Not a moment too soon

 TP: EPA to start surprise inspections of industrial polluters, add air monitors in Louisiana 

Focusing on environmental justice in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans start unannounced inspections of industrial polluters, install more fenceline monitors at the plants and push state and local officials to step up their own enforcement.

“I asked my team to go further and faster than we’ve ever done before to elevate protection for people who have historically been left behind in underserved communities,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said Tuesday. “Those who are suffering disproportionately under the weight of the pandemic, who are on the frontlines of climate change, who suffer more from pollution, have been waiting long enough. And they are counting on us to get this right.”

I hope they bring the explosion detectors too. That's something we need to look out for, especially.  

Westlake, LA (KPLC) - Officials with Westlake Chemical have confirmed that there was an explosion at the Westlake chemical south plant.

Officials said a tank of Ethylene Dichloride exploded.

The plant is located near Pete Manena Road and PPG Drive.

We are currently reaching out to officials for more information.

Where did all the money go?

The State of Louisiana is now and will continue to be faced with serious budget problems for the foreseeable future.  Which is weird because we keep heating about how these are the boom times in our state. 

Last month the Wall Street Journal article enthused, "We are building a Qatar on the Bayou," in an article about the heavily taxpayer subsidized petrochemical bonanza in Louisiana. 

So get ready to read many more like this. 

A subsidiary of Chinese chemical manufacturer Shandong Yuhuang Chemical Co. will build a $1.85 billion methanol manufacturing complex on the Mississippi River in St. James Parish, the company said Thursday.

Gov. Bobby Jindal's office called it the first major foreign direct investment by a Chinese company in Louisiana.

Well.. it's also a major direct investment by Louisiana in the company.

Louisiana Economic Development started discussions with the company five months ago and offered incentives to lure the company to the state:

• a $9.5 million grant to be paid over five years starting in 2017 for infrastructure costs.
• a $1.75 million grant over 10 years to cover some of the costs of developing and creating access to the riverfront.

The company is also expected to pursue breaks through Louisiana's industrial tax exemption and the Quality Jobs program, which provides a 5-or-6-percent cash rebate of annual gross payroll for new direct jobs for up to 10 years.

In another 10 years or so, we'll start to theoretically recoup some of the money we're paying out now.  That is unless we're paying it out to whoever is next in line by then.

Must be a special kind of burning

This is a neat trick.

At least twenty-five people sustained unspecified injuries, said Paige Hargrove, executive director of the Louisiana Emergency Response Network.

There are no confirmed fatalities and no official count on the injured, said Jared Sadifer, a state police spokesman. A two-mile radius has been set up around the area but there is no residential impact, Sadifer said. A chemical is being burned off, but there is no immediate threat to the public and it is not being released into the air, he said.

Maddening weather this time of year

Every day it's something different.  One day the highs are in the 80s, the next they're in the 60s only to shoot right back up again the day after that.  One day a deluge, the next day it's bright and sunny.

Light fog in the morning Heavy Hydrogen Sulfide cloud in the afternoon.

The smell in NOLA yesterday was likely due to a benzene and hydrogen sulfide release in Chalmette, according to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. The culprit, Chalmette Refining, revealed that there was a leak in a pipeline that contained the two toxic chemicals, and there is an ongoing investigation to determine whether there are any other leaks in the facility.

In a few weeks it will be marshfire season.  That comes right after exploding house season is up.

BAYOU CORNE — Explosive concentrations of gas were found this week in soil underneath two homes and a shed built on concrete slabs in the Bayou Corne community near a large swampland sinkhole, officials said Wednesday.