Press Conference: Atchafalaya groups discuss fight to stop Bayou Bridge pipeline
By: Waterkeeper Alliance
Groups will gather outside federal courthouse prior to hearing on preliminary injunction
BATON ROUGE, LA— Representing the interests of the millions of people who use, study and cherish the Atchafalaya Basin, several groups will hold a press conference on Thursday prior to a hearing in Louisiana federal court to consider an injunction that aims to halt construction of the Bayou Bridge pipeline in the Atchafalaya River Basin, one of our nation’s ecological crown jewels.
The groups – Atchafalaya Basinkeeper, the Louisiana Crawfish Producers Association (West), Gulf Restoration Network, Waterkeeper Alliance and Sierra Club, represented by lawyers at Earthjustice – made this request to stop construction from moving forward while a lawsuit, filed on January 11, is being considered by the court. The lawsuit contends that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued permits and authorizations for the 162-mile pipeline without adequate environmental review – in a violation of the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.
The Bayou Bridge pipeline project proposes to connect the controversial Dakota Access pipeline, which transports volatile and explosive Bakken crude oil from North Dakota to refineries in St. James Parish and export terminals, forming the southern leg of the Bakken Pipeline. Energy Transfer Partners, which owns the Dakota Access Pipeline and is a joint owner in the proposed Bayou Bridge Pipeline, has one of the worst safety and compliance records in the industry.
WHAT: Protect Atchafalaya Basin press conference
WHO: Dean Wilson, Executive Director, Atchafalaya Basinkeeper
Jody Meche, President, Louisiana Crawfish Producers Association, West
Scott Eustis, Community Science Director, Gulf Restoration Network
Julie DesOrmeaux Rosenzweig, Director, Sierra Club Delta Chapter
WHEN: Thursday, February 8 at 9 a.m.
WHERE: U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, 777 Florida Street, Baton Rouge (Press conference will be held on the green space out front)