Despite protests from area residents and environmentalists, the Louisiana State Department of Environmental Quality approved the creation of a new construction landfill in eastern New Orleans. According to an article in the Times-Picayune, the Chef Menteur disposal facility, which is located adjacent to the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge, will receive emergency authorization today under the Clean Water Act from the Army Corps of Engineers. It will begin accepting waste immediately and could ultimately contain up to 6.5 million cubic yards of construction waste.