SLS 17RS-561 ORIGINAL
2017 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 154
BY SENATOR MILLS
NATURAL RESOURCES DEPT. Requests the Department of Natural Resources to study
potential solutions that may mitigate spoil banks created as a result of the construction and
maintenance of pipelines.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To urge and request the Department of Natural Resources to study potential solutions that
3 may mitigate spoil banks created as a result of the construction and maintenance of
4 pipelines.
5 WHEREAS, Louisiana's wetlands have been adversely impacted by pipeline
6 construction that has left canals and spoil banks that block natural water flows; and
7 WHEREAS, pipeline owners have in the past been allowed to discard their spoil by
8 creating spoil banks, rather than removing spoil; and
9 WHEREAS, spoil banks shut off the natural flow of water that restricts the carrying
10 capacity of the flood way and damages water quality; and
11 WHEREAS, current regulations allow abandoned pipelines to be left in place; and
12 WHEREAS, over time, pipelines may emerge from below the surface, causing
13 hazardous obstructions to navigation; and
14 WHEREAS, certain pipelines with permits approved by the United States Army
15 Corps of Engineers or the office of coastal management may not be in compliance with
16 conditions of the permits.
17 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
18 does hereby urge and request the Department of Natural Resources to study potential
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SLS 17RS-561 ORIGINAL
1 solutions that may mitigate spoil banks created as a result of the construction and
2 maintenance of pipelines, including but not limited to the following:
3 (1) Whether any spoil bank created by pipeline construction or maintenance should
4 be removed upon completion of construction or maintenance.
5 (2) Whether the spoil should be placed into the excavation of the pipeline to the
6 water bottom or removed off site to an approved location such that there be no remaining
7 spoil bank.
8 (3) Whether the pipeline should be removed at the end of its useful life.
9 (4) Whether any pipeline project construction, maintenance, or any other pipeline
10 work should be permitted between the East Atchafalaya Basin Protection Levee and West
11 Atchafalaya Basin Protection Levee unless the pipeline is buried at an appropriate depth
12 below the water bottom.
13 (5) Whether permits for new pipelines should be granted to companies that are
14 out-of-compliance with prior issued permits, until such time as those previously-issued
15 permits are brought back into compliance.
16 (6) Whether the creation of a fund or tax credit may encourage owners of pipelines
17 to remove dormant pipelines and the associated spoil, or maintain active pipelines by
18 removing spoil as it accumulates.
19 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana does
20 hereby urge and request the Department of Natural Resources to request the following
21 entities to participate in this study:
22 (1) The United States Army Corps of Engineers.
23 (2) The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.
24 (3) The Atchafalaya Basin Research and Promotion Board.
25 (4) The Sierra Club Delta Chapter.
26 (5) The Louisiana Crawfish Producers Association West.
27 (6) The Atchafalaya Basinkeeper.
28 (7) The Louisiana Landowners Association.
29 (8) The Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association.
30 (9) The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
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SLS 17RS-561 ORIGINAL
1 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department shall make recommendations to
2 the Senate Committee on Natural Resources no later than February 1, 2018.
3 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department shall provide a report to the
4 Senate Committee on Natural Resources no later than February 1, 2018, that includes the
5 number and location of spoil banks between the East Atchafalaya Basin Protection Levee
6 and West Atchafalaya Basin Protection Levee, the name of the pipeline company associated
7 with the spoil bank, and the approximate date the pipeline was constructed.
8 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
9 secretary of the Department of Natural Resources.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Alan Miller.
DIGEST
SR 154 Original 2017 Regular Session Mills
Requests the Dept. of Natural Resources to study potential solutions that may mitigate spoil
banks created as a result of the construction and maintenance of pipelines.
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