General DNR News
NOAA, SEN. BREAUX DEDICATE LOUISIANA WETLANDS CREATION PROJECT CWPPRA-funded Big Island project creates 900 acres of new wetlands
A massive two-part wetlands creation project is nearing completion in the Atchafalaya River delta, as federal and state partners gather today to dedicate the site, the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced today.
KOHLER SELECTED FIRST LOUISIANIAN ON NATIONAL BOARD (NAPSR)
Joel Kohler, Assistant Director Pipeline Division of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, was recently elected secretary of the National Association of Pipeline Safety Representatives (NAPSR) at their annual meeting in Breckenridge, Colorado. The appointment places Kohler in position for the national chairmanship in the year 2000.
FEDERAL GRANTS BOOST STATE'S ABILITY TO BECOME ENERGY EFFICIENT
The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Technology Assessment Division, Energy Section has been awarded three competitive grants totaling $345,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE). The DNR submitted proposals and competed for these limited federal funds along with other state agencies from across the country. These new grants will be used by the Energy Section to continue promoting and fostering energy efficiency in the state. After the USDOE evaluated and selected the best proposals, DNR was awarded a Rebuilding Louisiana grant, Industries of the Future grant, and a Model Energy Code grant.
FY 97/98 MINERAL BOARD LEASE FIGURES SURPASS PROJECTIONS
The end of the fiscal year mineral lease sales totals climbed above $50 million this June, reported Mineral Board secretary Gus Rodemacher. In spite of falling oil and gas prices, the state's mineral leasing program moved above anticipated levels due to advanced technology and the use of 3-D seismic, Rodemacher said. The June lease sale data showed a 140 percent increase in original projections for the FY 1997/98, surpassing the state's anticipated income from this revenue source.
DNR RELEASES FIRST DATA ON INTERNET ON SAMPLES TAKEN FROM OILFIELD WASTE
BATON ROUGE – The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will make available on the Internet today the first raw data gathered on samples taken of oilfield waste from throughout the state.
MINERAL BOARD HOLDS LEASE SALE IN MAY
The State Mineral Board conducted a Lease Sale May 13, 1998 at 10:00 a.m. in the Mineral Board Hearing Room located in the State Land and Natural Resources Building in Baton Rouge. Below are the preliminary results of the Lease Sale and 1997-98 Fiscal Year totals.
DNR WETLANDS DISPLAYS ATTRACT STUDENTS AND ADULTS —Featured at Bluebonnet Swamp's Birthday Bash on Sat. May 16—
BATON ROUGE—You're invited. It's the Bluebonnet Swamp's First Birthday celebration and the Department of Natural Resources' Office of Coastal Restoration and Management will feature two educational exhibits designed to inform the public on the functions and values of our state's wetlands and coastal areas. DNR has developed a pictorial display and a CD Rom available for viewing through the month of May at the Bluebonnet Nature Center in recognition of National Wetlands Month.
DNR NAMES NEW COMMISSIONER OF CONSERVATION
Philip N. Asprodites, a native of New Orleans, has been appointed to the post of Commissioner of Conservation at the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) effective May 26, 1998. Asprodites assumes the post held by interim Commissioner Warren Fleet.
OFFICE OF CONSERVATION TO OVERSEE OILFIELD SITE CLOSURE IN CAMERON PARISH
Work has begun to close the former Big Diamond waste disposal facility in Cameron parish according to officials at the Department of Natural Resources' Office of Conservation (OC). The first step in the closure process is to pump out rainwater that has accumulated in two treatment cells at the site, reported OC's Director of Injection and Mining Carroll Wascom. Wascom said the next step will be to perform a comprehensive sampling and testing program of the partially treated oilfield (exploration and production) wastes that remain in the pits to determine their current conditions. Using this test data, a complete remediation plan will be devised and implemented. The Big Diamond Trucking Service, Inc. site is located near the community of Sweet Lake. The facility received oilfield waste from 1979 to 1985. By 1990, the OC began closure plans and enlisted the help of operators that had used the site to assist in funding for closure activities. After the water is removed from the pits, the remaining material in the pits will be sampled and analyzed to determine the current status of the waste. Two weeks before the date of the sampling, area citizens will be notified and will have an opportunity to take split samples. "We have been working on this project for the past two years and I'm excited that this will be the start of the process to ultimately clean up and close the Big Diamond site," noted state Representative Dan Flavin of District 36. Anyone wanting additional information on the closure may call Carroll Wascom or Pierre Catrou at (504) 342-9197.
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources Honored by the Smithsonian Institution. Satellite technology aids in restoring Louisiana's shores
Washington, D.C. (March 6, 1998)---Louisiana Department of Natural Resources' Strategic Online Natural Resources Information System (SONRIS)/2000 will become part of the Smithsonian Institution's Permanent Research Collection on Information Technology Innovation at the National Museum of American History on Monday morning, April 6th at 9:30 a.m. on the National Mall, when the 1998 Information Technology Innovation Collection is formally presented to the Institution.