DEQ Fines Waste Hauler for Illegal Dumping

By AMY WOLD

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality assessed a $24,000 penalty against a New Orleans-based waste hauling company for illegally dumping in eastern New Orleans.

The investigation into Shamrock Demolition Waste Haulers of Louisiana began in August, and DEQ inspectors found that the company was taking waste to a property on Grant Avenue in eastern New Orleans that was not a landfill, DEQ spokesman Rodney Mallett said Tuesday.

It’s estimated that 8,300 cubic yards of debris was dumped at the site, he said.

The Advocate left a telephone message at Shamrock on Tuesday afternoon, but the call wasn’t returned by press time.

In April, DEQ joined forces with numerous enforcement partners to document and report illegal dumping in eastern New Orleans at the Grant Avenue site and more than 150 others along Almonaster Avenue.

Other agencies involved in the work included representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Louisiana National Guard, New Orleans Police Department and the Louisiana Public Service Commission.

Teams of inspectors traveled to properties in the area, made reports of the dumping or other environmental hazards that were found and then reported back to DEQ enforcement.

The area along Almonaster Avenue has a history of illegal dumping and the debris generated from hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 only made it worse.

So far, the DEQ has issued notices for companies to take corrective actions and issued penalties in some cases as a result of the April work, Mallett said.

In addition, 61 other reports of illegal dumping or other environmental concerns found in eastern New Orleans are being reviewed by DEQ’s enforcement division for possible action, he said.

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