Flo Gossen Interview

Flo Gossen is a founding member of Save Our Homes and Land (SOHL). The environmental organization was created after Flo discovered the city of Lafayette wanted to expand the North Dugas municipal landfill by hundreds of additional acres. The original landfill was opened in 1980, and people in the area were already experiencing health issues. Flo and her co-hart Clara Baudoin sued the city of Lafayette and were successful in the defeat of the expansion. Flo is currently involved in a legal effort to appeal a ruling by the Department of Conservation allowing a permit for a commercial injection disposal well north of Rayne, Louisiana in Acadia Parish. Flo is concerned because not only will the Chicot Aquifer be affected, which is the sole source for drinking water for southwest Louisiana, but the permit will also allow for shale drilling waste to be brought in from other states. Audio interview with Flo Gossen for Women Pioneers of the Louisiana Environmental Movement by Peggy Frankland, conducted by Jennifer A. Cramer, Director of the T. Harry Williams Center for Oral History. Copyright: Louisiana State University Special Collections.