Protecting New Orleans' Environment:
For Our Families, For Our Future

Hot topic

January 10, 2010 Group Program:

Tim Ruth, a Biologist with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, will present a program entitled: "Biology and Conservation of the Threatened Gulf Sturgeon".

Tim has been working with other biologists to study life history of the Gulf Sturgeon to assist in the recovery of this threatened species. It is a fish that has survived the extinction of the dinosaurs and lives in Louisiana's rivers in the Florida Parishes. Sturgeon as long as 8 feet and weighing over 350 pounds have been caught in the Bogue Chitto River. Tim will show photos of the capture and release of this incredible species and discuss research using digital telemetry to track them during an annual migration from salt water to fresh to spawn. The Sierra Club won a federal lawsuit in August 2001 to require the US Fish and Wildlife Service to develop a recovery program to stabilize the population of Gulf Sturgeon.

The Sierra Club program will be on Sunday, January 10th at 7pm at the Dominion Auditorium, at the Audubon Zoo, . The entrance is to the right of the main entrance to the Zoo, please look for the Sierra Club banner. The doors open at 6:30pm with refreshments.

Coalition Settles Federal Suit to Cleanup Mercury Contamination

MONROE, LA (July 2, 2009) - On July 2nd, a coalition of local environmental groups, reached a court settlement with EnerVest Operating LLC of Houston Texas, a major operator of natural gas wells in the Monroe Gas Field. EnerVest has agreed to remove all mercury meters and to clean up mercury-contaminated wetlands and other soils at gas production sites in Ouachita, Union and Morehouse Parishes.

Student attorneys from the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic filed a federal suit in May 2007 against EnerVest Operating LLC on behalf of the Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN), the Sierra Club, the Gulf Restoration Network (GRN), and the Louisiana Audubon Council.

EnerVest controls more than 4,000 natural gas wells in the Monroe Field and is the largest producer. Close to 800 of its wells, on private property, were equipped with mercury meters, which hold about eight pounds of mercury each. Mercury is a hazardous waste under state and federal law.

After the environmental coalition sent a 90 day notice of intent to sue in December 2006, EnerVest, met with LDEQ and coalition representatives to discuss a Cooperative Agreement to cleanup their sites. A federal suit was filed in May 2007 alleging that mercury was leaking from EnerVest meters in the Monroe Gas field. EnerVest and LDEQ finalized a Cooperative Agreement in January 2008. The plaintiffs believed that this Agreement did not go far enough to protect the environment and continued with their suit.

As a result of the suit and court adopted settlement, EnerVest has removed over 400 active mercury meters and replaced them with dry-flow meters - which do not pollute. EnerVest has also agreed to a cleanup schedule of mercury contaminated sites, and cleanup standards for soils and wetland sites that are more protective than those in the LDEQ/EnerVest Cooperative Agreement.

"EnerVest is setting a good corporate example by settling this case and agreeing to clean up their mercury meter sites, said Barry Kohl, of the Audubon Council. Other natural gas producers in the Monroe Gas Field must come forward with cleanup plans to reverse the mercury pollution. If not, the coalition will continue to seek legal remedies. Leaky meters continue to contaminate private property and public resources.”

"Currently there are 48 mercury-in-fish advisories statewide, including seven within the Monroe Gas Field," said Cynthia Sarthou, director of GRN. "The Ouachita River, Bayou DeSiard and Black Lake have “mercury-in-fish” advisories that caution pregnant women, women who are breast-feeding, and children younger than seven years of age to limit consumption of fish." Eating fish with high levels of mercury raises the risk of developmental and cognitive damage in babies and children and has been linked to increased risk of coronary heart disease in men.

"The cleanup of the Monroe Gas Field will be the first step in reducing the mercury contamination of soil and sediment which impacts our rivers and lakes, says Marylee Orr, Executive director, Louisiana Environmental Action Network. Mercury contamination negatively impacts recreational and commercial fishing, as well as the local economy in the Ouachita River Basin. In 2002, a local man was poisoned by eating mercury-contaminated fish from Bayou Bartholomew." "We are pleased that EnerVest has become the first gas company to start a cleanup of the mercury at its wells on private property. But there are many other companies responsible for abandoned meters and they owe it to the landowners and the public to clean up the mercury spills," said Delta Sierra Chairman, Haywood Martin. The LDEQ has estimated that there are over 20,000 mercury meters in use or abandoned across the state.

The original suit was filed in U.S. District Court, Western District of Louisiana, Monroe, LA.
Case NO: 3:2007-CV-00817; Judge Robert G. James.
Stipulated Judgment attached as electronic copy

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Barry Kohl
Louisiana Audubon Council (504) 861-8465

Haywood Martin
Delta (Louisiana) Chapter of the Sierra Club, (337) 232-7953

Cynthia Sarthou
Gulf Restoration Network (504) 525-1528 x202

Marylee Orr
Louisiana Environmental Action Network (225) 588-5059

Adam Babich
Tulane Environmental Law Clinic (504) 862-8800

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

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.

City Park attempting to replace its newly found green spaces with golf courses

That's right, City Park is attempting to cover its newly found green spaces with new golf courses. Read about it right here at our new City Park page.

Newly revised Green Building brochure now available

This is the newly revised brochure (PDF 386 KB) about building green created by members of the Gulf Coast Restoration Taskforce.

Jean Lafitte NHP and preserve expanded... finally!

After many years and many false starts, The Barataria Unit of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park (NHP) and preserve has been expanded. The bill expanding the park was recently signed into law by President Obama.

Nola.com, the Web site of the New Orleans Times Picayune gives all the details in the following article:
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-12/1238822638157190.xml&coll=1

See a photo of the park's expansion here:
http://photos.nola.com/tpphotos/2009/04/park_addition.html

Who you lookin' at?

You had better be lookin' at us. Well more specifically, we want you to look at our new Facebook group dedicated to the New Orleans Group of the Sierra Club. Find it at: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=76134098503&ref=nf

Of course we also want you to join our FB group. Membership is open to anyone even if you aren't also a Sierra Club member. Of course you do have to be a Facebook user to join. If you are not already a FB member, what are you waiting for?

Don't forget to drop us a line when you do join our group. You are also welcome to post away on this group. Our only request is that you keep things focused on either the environment or the New Orleans Group or both.

We also want to extend an invitation to all our Yahoo Group members to join our Facebook group.

Welcome to century 21.

Excursion bags still available but going fast

The Excursion Bag is designed in gray with black trim, this waterproof, zippered tote bag is ideal for shopping or camping/beach trips. This is no wimpy bag. It's tough and available for only $10 a piece. That is a great deal so buy yours today. Contact Vance Levesque at H: 529-2089, Office: 837-5105. e-mail: mrkahuna@juno.com to buy yours.

The Louisiana Environmental Briefing Book is now available.

The Louisiana Environmental Briefing Book has just been released. It was produced to educate Louisiana legislators on environmental issues in our state that affect us all. Even if you are not in the Louisiana legislature, it is worth reading because it is chock full of timely information about environmental issues in our state that every concerned citizen needs to be aware of.

The Environmental Briefing Book was produced by:

• Sierra Club, Delta Chapter
• The Gulf Restoration Network (GRN)
• Coalition to Restore Costal Louisiana
• Alliance for Affordable Energy
• The Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN)
• Louisiana Bayoukeeper
• The Atchafalaya Basinkeeper
• The Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper
• The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation
• The Green Zone Task Force
• The Louisiana Audubon Council (LAC)
• MQVN Community Development Corporation (MQVNCDC)
• The Land Trust for Southeast Louisiana
• Say Yes to Clean Energy and No to Coal and Nuclear Coalition
• Mercy Corps

Read the Louisiana Environmental Briefing Book at the Louisiana Environmental Briefing Book Website: http://labriefingbook.org/ or download the large PDF file (2.89 Mb). It's a huge file but well worth the download time, only a couple of seconds on a broadband connection.

Recent event photos:

See our new events page to see photos that were taken at recent New Orleans Group events and outings.

How can you $ave money and Save the planet?:

Buy recycled Mardi Gras beads for less and do your part in keeping beads out of our landfills!! Join the Arc of Greater New Orleans (a United Way affiliated agency located at 925 S. Labarre Road) and the Sierra Club as we recycle Mardi Gras beads, trinkets and stuffed animals for the 2008 Carnival Season. Our 33” and 48” beads are already sorted and bagged in 30 lb bags and are ready for pick-up.

Place your order now and choose from our best selection. Call Pat, Milton or Vance at 504-837-5105 Mon - Fri 9am to 3pm, or e-mail mrkahuna@juno.com to save $$$ & our planet!!

Sierra Club partners with Hike for KaTREEna

The New Orleans Group of the Sierra Club is proud to partner with an important New Orleans effort to replace and restore New Orleans’ critical urban trees. Hike for Katreena is a non-profit organization founded in January 2006, by Monique Pilie', a lifelong resident of New Orleans who is working to plant one tree in New Orleans for all 2175 miles of the Appalachian Trail that she recently hiked. Monique started hiking on April 9th in Georgia and finished the Trail on October 7th in Maine.

All trees will be planted on public property in Orleans Parish; this includes neutral grounds, existing parks and the green space between sidewalks and streets. The groups will be working together to also plant trees in public/charter schools and get school children involved in these efforts. Hike for Katreena will plant trees that are indigenous to the area and that did well in the storm. The Sierra Club has made a $500 donation to Hike for Katreena to help make these plantings possible and will be partnering for future plantings. For more information visit: http://www.hikeforkatreena.com

Help Raise Money for the New Orleans Group

The New Orleans group is looking for a few good people to help us raise money and keep up the fight for a cleaner and healthier New Orleans. Let us know if you have an idea for a good fundraising event or just help us plan our next one. For more information, contact James Gilbeau at 504-780-1007 or guilbea@attglobal.net or Vance Levesque at mrkahuna@juno.com

Recycling Services available in New Orleans after Katrina:

All the details are on our new Recycling page.

Hey! Before you read any further, join the New Orleans Group's discussion group on Yahoo! It's free and it's easy. All you have to do is follow this link.

Welcome! The New Orleans Group is the home of Sierra Club members throughout much of southeastern Louisiana south of Lake Pontchartrain, ranging from the mouth of the Mississippi River to the River Parishes. We have monthly programs, an active conservation committee, and an outings program.

Programs, Meetings, and Outings

The Sierra Club New Orleans Group meetings are held at the Audubon Zoo,
View Larger Map
Dominion Auditorium near the main entrance, 6500 Magazine St. Drive to the front entrance to the Zoo, just off Magazine St. To the right of the Zoo's main public entrance, go through gate and bear right to the Dominion Auditorium (more details here). There will be signs for directions. Doors open at 6:30 pm and the program starts at 7:00 pm. Admission is free and all are welcome.
To get the latest details, call 1-504-836-3062.

Calendar:
If you want information about upcoming Programs, Conservation Committee Meetings, or Executive Committee (ExComm) meetings in our area, go to our calendar or call 1-504-836-3062. General Programs are open to the public; other meetings are open to all members.

Outings:
If you are interested in going on an outing, check out our upcoming outings schedule.

Group action alerts and updates:
If you would like to receive group action alerts and updates for meetings and upcoming events, please go to this site and add your email to the list.