BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) entered into a cooperative agreement with Motiva Enterprises to implement a clean-up project at Bayou Trepagnier in Norco. The agreement was signed recently.

Bayou Trepagnier is located 10 miles west of New Orleans, just north of Airline Highway. Motiva will remove some of the contaminated soil and put down clean soil on what’s left behind as a cap. The area could be the home of a freshwater diversion project that would allow freshwater across Bayou Trepagnier into nearby wetlands.

Prior to 1995, wastewater, storm water and dredged sediment from various dredging and refinery operations were discharged into the bayou.  In 1998, Motiva Enterprises took over operations of the petroleum refinery at the site. Since then, Motiva officials have worked in conjunction with the DEQ and various organizations to address clean-up efforts for the bayou.

“The signing of this cooperative agreement marks a major milestone for this project,” said Louis Buatt, Assistant Secretary of the Office of Environmental Assessment for DEQ.  “This will result in the clean-up of the bayou being addressed sooner rather than later, thereby creating a clean corridor to accommodate any future fresh water diversion project.”