http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44233663/ns/us_news-environment/NEW ORLEANS — A rotten stench hung over a 60-mile stretch of Louisiana's Pearl River as boats trawled through thick layers of hundreds of thousands of dead fish, and sweating workers bent to scoop the carcasses from the water.
The fish, including federally protected Gulf sturgeon as well as catfish and flounder, died after a paper mill in Bogalusa released a high concentration of waste material into the river on Aug. 9.
The liquid material, which mill owner Temple-Inland Inc. refers to as "black liquor," effectively sucked the oxygen from a large section of the river, killing every breathing organism within its reach, including the fish. Davis put the number of fish killed at hundreds of thousands.
Slidell lawyer Tom Thornhill has filed a class action lawsuit in state court against Temple-Inland on behalf of owners of land and businesses affected by the discharge.
He said Temple-Inland shut down the paper mill as soon as managers realized the plant might exceed the waste material concentration allowed under its state permit.
The Department of Environmental Quality has said Temple-Inland agreed to pay for a new round of precautionary testing of private water wells along the river and of seafood from affected areas. Results were expected within days.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
