Goiás courts rule on landfill licensing and closures

The Court of Justice of Goiás (TJGO) has suspended a ruling that would have transferred the licensing and inspection of the Goiânia Landfill from the municipal government to the state government. The decision, made by Desembargador Maurício Porfírio Rosa, maintains the competence of the Municipal Environmental Agency (Amma) to oversee the facility, citing that the landfill's impact is local in nature. This reversal follows a legal challenge by the Goiânia City Attorney's Office and aligns with precedents from the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) and the Supreme Federal Court (STF) regarding municipal environmental authority.

Separately, the Federal Court has ordered the permanent closure and decommissioning of the Ouro Verde Landfill in Padre Bernardo. The ruling, prompted by actions from the Public Prosecutor's Offices of Goiás and the Federal government, nullified previous environmental licenses and agreements. The court determined that the landfill's location within the Descoberto River Basin Environmental Protection Area prohibited such polluting activities. The State Secretariat of Environment and Sustainable Development (Semad) has announced it will appeal the decision to close the Ouro Verde site.