Louisiana
Cleanup continues for Bayou Lafourche oil spill • Louisiana Illuminator
More than 100 workers spent Sunday continuing the cleanup of a crude oil spill in Bayou Lafourche near Raceland, hoping to protect the drinking water supply and wildlife.
So far, the drinking water quality has not been compromised, Lafourche Parish President Archie Chaisson said. Still, residences and businesses from south of Louisiana Highway 182 to Port Fourchon have been advised to conserve water as a precaution.
In Sunday evening update, Chaisson said cleanup crews reported recovering 20 dead animals from the bayou — 17 salamanders, two turtles and one crawfish. Four ducks and three alligators were also seen covered with oil, but none were able to be captured.
The public is asked to call (832) 514-9663 to report any oil-covered animals rather than try to catch and clean them on their own.
Any residents or businesses that want to report personal or property damage from the oil should call 833-812-0877.
The source of the oil leak was a tank at the Crescent Midstream Crude Oil Facility at the intersection of LA 182 and Highway 308 in Raceland. An still-undetermined amount of oil leaked into a stormwater canal and then flowed into the bayou. The leak was contained Saturday, a company spokesman told reporters.
A dark sheen of crude could still be seen Sunday along a long stretch of the bayou between the Highway 182 and the U.S. 90 overpass.
There were 117 workers, 28 boats, seven vacuum trucks, five drum skimmers and three wash pumps being used to clean and contain the spill, in addition to 4,300 feet of containment boom, Chaisson said. Crews are pumping water from the bayou to flush oil from vegetation on the banks into the containment boom so it can be recovered with skimmers for disposal.
Cleanup work has paused at nightfall out of safety concerns and will resume at daybreak.
Bayou Lafourche remains closed to boat traffic from the Highway 182 bridge to the Salt Water Control Structure in Lockport.
Officials have also placed the area from LA 182 to Highway 654 off limits to aircraft, one mile in either direction from Bayou Lafourche. The airspace precautions are being taken so helicopters and drones can safely monitor the spill from overhead.
WVUE-TV Fox 8 reported residents near the spill can smell the oil. Air quality in the area is being monitored out of an abundance of caution, Chaisson said.
“Results have been well below actionable levels,” he said.
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A state lawmaker whose district includes Iberville and nine other parishes will lead the way on the drawing of a new congressional map when the committee convenes Friday.
Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter, R-Port Allen, will chair the hearings to draw a new congressional district map. He currently serves as chairman of the U.S. Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee.
On Wednesday, Kleinpeter said he has not worked on any maps. He is letting the committee members and the members of the Senate work on this with staff.
The move will come nine days after the U.S. Supreme Court on a 6-3 vote ruled one of Louisiana’s two majority-Black U.S. House districts unconstitutional.
“We can’t base it on race anymore, so the minority party is the Democrats,” he said. “The Democrats have migrated away from the New Orléans area, so we’re looking at Democrats versus Republicans, so the minority party — the Democrats — which means it’s more favored toward Baton Rouge.”
The move would work in favor of incumbent 6th District Congressman Cleo Fields, who was a candidate for the race which Gov. Jeff Lndry suspended in the wake of the Supreme Court decision.
The ruling stemmed from Louisiana vs. Callais – a consolidation of Robinson vs. Callais – that centered on racial gerrymandering and redistricting in the state of Louisiana following the 2020 United States census. The lead plaintiff, Phillip “Bert” Callais, is a resident of Brusly.
The Supreme Court vote came despite the African American population comprising nearly one-third of the state’s population.
According to the 2020 Census, the Black or African American population in Louisiana was approximately 1,464,023,representing 31.4%of the state’s total population. Louisiana has one of the highest percentages of Black residents in the United States, ranking second behind Mississippi.
The Baton Rouge district would likely be the area to undergo the remap, he said.
It amounts to an intricate balancing act.
“What far-right Republicans don’t understand is that with Congress maps, you have to be within 776, 280 votes – within 50 votes of the other districts,” Kleinpeter said. “It’s not like our legislative maps where you can be off by thousands … when you start changing a precinct, it can run down a rabbit hole chasing this precinct over here and over there.
“We can easily draw a really strong nine Republican and one strong Democrat, so if you start watering districts down you could wind up with a 4-2 map.”
Republicans currently have a two-vote super majority vote.
“But some Republican districts are strong and others are weak,” Kleinpeter said. “If you take 58 percent Democrats and put them in Republican districts, you could end up losing Republicans.
“Drawing congress maps is very difficult – you have the leader of the party, and you have the Speaker of the House you have to protect,” he said. “You don’t want to jeopardize their maps at hole.”
One other issue is looming for the state, Kleinpeter said.
“What people don’t understand is that we will have to do this all over again in five years, after the next census comes out,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll people by that time.”
The 2030 Census will play a key role in the process, but it still requires participation.
“I had plenty of next-door neighbors who didn’t want to fill out their census” he said. “I’m going to push to fill out their census. We miss out on federal money and potentially risk losing a seat. “
Neuty, the iconic Bucktown nutria visits the state capitol, with Myra Lacoste, Denny Lacoste, Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser, Dennis Lacoste Sr., and Louisiana state Senator J. Cameron Henry Jr. Neuty was an orphan, rescued by the Lacostes. In March 2023, LDWF agents attempted to confiscate the illegal pet.
VIDALIA, La. — Louisiana State Police arrested 18-year-old Gregory Steele early Sunday morning on two counts of vehicular homicide, one count of underage operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, one count vehicular negligent injuring and one count careless operation, according to Concordia Parish Jail records.
Steele, 18, a white male, was arrested in connection with an accident that occurred at approximately 1:54 a.m. on Sunday morning on Minorca Road in Vidalia. Two passengers in the vehicle were killed. Steele and another passenger were able to escape the vehicle.
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