Rivers like the Tchefucncte, Tangipahoa, and Bayou Cane that flow into Lake Pontchartrain hold a special place in the hearts of those that boat, canoe, kayak, swim and fish in them. Regretfully, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality has proposed weakening the pollution standards that apply to these rivers, some of which are designated as Scenic Rivers. Take action now to safeguard Louisiana’s waterways.Louisiana wants to cut the dissolved oxygen standard in half. This would mean that the fish, mussels, and other aquatic critters could have half as much oxygen to breathe. The standard that Louisiana proposes is troublingly close to what is deemed “hypoxic.” Hypoxic areas are considered to be Dead Zones where little to no life can survive. Take action now to protect Louisiana’s rivers!The proposed standard is misguided and has little evidence to support a change that will affect almost all rivers in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Many of these waters are considered impaired for low dissolved oxygen due to excess nitrogen and phosphorus pollution from sewage treatment plants, septic tanks, farming operations and urban runoff. Instead of cleaning up these rivers, Louisiana wants to change the water quality rules.Please tell Louisiana to do a better job at cleaning up our rivers, streams, and bayous instead of weakening the protections afforded to some of our state’s most beautiful and precious rivers.
