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Gulf Coast Community Residents Participate in BP Landfill Waste Community Training in Avondale, Louisiana |
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Community Outreach Workshops
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 September 27, 2011 - In response to the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice has partnered with communities along the Gulf Coast monitoring waste disposed in landfills near communities of color. A multi-state community training was held Saturday, September 17, 2011, in Avondale, Louisiana to train community residents in waste tracking, landfill truck traffic monitoring, and air emissions. As of November 7, 2010, landfills in areas where the minority population is larger than fifty (50%) of the total population received 33, 259 tons or 40.3% of the waste from the BP spill.
Residents were engaged in interactive workshop sessions including topics on Deepwater Horizon waste tracking, protecting human rights after the oil disaster, and adverse health effects of air emissions from landfill diesel trucks, and community resilience and landfill operations. Residents learned about a range of environmental hazards associated with landfills.
Community training participants were asked to describe the hazards they have observed in their community. They indicated the presence of foul odors from nearby landfill(s), sewage plants, various fires, and chemical plants. They also mentioned water pollution, illegal dumping, and vectors (rats, mosquitoes, and other rodents) as hazards of concern. (READ MORE)
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New Orleans East Brownfields Survey |
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Surveys
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 Changes in New Orleans‘ economic and industrial landscape over time — accelerated by the impact of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 — have resulted in increasing numbers of unoccupied former commercial and industrial sites throughout the city. Many of these sites — known as brownfields — are challenged with possible environmental contamination, inhibiting their reuse and exacerbating problems associated with blight and vacancy.
Failing to address these sites through remediation and redevelopment can be hazardous to public and environmental health, reduce property values (and, by extension, tax revenues), and limit opportunities for economic growth and employment (Brownfields Center 2010). Many New Orleans neighborhoods were severely impacted by the storm and suffer acutely from blighted, vacant, and potentially hazardous brownfield sites.
Local, regional, state, and federal programs exist that focus on addressing brownfields and bringing them back into commerce. However, in order for these programs to work effectively there must first be an accurate list of potentially contaminated sites that may be eligible for grant assistance. To this end, the development of a comprehensive brownfield inventory is essential to comprehensive planning. (see full report) |
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Oil Spill Commission Landmark Report on Gulf Disaster Proposes Urgent Reform of Industry and Government Practices to Overhaul US Offshore Drilling Safety |
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Latest News
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 President Obama appointed the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Commission to investigate the causes of the Deepwater Horizon Oil disaster. The Commission found that the Deepwater Horizon disaster was foreseeable and preventable. Errors and misjudgments by three major oil drilling companies- BP, Halliburton, and Transocean – played key roles in the disaster. Government regulation was ineffective, and failed to keep pace with technology advancements in offshore drilling. (see full report) |
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