A plan to expand an already mountainous pile of industrial waste from a fertilizer plant near Convent has been given the green light by the planning commission in St. James Parish after a contentious debate over the balance between polluting industries and economic development.

State regulators had already blessed Mosaic Fertilizer's 330-acre expansion of its waste pile in January despite community opposition, but parish approval was also required. The waste sits on industrial land, but the planning commission was required to weigh in due to its size.

The pile seven years ago raised fears of a partial collapse on its northern wall, resulting in closer monitoring and other measures.

Mosaic's waste, phosphogypsum, contains trace heavy metal contamination and slight radioactivity that li

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