Lake Peigneur bill goes before House

Thus far a bill that opposes the construction of two additional gas storage caverns in Lake Peigneur has made it through two committees and the Senate. Today, the House of Representatives will make this final vote on SB 754, authored by Sen. Troy Hebert.

The language in the bill states: The commissioner shall not authorize or issue any permit which allows the use or withdrawal of three million gallons or more of ground water per day from the Chicot aquifer that shall be injected into the subsurface in a parish whose population is more than seventy thousand and less than seventy five thousand.

AGL Resources, the company that wants to expand its gas storage caverns to four continues to stand on the statement that the Louisiana Legislature is setting a dangerous precedent by singling out a company and denying the economic gains to the state and communities.

In the midst of the battle between the two entities, AGL and Save Lake Peigneur group, the energy company changed CEOs. The new man in charge, John Somerhalder issued a its first corporate responsibility report stating, ““We believe there is not just a good way to do business, there is a right way to do business,” said John Somerhalder, chairman, president and CEO of AGL Resources. “Doing business the right way means placing the highest value on safety, being good environmental stewards, embracing diversity, treating our employees with fairness and respect and being the good corporate citizen our communities deserve and expect.”

AGL Resources issued the report to provide more information about the company, its operations and its people, including:

·Efforts to reduce emissions, including the company’s comprehensive pipeline replacement program

·Water conservation and energy efficiency measures

·V-Force, the company’s employee volunteer program

·Education, energy assistance, environmental stewardship and community enrichment activities

·Efforts to boost diversity in the company workforce and among company suppliers

·A snapshot of the company’s recent financial performance, which is also detailed in the annual report issued earlier this year.

“Increasingly, interested parties are asking us how we make sure our employees and communities are safe, how we confront climate change and what we are doing to give back to our communities,” Somerhalder said. “We hope this report will answer these important questions and create greater understanding of the character and values of our company.”

The report can be accessed at www.aglresources.com.