Alligator feedings blamed for Spanish Lake Basin woes

The battle between Alligator Bayou Tours and land mitigation firms that want to drain the Spanish Lake Basin rages on. In the latest round, two of the mitigation banks suggested the tour firm’s alligator feedings may be to blame for environmental problems in the basin. Last month, Gregg Fell of Natural Resource Professionals—which represents Lago Espanol and Rivalake—sent a letter to the Ascension Parish Health Unit, calling for an investigation into “authorized or unauthorized” water discharges into Alligator Bayou or Frog Bayou. In the letter, Fell cites as evidence reoccurring strong septic odors and a recent alleged fish kill. “NRP is not accusing ABT of illegal water discharges,” Fell writes. “However, Alligator Bayou Tours has four alligator pits within their exhibition area as shown on the attached aerial photograph. These pits house large alligators, which are apparently fed chicken and other foods in large quantities. Because there is no record of a discharge permit from these pits, is it possible that the odor and sludge may be the results of refreshing or cleaning the alligator pits by discharging [pumping] into either Alligator Bayou or Frog Bayou?” Last week, the Louisiana Department of Health & Hospitals issued Alligator Bayou Tours a clean bill of health. In a three-sentence letter to Fell, the agency reports an inspection found Alligator Bayou Tours has an approved sewer treatment plant in operation, and investigators detected no septic odors there. For a recent Business Report cover story about the battle over Spanish Lake Basin, click here.—Penny Font