State environmental quality officials say they followed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's instructions on submitting a plan to reduce ozone, but they are unsure why Louisiana was included on a list of states that failed to do so.
On Jan. 4, the EPA sent notices of failure to 28 states while also acknowledging that the letters are the result of unclear guidance from the federal agency.
Citing a "lack of business integrity," the Environmental Protection Agency announced it was temporarily suspending the oil giant BP from entering into new contracts with the federal government.
In a press release, the EPA said BP demonstrated the lack of integrity during the Deepwater Horizon "blowout, explosion, oil spill and response." This kind of suspension, the EPA explained, is "standard practice when a responsibility question is raised by action in a criminal case."
Louisiana is receiving a $17 million federal grant for improvements to public drinking water systems.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the funding Thursday.
The dollars, from the EPA's Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, are going to the state Department of Health and Hospitals for loan assistance for water system infrastructure upgrades and repairs.
The program is designed to promote safe drinking water for communities.
U.S. Sen. David Vitter says the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will award a $100,000 grant to the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority to help fight the Gulf of Mexico's "dead zone."
Vitter says the grant will be used to help reduce hypoxia, or low oxygen levels in the Gulf, caused by increased nutrients transported from the Mississippi River.
