A surge of sediment has flooded into No Name Bayou due to an ongoing dredging project in the area, disrupting multiple shellfish fisheries and threatening the success of the state’s shrimping season, which started this month.
Natural gas provider Venture Global had been conducting dredging in the area as it builds out a new a liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefaction and export facility in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, U.S.A. However, on 4 August, the sediment escaped from its designated area, flooding into the waterway and burying crab traps and oyster beds.
“Venture Global and the Port of Cameron have been working together to restore over 260 acres of vegetated marsh with spoil placements derived from dredging activities for the Calcasieu Pass Loop,” Venture Global said in a statement about the incident. “These spoil placements typically involve the discharge of water containing sediment. Recently, a discharge that contained a higher volume of sediment than anticipated traveled from the placement area into an offsite channel. As soon as Venture Global became aware of the situation, dredging activities were temporarily suspended in that isolated area and we are taking steps to prevent further offsite migration. We have notified the appropriate regulatory agencies and are communicating directly with affected parties, including crabbers in the channel, to develop mitigation and remediation plans, and minimize the potential for an event like this again.”
However, local fishers say the incident has already caused significant damage and may hurt the state’s shrimping season, which launched 11 August. Shrimp would typically use those waterways to travel from estuaries into Big Lake.
“To fix that back there, I don’t know a fast, short-term fix because that marsh back there is crucial for the fishermen who make a living,” commercial fisher Ryan Jordan told local news outlet KPLC. “What shrimp are we going to catch, because that’s where most of the shrimp leave at.”
On 12 August, local conservation group For a Better Bayou sent a letter to the Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers asking the state and federal government to issue a cease and desist order to Venture Global and require the company to take corrective measures.
“We cannot continue to allow these sloppy industrial shortcuts to destroy the ecosystems we all rely on,” For a Better Bayou Director James Hiatt said in a statement. “There is no excuse – this completely preventable situation is a serious threat to our coastal environment and community. This company has a responsibility to our community to be transparent and expedient in the cleanup and remediation of our wetlands and fisheries.”
In a statement, Cameron Port said it was working with public and private partners to address the issue.
“The Cameron Parish Port is aware of the recent sediment migration incident near the No Name Structure on the south end of Calcasieu Lake," Cameron Port said in a statement. "We are actively working in coordination with all relevant public and private entities to ensure that every impacted individual is heard and their concerns addressed.”
