In the midst of a long-awaited report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the effects of fracking on local drinking water supplies, Louisiana residents of St. Tammany Parish continue to fight to try and ensure that their community is protected from plans to drill a hydraulic fracturing well in the area near Lakeshore High School.
Can the Hydraulic Fracturing be stopped?
The parish—led by the Parish Council—previously mounted a legal challenge to the drilling effort, arguing that the parish’s existing zoning ordinances prevented the drilling.
What is Hydraulic Fracturing?
The Hydraulic fracturing process involves drilling into the earth and then horizontally, where the oil or gas is potentially located. Water and chemical additives are pumped down the pipe at high pressure to crack the shale or other rock so as to release the oil or gas trapped. Environmental/human health concerns stem from potential exposure to the chemicals that are mixed at the surface and pumped below ground, or production fluid that is pumped back up and sometimes stored at the surface before disposal. In both cases, the material could interact with drinking water.
Local Ordinances
Many of the new ordinances that the parish hoped to pass—promising to create regulations regarding noise, road, and water quality, and other means of closely monitoring and regulating any fracking operations—were made irrelevant by the drilling permit issued by the state commissioner of conservation. The permit had several restrictions attached to it, such as what roads trucks associated with the effort could use and requirements for the fracking company to pay for air, noise, storm and groundwater monitoring. Regardless, the parish feels that passing new ordinances would be an important backup for the requirements attached to the state permit.
Wetlands Permit
For now, the fracking company has not yet started construction of the well, and would still need a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to undertake the construction because it is in an area designated as wetlands. This particular permit is already facing a legal challenge from the town of Abita Springs, which argues that the town was entitled to hearings on the wetlands permit application.
Hydraulic Fracturing Litigation
Many lawsuits have been filed since the use of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to recover natural gas has emerged. Concerned citizens have relied on a variety of claims in challenging this process in their communities, including trespass, nuisance, violation of local laws, toxic tort-related theories, and others. Communities are concerned not only about contaminated groundwater, but also air contamination.
Many hopes still lie with the recently released EPA report. Although the report does not definitively find impacts on groundwater, it also leaves open the question of whether the fracking technique could impact drinking water, either at the surface or underground. In addition, the report was supposedly not meant to look at human health risks or be used to inform specific policy decisions, but simply to help identify potential vulnerabilities to drinking water resources due to hydraulic fracturing.
Environmental Hazard Attorneys
The New Orleans attorneys of Harrell & Nowak have spent years litigating against bad actors and negligent parties that place communities in danger from environmental hazards. Harrell & Nowak represents people who have been injured by the pollution and release of toxic chemicals in the air, soil, and water. Contact us today for a free consultation, and tell us about your concerns