Dive summary:

• A St. Louis judge says he will have a decision today regarding what to do with the Bridgetown landfill, which has been smoldering since December 2010.
• The smell prompted the state to sue the landfill, calling for a hard line plan to extinguish the fire and to implement fines upwards of tens-of-thousand a dollars each day for violating Missouri environmental laws.
• The suit claims the burning landfill is pushing hazardous chemicals into the air and leaking black ooze into the ground water.

From the article:

The plan — crafted by the Missouri Attorney General and the landfill owner, Republic Services Inc. — has not yet been made public. It’s now in the hands of Circuit Court Judge Michael Jamison, who met in his chambers with lawyers from both sides on a day he was scheduled to hold a hearing on the Attorney General’s lawsuit against the landfill.

“It’s not exactly a settlement,” Jamison told Bridgeton residents, reporters and environmentalists waiting in his courtroom, “But it’s something that would address the smoldering issue and what the sate may be able to do.” ...