Federal Judge Dismisses Post-Katrina Landfill Lawsuit

Date: September 7, 2007

Source: News Room

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by environmental groups charging that a number of New Orleans landfills were improperly allowed to handle debris following hurricanes Katrina and Rita. U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance ruled that the plaintiffs lacked sufficient proof that the landfills were polluting surrounding waterways and communities. The suit claimed that Mike McDaniel, the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, broke federal laws when he issued emergency orders easing some restrictions. The Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN) and the Sierra Club filed the suit. These groups have compared recent events to decisions made in 1965 to dump post hurricane Betsy debris in the Agriculture Street landfill in eastern New Orleans. It was later declared a toxic Superfund site.

For more information, visit:
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality: www.deq.louisiana.gov.
The Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN): leanweb.org.
The Delta Chapter is the Sierra Club: louisiana.sierraclub.org.

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