Dive Brief:

• A federal ruling allowing the construction of a 180-acre landfill brings to an end a four year fight between environmentalists from the American Bottom Conservancy and the Army Corps of Engineers.
• In March 2008, a water permit was granted to Waste Management by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers for the Milam Recycling and Disposal Facility located near to Horseshoe Lake. A lawsuit was filed in 2009 over Waste Management's plans to eliminate 18 acres of wetlands from the site.
• The suit alleged that the Army Corp should have denied the permit as flooding could potentially spread waste from the landfill to homes in the area. The judge's ruling stated that the Corps did fulfill its duty when considering the water permit and that the Corp is not responsible for issuing landfill development permits.

Dive Insight:

The Corps issued the permit with the stipulation that the waste management giant would create double the amount of wetlands it will destroy in the process of expanding the site.

According to Waste Management spokeswoman Lisa Disbrow, the company is following through with plans to create over 36 acres of wetlands in accordance to the agreement.