.la.us/archive/12rs/12rsbulletin.pdf 

Sierra Club Delta Chapter will be monitoring the 2012 Louisiana State Legislative Session for proposed legislation that may be of interest to the environmental community. We will follow the progress of legislation of interest and we will be posting our updates on this blog.

We look forward to an interesting legislative session.

Delta Chapter Executive Committee 2012 - 2014 - Election Candidate Statements

Michael Caire

I am a Sierra Club life member and involved activist especially in northeast Louisiana. Past success stories include complete funding for the purchase of Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge, followed up years later by the listing of the Louisiana Black Bear which is now approaching recovery status, Saline Bayou Wild and Scenic River designation, scenic river designation by the state of Louisiana of a portion of the Ouachita river thus stopping COE channelization plans. I hope to involve more members in NE Louisiana Sierra Club in the activities of the Delta Chapter.

Jason Faulk

Hello, I am Jason Faulk, a resident of Lafayette and member of the Sierra Club Acadian Group since 2006. I am asking for your vote for a seat on the Delta Chapter ExCom. Although this is my first time running for the ExCom, I am no stranger to environmental causes or community organizations. I have several years of hands-on experience working to improve his community and his world, beginning with the Lafayette campaign “Save the Horse Farm” in 2006. Since then, I have been involved in numerous organizations, including EarthShare CSA (a non-profit Community Shared Agriculture project), BikeLafayette (a Bicycle advocacy group), helping to create the Youth Alliance of Louisiana Leaders (YALL), and serving as president of ULL campus group SPEAK (the Society for Peace, Environment, Action, and Knowledge) from 2009 to 2011.

I have also attended, volunteered and trained at the Sierra Student Coalition’s summer organizing training program SPROG, and was instrumental in recruiting young people to the 2009 and 2011 PowerShift events in Washington, DC. I am especially familiar with the challenges and successes of recruiting and training younger generations of activists, and I am especially interested in the issues of sustainable food, bicycling, environmental politics, sustainable development and urban planning, clean energy and climate change. I am currently employed as a legal assistant, and I am a pursuing a degree in Community Sustainability at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Stacey Leah Scarce

Hello I am Stacey Scarce and I currently serve as the manager of Acadiana Park Nature Station, environmental education facility in Lafayette. Additionally, I am an expert guide for paddle, camping and hiking trips for Pack and Paddle, the premier outdoor excursion center in the region. I also teach wilderness adventure training at University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s kinesiology department. I played an integral role in creating the community roots project in partnership between Lafayette City Government, Lafayette Sheriff’s Office, EarthShare Gardens and community or neighborhood groups. The organization helps create food gardens in low-income neighborhoods.

I created an educational game for the black bear conservation coalition, which is given to teachers across Louisiana. I serve on the advisory committee for L. Leo Judice Elementary and Lafayette Middle School, both environmental charter schools, and I am on the board of trustees for Atchafalaya Basinkeeper. I created a 4th grade program that adheres to state science GLE’s for Nature Station fieldtrips for 150 4th grade classes every school year in Lafayette Parish.

I devote considerable personal time to concerns near and dear to her heart, including human rights, environmental justice, habitat preservation and restoration, alternative energy issues. I have traveled extensively, from South Dakota’s pine ridge reservation to the slums of India, including 42 states and 10 countries (Japan, Thailand, India, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Costa Rica, Australia, Netherlands, Canada, Mexico). I would like to be on Sierra Club executive committee to learn more about the issues faced by Louisiana residents and to do what I can to help.

Dean Wilson

My name is Dean A. Wilson. I was born on an American Air Force Base in Spain to an American father and a Spanish mother. I grew up in Spain, but came to Louisiana in 1984 to train to go to the Amazon in Brazil. After living for four months in the swamps south of Franklin (with only a spear, a few hooks, and a bow and arrows), I fell in love with Louisiana’s swamps and decided to stay and make my living as a commercial fisherman in the Atchafalaya Basin. After years of seeing the decline of our wetlands, I started a swamp tour company in 2000 to try to raise awareness about the plight of the Atchafalaya Basin. In 2003 I was voted the Chair of the Atchafalaya Basin Committee by the Delta Chapter of the Sierra Club. In the spring of 2004 I was approved as the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper by the Waterkeeper Alliance.

I help protect the Atchafalaya Basin through education, research, and enforcement of our environmental laws. For too long, the Atchafalaya Basin has been a lawless area where few environmental laws are enforced. I take the enforcement of our environmental laws very seriously. I also continue to conduct regular surveillance flights over the Atchafalaya, Maurepas, Barataria-Terrebonne, and Pearl River Basins to monitor for legal and illegal cypress logging and other illegal activities. I’m one of the founders of the Save Our Cypress Coalition, and I am working on an ongoing education campaign in local schools and civic clubs. I’m also helping to organize strong Save Our Cypress Coalitions in other southern states.

I’m very proud of Delta Chapter leadership protecting the environment here in Louisiana. If re-elected to the ex-com, my main priority would be to continue to ensure that the Delta Chapter remains true to our commitment to protecting our natural world for future generations.