Here we go again. Once again, a corner of Louisiana is under an environmental assault, threatening both the health and the immediate safety of local residents. Once again, the cause appears to be the careless practices of Big Energy as it races to exploit the rich bounty of natural resources in the Bayou State. And once again, Louisiana state officials in the administration of Gov. Bobby Jindal are working harder to downplay and even cover up the extent of the problen, rather than acknowledge the grave risks to a bayou community. This real-time crisis is unfolding in a place called Bayou Corne, a swampy area in the heart of Cajun country, 70 miles west of New Orleans as the crow flies. Like much of this part of the world, the area around Bayou Corne has long been exploited for its natural resources. For two decades, a firm called Texas Brine Co. LLC operated a large salt mining cavern underground here, where salt was extracted and the briny water sold to oil and gas customers. The site was abandoned last year, and there are conflicting reports whether the cavern may have been used to store natural gas, a process that has been known to cause problems ...
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