A Louisiana judge recently ruled that the state regulators violated guidelines when it issued Energy Transfer Partners' controversial Bayou Bridge pipeline a coastal use permit.
The permit was issued for the last 18-mile stretch of the fracked oil pipeline that would have run through the riverside town of St. James Parish, where dozens of refineries and industrial facilities are already fueling a public health crisis in the mostly African-American community.
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<span></span>The proposed 162-mile Bayou Bridge pipeline would connect the contentious <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/dakota-access-pipeline">Dakota Access Pipeline</a> to the Gulf of Mexico.
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As noted by the <a href="http://bridgethegulfproject.org/blog/2018/louisiana-judge-rules-bayou-bridge-pipelines-coastal-use-permit-illegal" target="_blank">Bridge the Gulf Project</a>, the judge ruled that the permit granted by the state's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was illegal because it did not take into consideration the impacts the project would have on the town.
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In his April 30 decision, made public on Monday, 23rd Judicial District Court Judge Alvin Turner Jr. held, "Once constructed, this pipeline has the potential to impact some of Louisiana's most coveted and ecologically sensitive areas such as the Atchafalaya Basin, as well as other wetlands through Louisiana."
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He also wrote, "the permit application does not include an emergency response plan nor does it address potential spills that may occur after construction once the pipeline is operational."
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Among other decisions, the court ordered DNR to require the pipeline builders "to develop effective environmental protection and emergency or contingency plans relative to evacuations in the event of a spill or other disaster."
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The plaintiffs include St. James residents, H.E.L.P. association, the <a href="http://healthygulf.org/" target="_blank">Gulf Restoration Network</a>, the <a href="http://www.basinkeeper.org/" target="_blank">Atchafalaya Basinkeeper</a> and <a href="http://www.boldlouisiana.org/" target="_blank">Bold Louisiana</a>. They were represented by the <a href="http://www.tulane.edu/~telc/" target="_blank">Tulane Environmental Law Clinic</a>.
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"Here in St. James, we are in desperate need for an evacuation plan that will allow us to get out fast when something spills or explodes," said Genevieve Butler, resident of St. James and petitioner in the lawsuit, in a statement received by EcoWatch.
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<span></span>"More facilities keep coming, and each one puts us at more risk, but none of them want to do anything about our situation. Well, now Bayou Bridge has to step up. I hope all the others see this ruling as a sign that they have to give our community the protection we deserve."
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Pastor Harry Joseph of Mt. Triumph Baptist Church and another petitioner added, "It seems like the state agency didn't think too much about the people who live here when it was giving Bayou Bridge this permit, and neither did Bayou Bridge. So we went to court, to somebody who we felt would listen to us, and he did."
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In a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LeauEstLaVie/photos/a.313633419067891.1073741828.308016852962881/457690357995529/?type=3&theater" target="_blank">Facebook post</a>, pipeline opponents <a href="http://nobbp.org/about/leau-est-la-vie-camp/" target="_blank">L'eau Est La Vie Camp</a> heralded the ruling for "setting the stage for the suspension of a key permit that is needed to construct the Bayou Bridge Pipeline in St. James and other areas in eastern Louisiana."
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<span></span>Patrick Courreges, a spokesman for DNR, told the <a href="http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2018/05/state_bayou_bridge_pipeline_pe.html" target="_blank">Times-Picayune</a> the agency's staff believed it was following the rules correctly under state law.
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"The court has ruled otherwise," he noted. It is unclear if the DNR will appeal the decision.
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Energy Transfer Partners spokeswoman Vicki Granado told the newspaper, "We do not typically comment on pending or current litigation. We would like to reiterate, however, that we will continue to follow all of the stipulations of our permits, as we have always done."
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The energy company has reported <a href="Company%20Behind%20DAPL%20Reported%2069%20Accidents,%20Polluting%20Rivers%20in%204%20States%20in%20Last%20Two%20Years">hundreds of thousands of gallons of spills</a> from pipelines between 2015 and 2016, according to a <a href="http://www.labucketbrigade.org/sites/default/files/ETP%202015%202016%20Accidents%20Full%20Report.pdf" target="_blank">report</a> from the <a href="http://labucketbrigade.org/" target="_blank">Louisiana Bucket Brigade</a> and <a href="http://disastermap.net/" target="_blank">DisasterMap.net</a>. Energy Transfer Partners and its subsidiary Sunoco have filed 69 accidents in two years to the National Response Center, the federal contact point for oil spills and industrial accidents.
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That's 2.8 accidents every month, the analysis said, adding that "these are just the accidents that are reported."
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Native communities and environmental justice advocates in Louisiana opened a new resistance camp Saturday to oppose the proposed Bayou Bridge Pipeline project. Called L'eau Est La Vie, or Water is Life, the camp will consist of floating indigenous art structures on rafts and constant prayer ceremonies during its first two weeks.
<p>The Bayou Bridge project, owned in part by <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/dakota-access-pipeline">Dakota Access Pipeline</a> owner Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), would transport crude oil over 163 miles of natural heritage swampland to a terminal in St. James Parish in Louisiana. St. James residents and environmental advocates recently filed suit to overturn the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pipelines">pipeline's</a> permit, claiming that the state did not adequately address impacts of a potential spill on the community or surrounding wetlands.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"><a href="https://actionsprout.io/945565" target="_blank"><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy85OTI5NDIwL29yaWdpbi5qcGciLCJleHBpcmVzX2F0IjoxNTk2MDc4MDI5fQ.T-MZlfzu9OQC77yw287PpkW5ubdsKWHwtscnpIEsVWI/img.jpg?width=980" id="3f6ed" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="40e708e158d29e1b930b7f01ffd4412e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></a></p><p>"Once again Indigenous communities are being put in harm's way and over 700 bodies of water will be threatened by one of the worst environmental offenders known to date," said the <a href="http://www.ienearth.org/" target="_blank">Indigenous Environmental Network</a> in a statement. "We stand with the Water Protectors here in southern Louisiana to protect these critical wetlands that serve as protection for the people of this region from floods and storms."</p><p>The Indigenous Environmental Network announced the opening of the camp with the video above explaining why completion of the Bayou Bridge pipeline must be stopped.</p><p>"The corporation Energy Transfer Partners has proven themselves to be untrustworthy in regards to their moral responsibility to preserve both human and ecological rights," said Cherri Foytlin of BOLD Louisiana. "Whereby they have obfuscated the truth, sabotaged democracy, destroyed our lands and water, and even hired mercenaries to injure our people, we have but one recourse, and that is to say, 'You shall not pass.' No Bayou Bridge! We will stop ETP. They are not welcome here—not in our bayous, not in our wetlands, not in our basin, not under our lands or through our waters. Period."</p><p><strong>For a deeper dive:</strong></p><p>Camp: <a href="http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2017/06/bayou_bride_pipeline_protestor.html" target="_blank">Times-Picayune</a>, <a href="http://www.colorlines.com/articles/icymi-prayer-and-resistance-camp-launches-louisiana-challenge-pipeline-connected-dapl" target="_blank">Colorlines</a>. Lawsuit: <a href="http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2017/06/st_james_residents_enviros_cha.html" target="_blank">Times-Picayune</a>, <a href="http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/environment/article_037cad60-585e-11e7-a168-9f39eda1cb56.html" target="_blank">The Advocate</a>, <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/06/26/pastor-leads-lawsuit-opposing-bayou-bridge-pipeline-protect-louisiana-cancer-alley-community" target="_blank">DeSmog</a></p><p> <em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, and sign up for daily </em><a href="http://climatenexus.us4.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=7c84c08aaa" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>.</em></p>
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