What is the status of the Government’s efforts to clean up the industrial contamination of the upper Calcesieu Lake estuary of southwestern Louisiana?
The Calcasieu Estuary provides important habitat for migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, and wading birds, and valuable nursery and feeding habitat for numerous estuarine-dependent sport and commercial fishes and shellfishes. The upper Calcasieu Estuary was cited as one of the most contaminated areas in Louisiana in a June 1997 NOAA report. Areas of greatest concern are Coon Island Loop, Bayou Verdine, and Bayou D’Inde. The contaminants of greatest concern to Service trust resources are hexachlorobenzene, hexachlorobutadiene, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, mercury, copper and lead. Consumption advisories are currently in effect for fish and shellfish from Bayou D’Inde. Contamination of the upper Calcasieu Estuary potentially involves most industries in the Lake Charles petrochemical/industrial complex. The Service has been working with EPA, NOAA, and several State agencies to complete a Cooperative Management Agreement with the various “Potentially Res
