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Comments: The Formosan subterranean termite has long been recognized
as a serious problem in southern Louisiana, so serious in fact that in
October 2005 the state's Department of Agriculture and Forestry
imposed a quarantine on all wood debris from parishes affected by
Hurricane Katrina. The declaration reads, in part, as follows:

The movement of any wood or cellulose material from the named parishes
is prohibited unless either (1) such wood or cellulose material has
been fumigated or otherwise treated for Formosan termites and is
approved for movement by the Commissioner or his designee(s), or (2)
the Commissioner or his designee(s) gives written authorizations for
untreated wood or cellulose material to be moved from the named
parishes.
The ban on removing wood waste from southern Louisiana is also
mentioned in a November 12, 2005 article in USA Today describing
hurricane cleanup operations in greater New Orleans:
In Louisiana, crews haul the waste to one of 150 dumps, transfer
stations and temporary collection sites. Some is buried whole, some
pulverized in giant grinders. Woody vegetation is chipped, then
burned, buried or mulched. No wood waste can leave the state because
it could contain voracious Formosan termites.
So, while it is certainly possible that some Katrina wood debris has
crossed the state line through the negligence or unscrupulousness of
private individuals, Louisiana would be in violation of its own
quarantine rules if it were true that, as claimed in the email, "the
state is trying to get rid of tons and tons of this mulch to any state
or company who will come and haul it away."
Statement from Lousiana Dept. of Agriculture & Forestry:

The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of
Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, has quarantines in place in
the Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita affected parishes of
Calcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Orleans, Plaquemines,
St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and
Washington.
All woody debris in the quarantined areas is going to an approved
landfill within the designated quarantine area. There are a multitude
of government (state and federal) agencies that are looking at this
debris every day as it is deposited into these landfills. The
contractors mulching and hauling the debris know the regulations and
are abiding by them according to the quarantine requirements.

If there is anyone with knowledge of debris moving out of a quarantine
area, they should contact our 24-hour hotline @ 225-925-3763. These
are serious allegations and will be taken seriously.

Matthew Keppinger
Assistant Commissioner
Louisiana Department of Agriculture & Forestry