BATON ROUGE - Three years ago, the Environmental Protection Agency added Capitol Lake to the federal Superfund list in March 2023. Since then, little has happened.

Three years ago, the EPA did not provide a timeline for the project to clean up the lake, but it did say research was needed to find the best way to solve the issue. Years later, the research hasn't started as negotiations with potentially responsible parties continue. 

Turtles, fish, snails, and other life exist in the water just north of downtown Baton Rouge by the state capitol. Mark Martin lives in the area and warns people not to be deceived by the beauty. 

"Even though they look beautiful, they are contaminated," said Martin.

It's a contamination issue that's been tracked for decades. Repeat testing of fish shows the contamination is still there. It wasn't until the early 1980's that the state verified findings that fish collected from Capitol Lake contained PCBs. Then, records blamed the contamination on runoff from an industrialized region of Baton Rouge that drains into the lake. 

"That's because they used to be able to do it, nobody cared," said Martin.

The solution has been to warn people about the contamination. Signs notifying swimmers and fishermen about the health advisory were placed around the water in 1983. They have since been updated, now containing a QR code linking to a website about consuming safe fish. 

The signs don't always work.

"Oh yeah, people fish down there, and sometimes they take them home and eat them," said Martin. 

In September 2023, the EPA notified three potentially responsible parties: Kansas City Southern, Paramount Global, and the State of Louisiana. The EPA asked all three to enter into negotiations to help clean up the site. Those negotiations revolve around who should pay for scientific studies, more sampling, and assessing the risk to people and the environment, as well as cleanup options.

"You can't dredge it and put it somewhere else; you have to deal with it," said Martin.

According to state records, Capitol Lake was last dredged in 1958. 

The EPA says it did receive "good faith offers" from those potentially responsible parties in March 2026, but they cannot disclose the specific nature of the negotiations.

According to state records, LDEQ and the EPA met Wednesday morning regarding various Superfund sites.