In early 2019, the Bayou Bridge Pipeline was the subject of a great deal of controversy as an energy company sought to attain use of private land in order to complete a 163-mile-long pipeline which would bring oil from Texas to Vacherie; now, opponents of the pipeline are seeking to put a hold on the pipeline’s operations.
According to DailyComet.com, the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper group, an environmental advocacy group which has opposed the pipeline from the beginning, filed a citizen complaint on April 19. The complaint was issued to the Department of Natural Resources and asked that the DNR enforce the requirement of a “facility response plan” before the transportation of oil is allowed to begin.
Atchafalaya Basinkeeper believes that the pipeline should not be operating without this response plan in place, though the DNR claims that the pipeline is under federal law and that it has been in compliance with federal regulations.
Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association was unable to comment on the specifics of this case, but did speak to the need to have safe methods of oil transportation in the state that so heavily relies on the energy industry.
“Safely and effectively transporting crude to Louisiana is vital to the success of our state and for economic growth in the region,” Tyler Gray, president and general counsel for LMOGA told Louisiana Record. “Pipeline companies are committed to safe operations in the state of Louisiana and to operating in accordance with all rules and regulations.”
Atchafalaya Basinkeeper’s complain claims that on April 11 the Bayou Bridge was still not in compliance with the requirement to have submitted a response place, though Energy Transfer Partners, the group in charge of the pipeline alleges to have submitted a plan which they call the “integrated contingency plan,” concerning the Bayou Bridge portion of the pipeline. ETP claims that the allegations are invalid.