A state judge has ruled that the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources was too quick in granting a permit for a proposed coal export terminal in Plaquemines Parish.
State Judge Kevin D. Conner in Belle Chasse ruled that the state agency should not have granted a permit to RAM Terminals LLC because too little research was done into alternative locations for the terminal. Conner ordered DNR to re-evaluate the permit. His ruling was dated Dec. 23 but the plaintiffs received notice of it on Tuesday.
The coal terminal has become a point of contention. Some residents and environmentalists oppose it. They argue the terminal will pollute the area and that trains carrying coal to the facility pose dangers to neighborhoods the trains would run through.
