Candidate Forum - Updated Questions and Concerns

Here is a list of the questions for the upcoming Forum, along with a listing of our concerns with regard to each issue. Please feel free to comment, or ask questions



City Parish President Candidate Forum    Thursday, October 1, 2015


1.  Evangeline Throughway

There has been a great deal of discussion on plans to upgrade the Evangeline Throughway to      interstate status, even though an affordable route along the Teche Ridge already exists.  Many citizens are concerned about the numerous negative aspects of this upgrade such as a disruption to the downtown development area; the displacement of many homes, businesses and historical sites; a path over toxic waste site at the old railroad yard; and a negative impact to adjacent wetlands as the east/west airport runway will need to be pushed into the swamp.

What would your position be?

Sierra Club’s Concerns
  1.Too Expensive, way beyond available funding possibilities.

  2.Major Environmental Problems

     a.hundreds of hazardous waste sites in the path of this proposed project to be resolved (filling                 stations, cleaners, Lafayette’s old power plant, Southern Pacific Roundhouse Dump,
        old Lafayette Public Landfill)

     b.Enormous expense in resolving these issues.

     c.Driving pilings in the related test borings through these hazardous sites would seriously threaten         Lafayette’s drinking water.

  3.Extensive loss of wetlands relating to the realignment of the east/west runway into the Cypress            Island Swamp owned by the Nature Conservancy in St. Martin Parish.

  4.Loss of hundreds of homes and businesses and the related jobs.

Meetings for January 2015

Sierra Club Acadian Group "ExCom" Conservation Meeting and Upcoming Guest Speaker

Welcome back friends! 2015 has arrived and one set of holidays has past (always with more to come.)  Before the seasonal distractions carry sway with us away, there are a couple of meetings of the Sierra Club in Acadiana this month. On January 14th will be the first meeting for all of the General Business of the Group. You know the drill, where we consult and review course of action on the various conservation issues the Group is currently concerned with and consider new issues that have arisen.

Then on January 21st, we'll have Mr. Mike Hollier of Consolidated Government's Planning
Department in to talk about the work of his office as it relates to environmental concerns we have, including increased Air Quality compliance to meet protective Ozone limitations, and how Bicycling facilities, Electric Charging Stations and other strategies can achieve those goals.

Also on deck during the January 14th meeting will be our continuing recreational excursions. This meeting will be the one at which to plan them. So come prepared. Want us to do a variety of events? Step up and become a leader this year!

Wednesday, January 14 and 21 at 6:30pm - 8:00pm

First United Methodist Church Lafayette, La
703 Lee Ave, Lafayette, Louisiana

As always, these meetings are open to every member of the Sierra Club as well as all others interested. Visit the Acadian Group of the Sierra Club's Facebook Group for automatic invites to future events: https://www.facebook.com/groups/271945356257917/

Presentation on CWPPRA Coastal Restoration Projects

Sierra Club Acadian Group, Guest presentation
Date/Time: Wednesday, Sept 17, 6:30 pm
Location: First United Methodist Church, 703 Lee Ave, Lafayette, LA 70501

Join us on at 6:30pm on September 17th at the United Methodist Church located at 701 Lee Avenue to learn more about Louisiana’s current coastal wetlands restoration efforts.  Team members from the CWPPRA – The Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act – public outreach committee will join us to discuss various techniques used to protect, preserve, and restore Louisiana’s fragile wetland ecosystems.

CWPPRA is federal legislation enacted to identify, engineer and design, and fund the construction of coastal wetlands restoration projects. These projects provide for the long-term conservation of wetlands and dependent fish and wildlife populations. Projects funded by CWPPRA are cost-effective ways of restoring, protecting, and enhancing coastal wetlands. CWPPRA has a proven track record of superior coastal restoration science and monitoring techniques in Louisiana.

Since 1990, the net Louisiana wetland area that CWPPRA has protected, created, or restored is about 100,000 acres. Greater than 426,000 acres have also been enhanced.

As of 2014, CWPPRA has 151 active restoration projects with 101 completed projects, 18 active construction projects, and 33 projects currently in engineering and design. Three (3) of the 33 projects in engineering and design are scheduled for construction during 2014.
The success of the CWPPRA program has been essential in providing critical ecosystem stabilization along Louisiana’s coast and has provided pioneering solutions for land loss.

In addition to the physical land gains made by CWPPRA, this interagency organization has been instrumental in educating the public about Louisiana’s land loss and in fostering public participation in coastal restoration activities. CWPPRA has also provided solid science and background information that helped in the identification and selection of Louisiana Coastal Area Feasibility Study Plan (LCA), Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP), State of Louisiana, and Water Resource Development Act (WRDA) projects.  To learn more visitwww.LaCoast.gov



Bio:

Susan Testroet-Bergeron will be joining us to  represent the Louisiana’s Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act’s Public Outreach Committee.  She will be sharing information about Louisiana’s coastal wetlands restoration efforts.

She has a Bachelor’s of Science in Geology, a Louisiana Teaching Certificate, she is former classroom teacher, and has over 15 years of experience performing education and outreach in the environmental community.  She works with several environmental organizations in the State and along the gulf coast helping to provide resources for wetland education.

Lectures Series - Oil, Gas, & Land-Loss in the Wetlands

American Energy, Imperiled Coast

Oil and Gas Development in Louisiana’s Wetlands

Explores the tension between Oil & Gas development and the land loss crisis in coastal Louisiana

 

A Presentation, Discussion and Book Signing with Jason Theriot

September 10, 2014 at 6:30 pm
First United Methodist Church
703 Lee Ave, Lafayette, LA
Parking at Johnston and Main

Jason Theriot is an energy and environmental historian and consultant and former Energy Policy Fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, earned a doctorate in history from the University of Houston and a degree in journalism from Louisiana State University.

Introduction by Lillian Espinoza-Gala
Presented by Acadian Group of the Sierra Club
http://acadiansierra.blogspot.com/

Lecture Series: SPECIAL GUEST - DR. RIKI OTT

Dr. Riki Ott

Riki Ott, a former commercial fisherwoman, trained marine toxicologist and "accidental activist" since the Exxon Valdez disaster on issues of concern to coastal communities and democracy will be the guest speaker for Acadian Group of the Sierra Club on Wednesday May 21, 2014.

Ott visits the Gulf Coast this month to meet with community organizations to discuss upcoming proposed revisions to the National Contingency Plan, what this means to people who live in areas impacted by these activities, and how to make an official public comment. The Federal Government is preparing revisions to the NCP to direct future disaster response efforts relating to all forms of oil and energy extraction contamination.

Ott will discuss the petitioning drive to Ban the Use of Corexit as an oil remediation tool and her effort to organize communities for a new program called ALERT -A Locally Empowered Response Team - that will gather baseline data to be compared with data after a disaster, and will provide treatment to people who have been chemically exposed.

Look forward to seeing you there!

Please contact us to RSVP so we may plan an appropriate sized room at the church meeting hall to accommodate everyone.

Meeting begins at 6:30pm located at First United Methodist Church, 703 Lee Avenue, Lafayette, LA. Entry to the church hall faces the rear parking lot visible from Johnston Street. Meeting room upstairs on the right. Share this update, and please bring a friend!

Guest Speaker Update for May 14 Conservation Meeting

Short Notice Update:

Guest speaker for tonight’s (Wed, May 14) meeting of Sierra Club Acadian Group will be Ron Boustany, NRCS Water Quality Researcher working at the Wetlands Center. The meeting will be at the First United Methodist Church at 703 Lee Ave in Lafayette. Meeting time is 6:30 pm.

April General Interest Meeting - New Outings

 Acadian Group of the Sierra Club selects it's upcoming quarter of recreational outings.

At the General Interest Meeting on Wednesday evening, 4/16 we call for outings recommendations from our members for the May-July quarter. Also members with recreational outing leadership are always welcome to become an Official Outings Leader with the Sierra Club. We offer support for members to become certified. 

We'll also update on the Green Army and other environmental bills in the legislature and how to join the action team; update on the Atchafalaya West Levee Bike Path and other trails; update on Lake Fausse Pointe area National Monument proposal; update on Lafayette's Electrical Future partnership with the League of Women Voters, currently in the research phase; next Ecologic TV program, and other issues subject to call. We will also have an informational table during Festival International, corner of Jefferson and Vermilion next to the Boy Scouts.

Share this update, and please bring a friend! First United Methodist Church downtown Lafayette, corner of Johnston and Main. Rear Entry of Church Hall, door on the right, go upstairs and look to the right. We'll also go for dinner at Hub City Diner at your request. See you there!

Also keep up with us on our Facebook Page.

Sierra Club and Trees Acadiana co-host IMAGINE the Future "Park at the Horse Farm"

The long effort to see the former UL-Lafayette "Horse Farm" land become a public park approaches the design and community participation phase of its plan.

Acadian Group of the Sierra Club and Trees Acadiana join forces to host directors David Calhoun and Elizabeth Brooks of Lafayette Central Park, Inc. on October 16, 2013 for a presentation on the upcoming visioning process to plan the development of the future Park at the Horse Farm.  Q&A discussion on the critical issues and other details bearing on the Park's future will follow.

The first round of workshops are set for 23-26 October 2013 to enable we the general public to be co-creators of the plan of development for the Horse Farm.
 Presenters will give an overview of the process, the issues, and how we can take the opportunity to be a constructive part of developing the plan for the future Park at the Horse Farm. 

Gather with us on October 16, 2013 at 6:30 PM at the First United Methodist Church in Downtown Lafayette at the corner of Johnston and Main Street and be sure to Bring a Friend.

 

 Some Issues of Public Concern: parking, bike and pedestrian access, traffic calming and management on Johnston Street, governance and other oversight opportunities by Lafayette Consolidated Government and the general public, and the infusion of $30 million in private development funding.  Other questions will be addressed such as the  'no trespassing' notices currently posted on the property and whether the green-space will be maintained as a passive recreation area.

 

Sponsored by Acadian Group of the Sierra Club & TreesAcadiana

Presenters:  David Calhoun, Executive Director, Lafayette Central Park, Inc.

Elizabeth Brooks, Director of Planning and Design

 

Hope to see you.  Have your voice heard.

Sign up for this event on Facebook, Invite your Friends and "Like" the Acadian Group.

Herbicide Spraying in Louisiana Water Bodies - June 19th Conservation Meeting

A staff person from Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries' Noxious Plant Program, an $8 million program to control water hyacinth and giant salvinia, will be a guest speaker at the next Conservation Meeting of the Acadian Group of the Sierra Club on Wednesday June 19.  We have invited the department to send a representative to listen to community concerns on this issue and present information on their program.

Citizens have expressed concerns regarding the use of herbicides on aquatic and shoreline plants in and around public bodies of water in the state.  Some expressed concerns include human health impacts, impacts to wildlife especially birds, as well as total habitat availability along the shoreline and systemic ecological effects.  Our organization recently was made aware of a concern at Lake Martin where shorelines have been sprayed on an ongoing basis.  Our recreational outing for the month of May to the Lake followed on a member's presentation so that we could investigate further.

We will also be hosting a special visit from the young people of Ride for the Future who are traveling exclusively by bicycle from New Orleans to Houston to explore and highlight stories of the effects, challenges and solutions stemming from use of fossil fuels, environmental justice, and sustainable strategies for development and clean energy.

Our meeting starts promptly at 6:30pm.  All members, friends of the Sierra Club, and the general public are welcomed to attend, listen, and participate.

Location: First Methodist Church - Lafayette, Louisiana, corner of Lee/Main/Johnston downtown.  Meeting Hall upstairs, enter through rear doors facing parking lot. http://goo.gl/maps/IiXfB

To Sign up for this event and follow the Acadian Group through Facebook, click here.

Rabbi Weinstein Visits the Acadian Sierra Club

Acadian Group of the Sierra Club is pleased to be hosting a talk on the Jewish thoughts on Ecology.  Rabbi Barry Weinstein of Temple Shalom will be joining us on this WEDNESDAY June 12th to make a short presentation and receive your questions as we engage in a stimulating discussion.
 

Rabbi Weinstein will be driving in from Baton Rouge to talk with us about Jewish views towards approaching Ecology. A 15-20 minute talk followed by time for an inspired Question and Discussion on Jewish views of honoring land and water.

Our meeting starts promptly at 6:30pm.  All members, friends of the Sierra Club, and the general public are welcomed to attend, listen, and participate.

Location: First Methodist Church - Lafayette, Louisiana, corner of Lee/Main/Johnston downtown.  Meeting Hall upstairs, enter through rear doors facing parking lot. http://goo.gl/maps/IiXfB

To Sign up for this event and follow the Acadian Group through Facebook, click here.