Dive Brief:

• The Louisiana Environmental Action Network, a group in Louisiana that facilitates communication of environmental issues between individuals and corporate or government organizations, filed a lawsuit against the state Department of Environmental Quality, requesting the court remove a permit given for landfill operations in Baton Rouge, LA.
• DEQ awarded a permit to operate an industrial waste landfill to Louisiana Land Acquisitions on April 4, according to The Advocate. LEAN is questioning the DEQ's authority to grant the permit, citing that Louisiana Land Acquisitions' other permit application is currently under review in court.
• DEQ had previously denied the first application, and the company asked the court to review the document. During that time, Louisiana Land Acquisitions created the now-approved second application. 

Dive Insight:

LEAN argues that the permit wasn't in DEQ's jurisdiction to grant, that it isn't substantively different from the other permit submitted and that DEQ didn't weigh the cost of the proposal or its environmental ramifications.

According to the Advocate, the landfill was altered to accept hazardous waste, but two permit applications were denied because there wasn't enough landfill space available to accept the waste. The latest permit application cut the expected volume of waste to half of the original amount, allowing the permit to go through.