About 9 miles upstream of the Smitty's Supply facility, the water in the Tangipahoa River showed no visible signs of petrochemical contamination on Sept. 29, 2025, nearly six weeks after the explosion. (Photo: Wes Muller/Louisiana Illuminator)
State environmental officials have reopened a small stretch of the Tangipahoa River more than two months after a major industrial fire contaminated the waterway with oil and other chemicals and forced officials to close it to maritime traffic.
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, in coordination with the Tangipahoa Parish government, reopened the southernmost portion of the river Friday. The span ranges from the unincorporated community of Lees Landing down to the river's mouth in Lake Pontchartrain, according to an LDEQ news release. A far larger section of the river, stretching north from Lees Landing to Louisiana Highway 10 in Arcola, remains closed until further notice.
Smitty's Supply neighbors still wary of fire fallout despite assurances from Landry, EPA
Officials closed the Tangipahoa River following the Aug. 22 chemical fire at the Smitty's Supply Inc. facility in Roseland. It took firefighters two weeks to fully extinguish the blaze. The disaster contaminated nearby properties, land and waterways with millions of gallons of oil and other hazardous chemical products. To date, cleanup crews have recovered more than 11 million gallons of liquid waste, according to state estimates.
Cleanup operations continue in other parts of the river north of Lees Landing, and oil absorbent boom will remain in place at select locations, the LDEQ statement said.
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