Cleanup of Bayou Trepagnier complete, DEQ says

Motiva Enterprises has completed cleanup of a 4,500-foot segment of Bayou Trepagnier in Norco, according to a press release issued by the state Department of Environmental Quality.

The bayou was the receiving waterbody for refinery wastewater from Motiva before the refinery’s permitted discharge was shifted to the Mississippi River in 1995.

Remediation efforts at Bayou Trepagnier included the solidification and stabilization of 6,000 feet of bayou sediments that contained oily waste residues. Affected bayou sediments were stabilized and finally capped with clay content soils.

Approximately 43,000 yards of imported clay soils were used to build access roads and provide for a clay cap designed to cover the stabilized sediment. Additionally, an 800 foot-wide clean zone was created at the southern end of the bayou in order to create a pathway for use on any future freshwater diversion projects.

"The project is very beneficial for the citizens of Louisiana as DEQ continues to work with Motiva, LLC, and its partners toward returning the bayou to its typical environmental habitat so that fish and wildlife propagation may continue to thrive for future generations to enjoy," Tom Harris, administrator of DEQ’s Remediation Division, said in a news release.

As of January, the Bayou Trepagnier channel is capped and seeded with an interim rye grass cover. The planting of native vegetation will begin in February to improve and enhance the areas existing natural resources as well as replace vegetation lost during the remediation process.