we all need to do our part

 

Paraphrasing another Council member's comments on sulfur dioxide issue. 

 

Our community has made tremendous strides to get where we are today.  

We are the fastest growing parish in Louisiana.  That accomplishment took a lot of effort from the federal, state and local governments.  But the credit mostly belongs to our residents.  Those who chose to return and rebuild, and to our new residents who believe that we have something special to offer.  And we do.  Since the construction of the main hurricane protection wall, the fear of a storm surge (like Katrina) has been minimalized.  Our residents recently voted to fund our local government's take over management of the internal storm water system, and we are taking steps to improve our ability to handle major rain events.  But one factor that is beyond our control that could have a devastating impact on our ability to grow, and retain residents, is the environment we live in.  That's where the role of LDEQ and EPA is so important.  You see, we are a RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY  that happens to have a couple of industrial residents.  I say that because I hold industry as accountable to our community as I do our residents. I hold EPA and the LDEQ to the same standards.  We don't have the technology, nor the expertise to handle environmental matters on our own.  

We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure that our community continues to grow and prosper, we just need EPA to do their part.  

 
A community that has economic development, but is losing residents, is not a community.  That's not who we are.  That's not where we want to go.