The
Fausse Pointe is an abandoned oil and gas (O&G) gathering and separating facility
located on a platform above Lake Dauterive, Iberia Parish, Louisiana. In January of 2025, a citizen notified the Louisiana Department
of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) and the Louisiana Department of Energy and
Natural Resources (LDNR) that they observed a sheen of petroleum product
emanating from the facility. Upon closer inspection, they witnessed liquids
leaking from piping into the lake. The
citizen also contacted a private oil spill response organization (OSRO) on
their own accord. The OSRO deployed a boom around the facility at their own expense to prevent further offsite
migration.
On January 14, 2025, LDENR and
LDEQ conducted an inspection of the facility and documented their findings on an
LDENR Orphan Oilfield Site Inspection Report.
The report states that the field was orphaned in 2023, is dilapidated,
and hazardous to transit. The saltwater and
at least one of the oil storage tanks were noted to be leaking into the
concrete curbing. Disconnected and holed
piping from the curbing stormwater drains were identified as the primary means
by which oil was entering the waterway. The
state notified the EPA of the facility, and requested assistance in addressing
the problems.
EPA personnel and representatives from the LDENR and
LDEQ conducted a site visit on March 31, 2025, to verify the state of the facility
and gather information for the cleanup. Conditions previously communicated
by the state agencies were found to be accurate and releases of petroleum are still active. The containment boom surrounding the facility is keeping the petroleum on the water surface from spreading offsite.
