The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality remains engaged in confidential settlement negotiations with Atalco over industrial “red mud” waste leaking from its Gramercy alumina refinery into public waterways, Louisiana Illuminator reports.
Meanwhile, a federal judge has kept a citizen lawsuit filed by the Louisiana Environmental Action Network, or LEAN, on hold until those negotiations conclude.
During a May follow-up inspection, state inspectors found that although several previously identified levee breaches had been repaired, another breach remained, with unpermitted waste still eroding into a wooded area and cloudy, highly alkaline water flowing through drainage ditches connected to the Blind River swamp and Lake Maurepas. Atalco has a history of environmental violations, including previous citations for air pollution permit violations and unlawful mercury emissions that resulted in relatively modest fines.
LEAN argues its lawsuit is necessary to ensure meaningful enforcement, while Atalco maintains the suit is unnecessary because LDEQ is already pursuing enforcement.
State officials contend that the refinery, the only remaining bauxite refinery in the U.S., is strategically important, having secured a contract to supply alumina to the U.S. Department of Defense.
