69°
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
7 Day Forecast
Follow our weather team on social media

'They're not going fast enough:' Gov. criticizes EPA response at Smitty's, says change on the way

1 day 13 hours 4 minutes ago Monday, September 29 2025 Sep 29, 2025 September 29, 2025 5:04 PM September 29, 2025 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - Governor Jeff Landry criticized the Environmental Protection Agency's cleanup efforts in Tangipahoa Parish following the explosion at Smitty's Supply more than a month ago. 

In a social media video posted Sunday, Landry said that the EPA was "not going fast enough" and that starting Monday there will be changes to the cleanup operation. 

The update was sparked by a video taken by Eric McVicker and posted Sunday morning that showed an aerial view of waterways near the site covered in oil and brown residue. 

Landry said that he is committed to restoring the area to the way it was before the explosion. Details about the specific changes were not released. 

The governor's office and DEQ did not elaborate further on what "changes" were coming.

The EPA says it's continuing 24 hour operations trying to contain that oil, keeping it from going down river.

Not everyone is pleased with that response.

"Air boats that have been contracted by the EPA have been flying by with reckless abandon, creating a huge wake that pushes the oil further on to the shore which is why it's attaching itself to my dock," said Pat Mashburn, who lives 25 miles from Smitty's.

He's been documenting the state of his waterfront property almost daily.

"On my part of the river, there has been no clean up whatsoever, not one," Mashburn said. 

He says he's afraid any clean up of his property is going to fall directly on him.

"I have more confidence in the LSU offense than I have in the governor right now."

According to Tangipahoa Parish Government, more than 3.5 million gallons of oil have been recovered from the site of the explosion and more than 180,000 gallons have been removed from the Tangipahoa River.

More News

Desktop News

Click to open Continuous News in a sidebar that updates in real-time.
Radar
7 Days