ENROLLED
2019 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 31
BY REPRESENTATIVE MARCELLE AND SENATORS COLOMB AND CLAITOR
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request the commissioner of conservation to study, outline the requirements,
and make recommendations as to the necessity of an area of groundwater concern
or a critical area of groundwater concern declaration in the Baton Rouge area to limit
saltwater intrusion and protect regional groundwater supplies for the future and to
submit a report of the study no later than February 15, 2020.
WHEREAS, the four hundred fifty thousand people living in East Baton Rouge
Parish are dependent on local groundwater resources from the Southern Hills Aquifer for
safe drinking water; and
WHEREAS, major industries in East Baton Rouge Parish also use these groundwater
resources for commercial purposes to secure jobs and economic growth for the region; and
WHEREAS, the main supplier of safe drinking water in East Baton Rouge Parish is
the Baton Rouge Water Company, a privately-owned utility regulated by the Louisiana
Public Service Commission; and
WHEREAS, as many as ninety thousand people in Ascension Parish also draw their
safe drinking water from groundwater from East Baton Rouge Parish through the Baton
Rouge Water Company's subsidiary, Ascension Water Company; and
WHEREAS, the United States Geological Survey (USGS), through numerous
scientific studies and models, has identified serious water-level declines and saltwater
intrusion in Baton Rouge aquifers; and
WHEREAS, the USGS has identified large groundwater withdrawals for public
supply and industrial use in East Baton Rouge Parish as the cause of water-level declines and
saltwater intrusion; and
WHEREAS, the USGS has stated that if groundwater withdrawals in Baton Rouge
continue into the future at historic rates, saltwater intrusion will continue to occur; and
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WHEREAS, the office of conservation has stated in a previous report to the
legislature that without "publicly released plans for major groundwater pumpage reductions
from the users in East Baton Rouge" groundwater use rates at the "present level or along a
slightly upward trend seems a logical assumption, with all attendant consequences"; and
WHEREAS, the chief financial officer of the Baton Rouge Water Company stated
in open testimony at a Louisiana Public Service Commission hearing in 2013 that, "Our
long-term solution, obviously, is the treatment plant with water from the Mississippi"; and
WHEREAS, it is expected that the costs of such a transition from groundwater to
surface water will be borne by the customers of the Baton Rouge Water Company, which
are the people of East Baton Rouge Parish and Ascension Parish; and
WHEREAS, such a transition likely will entail a sacrifice of drinking water quality
and could result in costly and hazardous situations commonly associated with a change of
drinking water source, as seen in Flint, Michigan, and elsewhere; and
WHEREAS, the legislature affirms its desire to see all actions necessary be taken to
maintain groundwater as the main source of safe drinking water for the public in East Baton
Rouge Parish and surrounding parishes; and
WHEREAS, the Capital Area Ground Water Conservation Commission (CAGWCC)
is charged with the regional management of groundwater resources in the Baton Rouge area;
and
WHEREAS, since its creation in 1974, the CAGWCC has never adopted a
comprehensive management plan for local groundwater resources; and
WHEREAS, the commissioner of conservation has the statutory authority to prevent
or alleviate damaging saltwater movement or water-level decline and loss of sustainability
in the state's aquifers and to determine areas of groundwater concern and designate critical
areas of groundwater concern; and
WHEREAS, groundwater sustainability is defined in law as the development and use
of groundwater in a manner that can be maintained for the present and future time without
causing unacceptable environmental, economic, social, or health consequences; and
WHEREAS, the office of conservation has stated in a previous report to the
legislature that such "unacceptable effects on sustainability" already exist in East Baton
Rouge Parish; and
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WHEREAS, the CAGWCC is mandated by R.S. 38:3076 to work in conjunction with
the commissioner of conservation in his responsibilities.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the commissioner of conservation to study, outline the requirements, and
make recommendations as to the necessity of an area of groundwater concern or a critical
area of groundwater concern declaration in the Baton Rouge area to limit saltwater intrusion
and protect regional groundwater supplies for the future.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study shall include recommendations that
provide for the role and necessary actions required of the Capital Area Ground Water
Conservation Commission in any plan to preserve and manage the groundwater resources
of the Baton Rouge area.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the commissioner of conservation shall submit
a report of the study no later than February 15, 2020, to the governor, the House Committee
on Natural Resources and Environment, the House Committee on Municipal, Parochial and
Cultural Affairs, the House Committee on Health and Welfare, the Senate Committee on
Environmental Quality, the Senate Committee on Natural Resources, the Senate Committee
on Local and Municipal Affairs, and the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
commissioner of conservation.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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