Five organizations working to protect Caddo Lake will hold a community meeting Wednesday in Karnack, Texas, covering a full slate of issues that impact the lake that spans the Texas-Louisiana border.
Foremost, will be an update on the October oil spill that occurred just upstream in Bayou Tete. Representatives from Sunoco Logistics and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality will address attendees.
The president of the Caddo Lake Institute Rick Lowerre says the discussion will help local communities understand their role in assisting in future spills because another accident is highly likely, according to Lowerre.
“We have a good map of the pipelines in the area. There are quite a few and a number of them are getting pretty old. So, there’s going to be risk in the future of additional spills,” Lowerre said. “We want to have a discussion about the capabilities of the volunteer fire departments to see if in the Caddo Lake area we have the capacities we need.”
The agenda includes a description of a new invasive plant on Caddo Lake. It’s called crested floating heart. Five acres of it are spread across about six sites, according to Lowerre. Texas wildlife agents have sprayed to try to contain it. Lowerre says the meeting will move quickly through a range of topics.
“The new invasive species and the spill are big issues being discussed. We want to make sure everyone in the community has the opportunity to get the information they need,” Lowerre said.
The meeting, hosted by the Caddo Lake Ramsar Clearinghouse, is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Karnack Community Center in Karnack, Texas.
