April 8 2011 another incident day, witnessed by adjacent property owners: sand sediment discharge from the construction site drainage pipe into the Bluebird canal....updated photos coming soon....at the N.O.W. website.
http://st-bernard-parish-now.smugmug.com/Other/Provident-workers-continue-to/16537470_9aLQ3#1245162568_7u4nH
Photos from previous incidents.
Not exactly content with the quality of Environmental Protection from the state agency, residents resorted to contacting the local sheriff office and report "..to my surprise I almost got arrested." This same United States citizen was rudely assaulted, literally, with mud slinging and other harassing and intimidating behavior by the worker who represented himself as the supervisor or construction foreman.
Additionally, residents report an updated followup determination that the construction company does not have a permit to siphon water out of the Bluebird canal, a neighborhood rain drainage canal, as that is not permitted activity. The construction company was seen pumping water from the neighborhood canal either onto the site and / or into the drainage pipe, causing polluted water, sand sediment, etc. to discharge back into the Bluebird canal, in violation of the clean water act.
All residents ever asked of the state DEQ was to protect our water shed from the visible cement chemicals and sand sediment and require the construction company make improvements to its storm water pollution prevention plans. Unfortunately, the state inspector commented it was not cement, but grout, and that the state does not get involved in parish issues. Residents contacted the EPA but have yet to receive a reply.
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Perhaps the Louisiana DEQ could use some of the recently EPA granted two million dollars to perform their constitutional duties as our trustee of our environment.
In the press release, the funds are to be used to "enable Louisiana to meet the goals of the Clean Water Act by implementing the Nonpoint Source Management Plan....The source of the pollution may come from lawn fertilizers, improperly managed construction sites, or oil and grease from highways." There have been several incidents of improperly managed constructions sites as our community rebuilds from the man-made disaster of the levee failures and the largest land-based crude oil spill on the planet. Yet, Bluebird canal is not being protected and another local neighborhood, the 20 arpent, is still permitted as the emergency discharge route for an oil refinery.
Come on. It's Our Louisiana, Our Environment.
Even a third grader can see the simple solutions.
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