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The City of New Orleans has suspended dumping at a controversial landfill that was recently opened in Eastern New Orleans pending testing to be done on materials there.

WWL-TV

File photo of protests regarding the opening of a New Orleans East landfill.

The settlement was reached Wednesday morning during a negotiating session at the Mary Queen of Vietnam Church on Dwyer Road that followed weeks of protests.

According to Mayor Ray Nagin, a team from the city’s side and a team representing the Vietnamese community will conduct tests on the landfill. If the results are negative for toxins, the dumping would continue. Should the results show there are toxins in the waste, the dumping would be stopped.

Reverend Vinn Nguyen of Mary Queen of Vietnam said there would be no problem proving that toxins are present.

In addition to the temporary closure, both sides are asking FEMA to allow debris hauling and dumping to be done during the day and night. The Vietnamese community in the east contends that allowing only daytime dumping causes trucks to back up for hours at the city’s landfills and necessitated the opening of the area in the east. They believe the N.O. East landfill could be closed if debris hauling were allowed day and night.

The N.O. East landfill, which opened on April 20, was necessary, according to the city, to help remove the tons of debris left after Katrina. The 1,500 to 2,000 residents of the area, some of the first to return and begin rebuilding, have questioned why their area is being penalized.

Wednesday’s meeting, which was classified as “frank” by Nguyen, caused Nagin to be 45 minutes late for a mayoral forum with Mitch Landrieu.

Nagin apologized and explained that he still had a “city to run.”

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)