Ground Water

Ground Water Commission meets to update new members

The Louisiana Ground Water Resources Commission met Monday to update new members on current ground water issues and begin mapping out the process for addressing them.

State Department of Natural Resources Secretary Scott Angelle, chosen by Gov. Bobby Jindal to chair the commission among several other new appointees, said he believes the commission has an opportunity to become one of the leading ground water regulatory bodies in the nation.

“The members of this commission have taken on the responsibility of helping manage one of our state’s most crucial natural resources,” Angelle said. “We take seriously the job of helping properly balance the needs of people and industry with the need to responsibly maintain our ground water resources.”

The Ground Water Commission, first formed by legislative action in 2003, serves to review, upon request by proposed water well owners or those affected by planned water wells, orders of the Commissioner of the state Office of Conservation placing limitations on specific water wells. The Ground Water Commission also works with the Commissioner of Conservation on continued development of the state’s ground water resource management program.

“I want the commission and its staff to be the epicenter of ground water knowledge, data and policy for the state of Louisiana,” Angelle said.

Staffers with the DNR Office of Conservation’s Ground Water Resources office briefed commission members on the history of ground water conservation efforts in the state and the current status of rules and research on the issues.

Among the issues for the commission to consider in future meetings will be law and language changes made by the state Legislature that affect commission rules and the powers of the Commissioner of Conservation – such as a strengthening of enforcement powers and the allowing of civil penalties for non-compliance with ground water regulations and the establishment of the concept of “areas of ground water concern” for areas that cannot sustain aquifer balance under current levels of use.