Hazardous waste disposer seeks revised groundwater sampling plan

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - For about four decades, a local company has been disposing of hazardous waste at a site near Carlyss. Chemical Waste Management is planning some changes there.

According to the notice sent out by the company, they plan to revise their current plan designed to detect any leaks.

One long-time environmentalist is skeptical.

In the early 1980s, Chemical Waste Management began its fight to start a hazardous waste disposal site near Carlyss. Residents and environmentalists were worried it would one day leak and contaminate the environment and drinking water.

Environmentalist Mike Tritico, with RESTORE, said many of the people who fought the construction are now dead.

“There are several reasons this hazardous waste site should be of interest to everybody. For one, it’s a huge mountain of toxins. Ninety feet above sea level is the top of the mountain. Below there it goes deep down under the surface. And under the surface it’s connected to different layers of the water bearing sands,” Tritico said.

Now, around forty years since it started, the company wants to change the plan for groundwater sampling and analyses.

Tritico is worried because the area relies on the Chicot aquifer for drinking water.

“All the sands in that area are interconnected. So, anything that leaks out from the hazardous waste tombs, could get into the drinking water supplies; could get into the surface water, damage the fish, build up in the crabs. There are a lot of reasons to be concerned about that site,” Tritico said.

The company is planning to host a public meeting at 6 p.m. on September 27 in the Carlyss rec room where they will explain more about their request.

The application for the permit modification is online as well as thousands of pages of information about the site and any problems there.

Right now, public comment is underway until October 24th.

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