Louisiana Environmental Regulators Face Criticism Over Controversial Burning and Detonation Permit
Louisiana’s environmental regulators are under fire from both sides as they face criticism over a permit that would mark the end of nearly four decades of contentious open burning and detonation of explosives in north-central Louisiana. For years, nearby residents and local governments have complained about the health impacts stemming from the 43-acre Clean Harbors facility near Colfax, which burns or detonates explosives like TNT, rocket fuel, fireworks, and Claymore mines.
In an effort to address these concerns, Clean Harbors has proposed a contained burn chamber system that would confine the burning or destruction of materials within a closed unit, significantly reducing air pollution emissions. The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality recently approved a hazardous waste permit requiring Clean Harbors to eliminate open burning within six months and conduct all burning activities inside the facility while ensuring that 99.99% of the pollution is destroyed before it escapes.
However, Clean Harbors has appealed these restrictions, arguing that completely ending open burning within the given timeframe is not feasible and that the pollution standard is disproportionately high.
Furthermore, a community group in Grant Parish, advocating for the complete cessation of open burning at Clean Harbors, has filed its own challenge to the permit in a Baton Rouge state court. The Central Louisiana Coalition for a Clean and Healthy Environment, represented by Earthjustice, contends that the permit contains a loophole in the air pollution controls.
The coalition’s focus is on a provision in the permit that allows Clean Harbors to propose its own air emissions standards after conducting an air emissions test to assess the unit’s pollution production and compliance with federal limits. They argue that this provision creates a loophole that could potentially enable Clean Harbors to evade federal air quality standards.
Greg Langley, spokesperson for the Department of Environmental Quality, declined to comment on the ongoing litigation, while Clean Harbors did not respond to requests for comment.
Over the years, the open burning and detonation activities at the Clean Harbors facility have sparked public outcry due to concerns that the black plumes of smoke are causing health problems for Colfax residents and those in the nearby community known as The Rock.
While the Central Louisiana Coalition has not challenged the six-month grace period granted to Clean Harbors for open burning, they argue that the state should define the new unit as a hazardous waste incinerator to ensure compliance with federal standards.
DEQ has justified the miscellaneous facility classification for the Colfax site, arguing that the proposed unit does not reach the required temperature to be considered an incinerator. The coalition, on the other hand, claims that DEQ has fragmented the unit’s design to circumvent the incinerator classification.
Clean Harbors has previously raised concerns that the total ban on open burning proposed by DEQ will put the Colfax facility out of business, as it would take over two years to construct the new unit.
The dispute between environmental regulators, Clean Harbors, and community advocates underscores the challenge of balancing public health concerns and the economic viability of industries in environmentally sensitive areas. The outcome of the legal battle and potential implications for the future of open burning and detonation practices in Louisiana remain to be seen.
