NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A new lawsuit claims the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources violated state law and its own guidelines when it approved a permit for a new coal exporting facility in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. The lawsuit asks the state district court in Plaquemines Parish to vacate the permit for RAM Terminals LLC to build and operate the plant at Myrtle Grove. Environmental groups say in the suit that the site is adjacent to a Mississippi River diversion project aimed at replenishing coastal wetlands with river sediment.
The suit says the project could interfere with the diversion and would pose a pollution threat to coastal vegetation. In a statement Thursday evening, a DNR spokesman said the department followed permitting procedures and gave primary consideration to the potential effects on coastal wetlands.