ROSELAND (Louisiana Illuminator) — A petroleum products plant that exploded in August might have missed a step in the approval process before it began pumping millions of gallons of treated water last week into a ditch that drains to the Tangipahoa River.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality granted a “short-term and emergency discharges” permit Feb. 6 to Smitty’s Supply Inc. in Roseland. After samples of the treated stormwater runoff from the facility passed a toxicity test, the company started pumping it into a roadside ditch at a rate of up to 1 million gallons per day in accordance with the permit. Crews continue to address damage and contamination from the Aug. 22 fire and explosion that dispersed oily waste for miles downriver.

Although Smitty’s received its LDEQ permit, it began releasing the treated water before getting approval from the Department of Transportation and Development, which LDEQ says is required under a state law that regulates drainage ditches along state highways.

Red, green and black water in the Highway 51 ditch at Smitty's Supply with containment boom separating the black water
Discolored water sits in the U.S. Highway 51 ditch in front of the Smitty’s Supply plant in Roseland on Feb. 20, 2026. (Photo credit: Wes Muller/Louisiana Illuminator)
A public records request turned up no records of DOTD’s approval or awareness of the situation. Transportation department spokesman Rodney Mallett said the agency wasn’t notified of Smitty’s Supply’s plans to dispose of its runoff and didn’t issue any kind of permit or approval for the discharges.

“Since we were not notified, our staff is contacting DEQ and Smitty’s in an attempt to rectify the situation,” Mallett said Tuesday.

The same law, as LDEQ stated on the permit, also requires approval from the state Department of Health “before any direct discharge to a state highway ditch.” It’s unclear if that approval was given. Spokeswoman Emma Herrock said health department officials are looking into the matter.

In a lengthy statement Wednesday, Smitty’s Supply said it is in compliance with all regulatory requirements. The company said it hired the Geismar-based Spectrum Water to bring a portable treatment system to the site to filter and remove contaminants from the stormwater. A team of onsite experts is ensuring the water being discharged meets environmental standards and is safe for all aquatic life before discharge, the company said, adding that all sampling results have been submitted to the Department of Environmental Quality and are publicly accessible.

“Since assuming responsibility for site remediation, Smitty’s Supply has worked closely with both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and LDEQ to manage water at the site safely and responsibly,” the company’s statement read.

At the facility on Friday, water was seen gushing into a highway drainage ditch out of a large hose leading from Spectrum Water’s portable treatment equipment. A large “Spectrum” banner hung on the fence directly above the hose.

The water being treated is mostly a mix of rainfall at the site and contaminants left over from various petroleum product tanks that exploded in the fire. After the disaster, crews built berms to contain and collect as much contaminated stormwater as possible and store it in large containers as Smitty’s explored different disposal options, records show. Water that can’t be sufficiently treated with Spectrum Water’s system is sent to waste disposal facilities.

“The pressure washing water used during cleanup is not currently going into the discharge and is being recovered as part of untreatable water and being disposed of,” the Smitty’s Supply statement said.

Whether Smitty’s Supply will see any repercussions for the possible permitting misstep isn’t clear as the agencies involved disagree on whether and how to enforce the matter.

Although the law in question concerns the environment and public health, it falls under Louisiana statutes titled “Roads, Bridges and Ferries,” which pertain to matters under the Department of Transportation’s authority. However, the statute doesn’t specify any enforcement mechanism or penalties in the event of a violation.

LDEQ spokeswoman Meagan Molter said enforcement of the law is at the discretion of the other agencies, but Mallett said the transportation department can’t pursue penalties because the agency has no enforcement arm.

“The environmental people are the ones that have the actual stick and authority to enforce it,” Mallet said.

The transportation agency’s involvement is limited to reviewing the environmental permit and either approving or denying use of the ditch, he said.

“We wouldn’t be issuing a permit,” he said. “We would just be giving approval to use the ditch based upon DEQ’s permit. We are working with DEQ to fix the notification piece. The sampling and enforcement and actual permit are DEQ.”

The Department of Environmental Quality permit issued to Smitty’s Supply allows it to discharge a total of 180 million gallons of treated water over a six-month period. Its approval came as a surprise to some Tangipahoa Parish residents impacted by the explosion and subsequent oil spill, particularly after the state rejected an initial permit application the company sought for far fewer effluent discharges — 200,000 gallons per day for two months, totaling 12 million gallons.

LDEQ records show the initial permit was denied Dec. 5, with officials pointing out the collected stormwater was still too contaminated despite it being run through Spectrum’s treatment system. Lab results indicated elevated levels of pollutants, including organic waste at more than five times the maximum threshold allowed under state regulations.

A new round of water sampling taken in January showed those pollution levels dropped to within the state’s allowed limits. Smitty’s said Spectrum had to adjust some of the chemistry and filter arrangements in its treatment system to get the water quality up to standards.

Smitty’s said its crews have so far recovered over 6.5 million gallons of liquid and 5,000 tons of scrap metal to be recycled. Those amounts are in addition to the wastes recovered during the EPA-led cleanup efforts.

Last week, oily sheens were still visible on the surface of a nearby pond that sits in the drainage pathway between the ditch and the Tangipahoa River. Local drone pilot Michael Constant captured photos and video footage last week of an alligator and aquatic birds in the affected pond. Constant said he has recorded many animals swimming through petrochemical slicks in the area over the past few months.

Cleanup efforts the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency led after the explosion ended months ago, but Marylee Orr, director of the Louisiana Environmental Action Network, said neighbors have documented a wealth of visual evidence indicating the site’s surroundings remain polluted.

“I’m really concerned because neither the river nor the people have really recovered,” Orr said. “It could be 10 years before that river is OK.”

Donald Baker, who lives in nearby Amite, was standing outside a Highway 51 convenience store in Roseland when he first learned from a reporter Friday that the Smitty’s Supply plant’s treated stormwater was being pumped into the ditch in front of him. He said it made him feel uneasy because of some new health problems he’s had since the disaster.

“I noticed I ain’t been breathing as healthy as I was before [the plant exploded],” Baker said. “I don’t know if that’s the cause, but it’s possible … People are being affected by this thing behind the scenes.”