A complicated and contentious situation is beginning to be resolved after an 8 – 4 vote yesterday, January 23, 2013, approving a public works project to build a buffer zone around the North Baton Rouge Waste Water Treatment Plant. An article in The Advocate today outlines the meeting:
A complicated and contentious situation is beginning to be resolved after an 8 – 4 vote yesterday, January 23, 2013, approving a public works project to build a buffer zone around the North Baton Rouge Waste Water Treatment Plant. An article in The Advocate today outlines the meeting:
The East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council voted Wednesday to relocate 44 Scotlandville homeowners away from the foul-smelling North Baton Rouge Waste Water Treatment Plant, putting an end to a 17-year battle with residents waged in the courts and at City Hall.
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A small group of Scotlandville residents who attended the meeting said they were cautiously optimistic about moving forward with the city-parish on the relocation plan after the Metro Council’s vote to approve creation of a buffer zone around the sewer plant.
This vote is the first step in resolving this long and complicated struggle. As this moves forward, residents will be working with relocation specialists to help them navigate through the process of having an appraisal of their home, identifying appropriate comparable housing, and receiving adequate compensation(including relocation costs) to acquire safe and decent housing away from the persistent odor and sewer flies surrounding the Baton Rouge North Waste Water Treatment Plant.
LEAN/LMRK first began working with the Scotlandville community several years ago after LMRK identified a dark plume extending into the Mississippi River from the North Waste Water Treatment Plant. LMRK further investigated this dark plume by taking water samples and having them analyzed. The laboratory analysis of the water samples indicated fecal coliform levels that were “too numerous to count.” What began with LEAN/LMRK’s monitoring of pollution in the Mississippi River ultimately was leveraged to relieve the suffering of the community impacted by the identified pollution. This long and confusing struggle is summarized below:
Timeline for Baton Rouge North Waste Water Treatment Plant
- In 1960 operations begin at the Baton Rouge North Waste Water Treatment Plant.
- In March of 1988, the EPA places Baton Rouge City/Parish under Consent Decree for violations of the Clean Water Act at the North Waste Water Treatment Plant (as well as the central and south plants) in an effort to bring the plants into compliance.
- In 1993, 125 University Place Subdivision residents filed suit against EBR City-Parish alleging damages stemming from odors and flies from the Baton Rouge North Waste Water Treatment Plant.
- In 2002, the EPA re-entered the consent decree with the city/parish over violations at the wastewater treatment plants.
- In 2008, a state district court awarded more than $1 million to the University Place Subdivision residents for discomfort, inconvenience, loss of property value and attorneys’ fees.
- On November 24, 2009, LEAN sent a Notice of Violation to Baton Rouge, EPA, and the State of Louisiana. LEAN sent a revised notice to those same entities on December 21, 2009. The Notice and Revised Notice clearly detailed Baton Rouge’s violations of the Clean Water Act.
- In March 2010, the Louisiana Environmental Action Network filed a citizen suit in the District Court against the city/parish for violations of the Clean Water Act.
- In 2010, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal canceled the million dollar award to the University Place Subdivision residents.
- In December 2011, the Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of the University Place residents on their damages lawsuit effectively ending it.
- On March 4, 2012 LEAN and University Place Residents filed a motion to intervene in the EPA consent decree with Baton Rouge City/Parish.
- On January 19, 2012 the EPA proposed to extend the deadline for the consent decree from Jan. 1, 2015 to Jan. 1, 2018.
- In January 23, 2013 the Baton Rouge Metro Council voted to approve the relocation proposal.
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