A chemical terminal is asking to dump unlimited diluted ammonia into our waters
20 tons of ammonia. No limits on diluted toxic chemicals. Into waters where your family swims and fishes.
IMTT (International Matex Tank Terminals) wants permission to discharge industrial waste into Lake Pontchartrain with no limits on ammonia, nitrogen, or phosphorus. You can stop this.
📝 Submit Comment Online 📧 Email Comment 📄 View Comment TemplateWhat's happening: IMTT wants to dump industrial chemicals into Lake Pontchartrain—the lake where families fish, swim, and earn their living—with no discharge limits on nutrients that cause toxic algae blooms and poison wildlife.
Why it matters: Lake Pontchartrain already has harmful algae blooms nearly every year. We just spent $100 million restoring wetlands here. This permit would undo that work and make waters unsafe for people and endangered species like sturgeon, manatees, and turtles.
The injustice: IMTT operates in Cancer Alley, where predominantly Black communities already bear the burden of industrial pollution. Now they want to pollute our shared waters too.
What you can do: Submit a comment opposing this permit by November 6. Request a public hearing. Every comment counts.
IMTT's St. Rose Terminal stores and transfers petroleum products and chemicals. When it rains, contaminated stormwater collects these toxins and IMTT wants to flush it all into Lake Pontchartrain.
The permit says "report only"—which means IMTT can dump as much as they want with zero consequences.
This isn't about abstract "water quality standards." It's about what happens to living things when pollution flows into their home.
The LaBranche Wetlands: In November 2024, Louisiana completed a $100 million wetland restoration project—1,470 acres of marsh, habitat for fish and birds, natural water filtration for Lake Pontchartrain. IMTT's discharge pipe aims straight at this investment. What we spent a hundred million to restore, IMTT wants permission to pollute.
Lake Pontchartrain has had harmful algal blooms in 2011, 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2024. Health advisories tell people to stay out of the water. Adding 20 tons of ammonia and unlimited nitrogen will make this worse.
Louisiana's Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) has the authority to deny permits that fail to protect water quality. This permit has serious legal and regulatory problems:
IMTT's St. Rose Terminal sits in Louisiana's Cancer Alley—the 85-mile stretch along the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to New Orleans where over 200 petrochemical facilities are concentrated.
This isn't random. These facilities are placed in predominantly Black, low-income communities because companies calculated that these communities have less political power to fight back.
The pattern: Industrial facilities pollute the air that fenceline residents breathe. Now IMTT wants to pollute the water that all Louisianans share. Communities of color breathe the pollution and everyone downstream—fishermen, families, tourists—will swim in it and eat fish contaminated by it.
The permit includes zero analysis of cumulative impacts. LDEQ looks at IMTT's discharge in isolation, ignoring:
Environmental justice means no community should be sacrificed for corporate profit. Yet that's exactly what this permit does—it sacrifices Lake Pontchartrain's health so IMTT can avoid paying for proper treatment technology.
Your comment should be personal and specific. Explain why this matters to you. Here's a template to adapt:
Subject: Opposition to IMTT Water Discharge Permit - Request Public Hearing
RE: AI 4885, Permit LA0075833, Activity PER20240003
Dear LDEQ:
I oppose the proposed IMTT St. Rose Terminal water discharge permit and formally request a public hearing.
[Add your personal connection - pick what applies to you:]
This permit should be rejected because:
1. No discharge limits: "Report only" means IMTT can dump unlimited ammonia, nitrogen, and phosphorus. That's not protection—that's permission to pollute.
2. Polluting already-impaired waters: Lake Pontchartrain Subsegment 041001 is officially impaired. Federal law prohibits new pollution to impaired waters without a cleanup plan. No plan exists.
3. Threatens $100M wetland restoration: The LaBranche Wetlands were restored in November 2024. This permit will undo that public investment.
4. Endangers protected species: Atlantic Sturgeon, West Indian Manatee, Pallid Sturgeon, and two turtle species need clean water. Zero analysis of harm to endangered species.
5. PFAS cover-up: Fire water discharges containing PFAS "forever chemicals" are authorized but no testing required despite IMTT's fire history.
6. Environmental injustice: No cumulative impact analysis for Cancer Alley communities already bearing disproportionate pollution burden.
I demand that LDEQ:
Please add me to the mailing list for all notices regarding this permit.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[Your Email]
[Your Phone]
LDEQ is required to consider all substantive comments. If they find significant public interest, they must hold a public hearing. Your voice matters. Use it.
Deadline: Thursday, November 6, 2025, 4:30 PM CST
📝 Submit Comment Online 📧 Email Your CommentOther submission options:
Mail: LDEQ Public Participation Group, P.O. Box 4313, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-4313
Drop Box: 602 N. 5th St., Baton Rouge, LA 70802