While Gov. Jeff Landry was quick to denounce the speed of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-led clean-up, he's silent in holding Smitty's Supply itself accountable for the explosion, fire and recovery.
Plant held millions of gallons of motor oils, fluids and other petrochemicals.
In a lawsuit about a slaughterhouse that once stood at the Alabo site, the U.S. Supreme Court first interpreted the 14th Amendment, which later became pivotal in civil rights rulings, and led to four little 9th Ward girls desegregating the first public schools in the Deep South.
Sunrise Foods released air-quality assessments scant in detail. But early last month, LDEQ accelerated the company’s approval for its air-permit application.
A bill on its way to the Governor’s desk—with connections to gas industry allies—could enshrine hydrocarbons as Louisiana’s future.
Three new proposed chemical plants could more than quadruple ammonia production in the Donaldsonville area, leaving Ascension residents to face more toxic air pollution and possible chemical disasters, according to a new report from Rural Roots and the Louisiana Bucket Brigade.
Tiny air pollutants appear to cause molecular changes in expectant mothers' blood that can impact fetal development and cause stress in the mother, which could be behind early labor and health problems for babies.
New research shows that typically, less than 10% of land-building alluvium reaches the Bird’s Foot Delta region, the southernmost reach of the river, where it meets the Gulf.
As the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion flounders amid politics, some scientists say that doubts about its effectiveness can be addressed by Neptune Pass, which branched off the Mississippi on its own and is creating the largest new delta in North America.
The shrimp stopped coming up the Calcasieu River after Venture Global built its Liquified Natural Gas terminal. The river’s ongoing pollution, on top of decades of hazardous waste dumping, earned the Calcasieu the #9 slot on American Rivers’ 2025 list of most endangered rivers.
