Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2033 – Declaration of emergency
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2033
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Department: means the Department of Environmental Quality. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2004
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Person: means any individual, municipality, public or private corporation, partnership, firm, the United States Government, and any agent or subdivision thereof or any other juridical person, which shall include, but not be limited to, trusts, joint stock companies, associations, the state of Louisiana, political subdivisions of the state of Louisiana, commissions, and interstate bodies. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2004
- Pollution source: means the immediate site or location of a discharge or potential discharge, including such surrounding property necessary to secure or quarantine the area from access by the general public. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2004
- Secretary: means the secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2004
- Violation: means a failure to comply with the requirements of this Subtitle, the rules issued under this Subtitle, and conditions of permits under this Subtitle. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:2004
A. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Subtitle, upon receipt of evidence that there is an incident occurring which is of such magnitude as to require immediate action to prevent irreparable damage to the environment or a serious threat to life or safety based on recognized criteria or standards or both, the secretary may declare that an emergency exists.
B. Upon declaration of an emergency, the secretary shall direct the attorney general to take such legal action as the secretary deems necessary. If the secretary directs the attorney general to take such legal action upon declaration of an emergency as the secretary deems necessary, and the attorney general declines to take such action or does not respond to the secretary’s request within ten days of such request and agree to take such requested action, an attorney from the department may, with the concurrence of the attorney general, take such action.
C. When an emergency situation is declared, the secretary is authorized to undertake the containment and abatement of the pollution source and pollutants and may retain personnel for these purposes who shall operate under his direction. He may order the owner, operator, or person responsible for the pollution source to conduct testing, monitoring, and analysis to ascertain the nature and extent of such hazard or undertake the containment, abatement, or cleanup of such pollution source and pollutants. Failure to comply with his order shall be a violation of this Subtitle and shall be punishable as provided in La. Rev. Stat. 30:2025.
D.(1) The secretary may issue such permit, variances, or other orders as necessary to respond to the emergency, which shall be effective immediately upon issuance, and any appeal or request for review shall not suspend the implementation of the action ordered. The term of any such emergency action shall be limited to the time necessary to address the emergency conditions.
(2) An action for injunctive relief against any order issued pursuant to the declaration of an emergency shall be brought in the Nineteenth Judicial District Court for the parish of East Baton Rouge. Exhaustion of administrative remedies is not a prerequisite to such action.
(3) The party bringing an action under this Subsection has the burden of demonstrating, by clear and convincing evidence, that granting injunctive relief shall not endanger or cause damage to the public health or the environment.
E. In addition, when an emergency is declared, emergency response personnel trained in environmental emergency response as provided by La. Rev. Stat. 30:2035 shall be authorized to undertake necessary actions to contain and abate the pollution source and pollutants.
F. An emergency cease and desist order is governed by the provisions of La. Rev. Stat. 30:2050.8 and not by the provisions of this Section.
Added by Acts 1980, No. 194, §6. Acts 1983, No. 97, §1, eff. Feb. 1, 1984; Acts 1983, No. 361, §1, eff. July 2, 1983; Acts 1983, No. 459, §1, eff. July 6, 1983; Acts 1995, No. 947, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 1996; Acts 1995, No. 1160, §1; Acts 1999, No. 303, §1, eff. June 14, 1999.