For Immediate Release
Contact: Sheila McCant
LA House of Representatives
Office of Public Information
Phone: (225) 342-9795
FAX: (225) 219-4380

February 2, 1999

REVISED
February 2, 1999 4:00 P.M.

HOUSE ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE TO VISIT NEW ORLEANS

    The Louisiana House Committee on the Environment will visit the New Orleans area on Wednesday, February 3 and Thursday, February 4. As part of the visit, the committee will tour several area industrial facilities. Among the stops included are the Bayou Segnette State Park, Evans Cooperage and the Port of New Orleans. Committee members will also hold a public meeting on that Thursday.

    "I look forward to learning about environmental concerns and visiting industries in Louisiana's largest metropolitan area," said state Rep. N.J. Damico, D-Marrero. "I encourage the public to participate in our public hearing, because it will serve as a major information source for the issues that will be debated in the upcoming legislative session."

    The public hearing will take place on Thursday, February 4 at 1:00 p.m. at the Four Columns Banquet Hall in Harvey.

    The tours and public hearing are part of the House of Representative's ongoing

    Legislative Outreach Initiative, a program conceived by Speaker of the House Hunt Downer. It is designed to initiate contact between citizens of Louisiana and lawmakers. Downer said the program "is intended to better facilitate citizen participation in the legislative process and give legislators a better understanding of the issues. Too many times legislators are forced to cast critical votes concerning areas with which they are not familiar. Also, our citizens cannot always travel to Baton Rouge to participate in the legislative process. Hopefully, this will solve both problems."

EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is a schedule of tours and the public hearing. Any help you can provide by informing the public will be appreciated.

Wednesday, February 3
9:00 a.m.   Tour
                Bayou Segnette State Park and Alario Center
                2000 Segnette Boulevard
                Westwego

12:00 p.m. Tour
                Evans Cooperage
                1255 Peters Road
                Harvey

2:30 p.m. Bus Tour of the New Orleans Community

Thursday, February 4
9:00 a.m. Tour
                Louisiana Superdome
                Sugarbowl Drive, Gate F
                New Orleans