- Two bills by Louisiana State Sen. Mike Fesi are up for vote in the State House.
- One bill would halt the addition of fluoride to Louisiana drinking water, despite expert endorsements of its dental benefits.
- The other bill proposes the creation of Ouiski Bayou State Park from 4,000 acres of donated Terrebonne Parish land.
Fluoride in drinking water
Fesi’s Senate Bill 2 went through a number of changes before passing the Senate, including potentially banning the use of chlorine gas to purify the water, and giving the locals a choice. Ultimately the only change that stuck was that now the public can opt out of his changes, only after they take effect.
“All the locals would just get together, and if they decide they want to put it back in, and looking at it, people will see why we took it out,” Fesi said. “And so they’ll start digging in and they’ll do their own research, and that’s what I want.”
If the bill passes the House and is signed into law by Gov. Jeff Landry, the immediate effect is that all water districts will have to cease adding fluoride to the drinking water. Once the bill passes and the fluoride is halted, then the local authorities may hold an election, and the public may vote to have the fluoride added back in.
Fesi said he believes fluoride affects people’s brain function. The Louisiana Poison Director Dr. Thomas Arnold said data has been collected since the 1940s, and there are no health concerns associated with the levels currently used statewide. According to Arnold, the fluoride has proven to strengthen teeth and no risks have shown associated with anything below 1.2 parts-per-million, the legal limit. Director of Terrebonne Waterworks Mike Sorbert said he keeps the levels at .7 parts-per-million.