Louisiana Environmental Agency Must Again Face Toxic Plume Suit

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality must again face allegations it failed for six years to warn of a toxic groundwater plume emanating from the former Dresser Industrial Valve operations facility, and must face those claims in state court, the U.S Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled.

The three-judge panel decision, issued Monday, overturns a US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana decision denying the plaintiffs’ motion to remand the case back to state court after one of the defendants removed it to federal the basis of diversity jurisdiction. The trial court had ruled the ...