RS 3113 - Environmental protection plan
A. Throughout all aspects of the authority development program there shall be in existence an environmental protection plan, the details of which shall be followed in all respects by the executive director in carrying out any aspect of the authority development program. The environmental protection plan shall be applicable to all offshore terminal facilities within the jurisdiction of the authority.
B. The environmental protection plan shall be formulated by the executive director subject to approval of the secretary of the Department of Transportation and Development.
C. The environmental protection plan shall be promulgated by the executive director under the rule-making procedures of the Louisiana Administrative Procedure Act of R.S. 49:951-49:966.
D. The environmental protection plan shall be promulgated within a reasonable time after the appointment of the executive director, but in no event more than eighteen months after the effective date of this chapter. An acting executive director or a temporary executive director may fulfill this function if a permanent executive director is not as yet appointed.
E. The environmental protection plan may be amended at any time in accordance with the provisions of the Louisiana Administrative Procedure Act, to reflect changes in the authority development program. Initiation for changes may come from the executive director or any interested person.
F. Repealed by Acts 2011, No. 207, §10(C).
G. The environmental protection plan shall be an integral part of the authority development program. Costs incurred to develop the initial plan, or any amendments to it, shall be considered an internal cost of the authority development program and shall be considered a cost to the same extent that economic, engineering, or promotional programs are considered costs. The executive director, subject to approval of the secretary of the Department of Transportation and Development, shall agree on the appropriate level of funding for the developing of the authority environmental protection plan, prepare any amendments thereto, and carry out the requirements of the plan. To the extent possible, federal funds shall be sought to assist in this effort.
H. The best talent available shall be sought to perform the studies and surveys necessary to develop an environmental protection plan and carry out its requirements in accordance with this Chapter. To the extent possible, university-based, public and private researchers in Louisiana shall be utilized. In all cases, the research in support of the environmental protection plan shall be coordinated by the executive director. The results of all research done in support of the environmental protection plan shall be open to the public and available to any interested person.
I. The environmental protection plan shall contain specific provisions implementing Subsection J below. If specific provisions cannot be set forth due to uncertainties in the authority development program, then the environmental protection plan shall state in specific terms the uncertainties which do exist at the time the plan is promulgated, and why the uncertainties would make the inclusion of specific provisions in the plan premature. The authority environmental protection plan shall contain a separate chapter for each of the paragraphs of Subsection J below and any other chapters necessary to meet the requirements of this chapter.
J. The environmental protection plan shall:
(1) Summarize the salient feature of an inventory of all potential and actual stresses on the natural and human environment which can be reasonably expected to occur in pursuing the authority development program. Consideration shall be given to stresses which have occurred in other parts of the country and the world where similar functional operations were being performed. Consideration shall be given to the peculiarities of Louisiana's coastal environment. The inventory of potential and actual stresses shall include a prediction of the stress on the coastal environment of major accidents which could logically be expected to occur throughout the authority development program, even though all precautions against such accidents have been taken.
(2) Describe the essential features of existing environmental data upon which the selection of a site for a deep draft harbor and terminal may be based. Indicate how this data has been analyzed and compared with the inventory of potential and actual stresses required in the above paragraph so that the site selected will result in the least total stress on the environment. Indicate how economic considerations are compared with the assessed total stress on the environment to arrive at the best economic-ecologic formula for determination of a site for the deep draft harbor and terminal. State the location and availability of the environmental data upon which these determinations are based.
(3) State how the deep draft harbor and terminal facility design minimizes potential environmental damage, considers environmental factors as a positive part of the design, and controls long-term development so that growth and additions to the deep draft harbor and terminal do not result in random growth or in gradual environmental deterioration.
(4) Present details of how the operational aspects of the authority development program will be conducted so as to minimize environmental problems, including but not limited to a monitoring program by appropriate public or private persons selected by the secretary of the Department of Transportation and Development; establishment of constructional and operational guidelines for environmental protection; strong enforcement provisions and mechanisms to ensure cleanup of accidental spills by technical means, with evidence of financial responsibility to ensure performance of the cleanup, and compliance with the enforcement provisions of the environmental protection plan. The plan shall consider the circumstances which may justify the temporary cessation of the port activities.
(5) Provide procedures for the funding of projects to be paid for by the authority to the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission or any agency designated by the governor which shall compensate the coastal environment for loss that may be sustained through the stresses on the environment created by the authority development program.
(6) Analyze ongoing programs of the federal, state and local governments designed to protect the coastal environment, so as to insure that there is no unnecessary duplication of effort and to insure that cooperation and coordination of environmental protection measures are achieved. The opinion of all agencies with a responsibility for monitoring the coastal environment shall be sought with regard to this environmental protection plan prior to its promulgation, to determine if there are incompatibilities between specific provisions of this measure and the requirements of other rules and regulations.
K. Nothing in this section is intended to diminish in any way the authority of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission.
L. The legislature finds that the environmental protection plan as adopted by this authority on January 15, 1974, complies in all respects with the requirements of R.S. 34:3113, and was promulgated as required by law.
Added by Acts 1972, No. 444, §1. Amended by Acts 1974, No. 358, §§10, 11; Acts 2011, No. 207, §§10(A), (C).