Letter urges feds to act on horrible year for La. environment

The best thing you can say about the state of environmental affairs in Louisiana in 2012 is that there's been nothing of the horribly catastrophic nature of the Deepwater Horizon fiasco two years ago, which spoiled the Gulf of Mexico for years to come. (Although it is worth noting that there's still nearly three months left until 2012.) The bad news is that the air that we breathe in Louisiana and the water that we drink has instead been slowly dying a death of a thousand cuts. Did you know that along the state's so-called "Cancer Alley," the thick concentration of oil refineries and chemical plants, there are as many as 10 noteworthy accidents, on average, every single day? Over the last few months, we've told you about some of the most egregious cases. The sinkhole in Bayou Corne, where state officials were flummoxed despite weeks of tremors and bubbling gases -- even after the Texas Brine Co. warned the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality that there might be a problem with its salt cavern. The chemical plant in Plaquemines Parish where DEQ officials insisted there was no danger after intense flooding from Hurricane Isaac -- even as TV ...