FEMA Seeks Monitoring Equipment at Louisiana C&D Landfill

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has requested more monitoring equipment at New Orleans’ Gentilly Landfill to held develop changes in how the construction and demolition debris from Hurricane Katrina is being dumped, according to a report in the Advocate (New Orleans).

The agency has voiced concerns that piling Katrina’s debris on top of the old dump could cause the land to shift beneath a nearby hurricane protection levee and the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway, according to the report.

The landfill—controversial since its reopening in September 2005 following Hurricane Katrina—is accepting approximately 15,000 to 18,000 cubic yards of debris per day. The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has permitted up to 50,000 cubic yards of debris per day, according to the report.