Wednesday big day for Save lake Peigneur Inc; lawsuit against Coastal Management goes to trial

NEW IBERIA - Wednesday is a big day for Save Lake Peigneur Inc.
It’s the day Judge Keith Comeaux will listen to both sides in court and then decide if the permit filed by Coastal Management within the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to dredge parts of Lake Peigneur is obtained legally.
The trial will start Wednesday at 10 a.m. in the Iberia Parish Courthouse on Iberia Street.
Save Lake Peigneur filed a lawsuit last year against Coastal Management for granting a permit to dredge parts of the lake, which would allow heavier equipment to make its way to the salt caverns under the lake.
A year ago, DNR granted the first of three permits for the proposed expansion of an underground natural gas storage operation in the salt dome under Lake Peigneur.
AGL Resources still needs two additional permits, one to scour out caverns in the salt dome and another to store natural gas in the new caverns.
AGL Resources of Atlanta is proposing to scour out two new salt caverns for its Jefferson Island Storage & Hub facility, where two existing caverns have been used for gas storage since the 1990s.
Nara Crowley, president of Save Lake Peigneur, is asking Coastal Management to study why AGL wants to dredge the lake and what environmental impact it could have to the lake and the people who live on the lake.
For the last 8 years, AGL has tried to get the correct permits in order to store natural gas in the empty caverns. Save Lake Peigneur was there to try and stop them.
Crowley would like a study done on the two empty caverns to see have save they are before any permits are granted. She does not understand why no one wants a study done on the caverns.
There is also unexplained bubbling on the lake in recent years. Last year DNR went to the lake to investigate the bubbles on the lake’s surface but reached no conclusion on the cause.
Save Lake Peigneur group would love for the judge to make Coastal Management do an environmental impact study before it grants AGL its first permit.