The permit was approved on Friday despite strong objections at public meetings earlier in the month, according to The Advocate.

Proposed by Ram Terminals and backed by Armstrong Energy, the export facility was initially planned to be operating by 2014 but this has been pushed back to early 2015.

The coal terminal, located at Mile Post 61 on the Mississippi River near Myrtle Grove, would provide throughput of 6 million tons, with a possible expansion to 10Mt.

The Ram Terminals project would be the fifth coal depot on the Mississippi River in the area, according to the DNR.

Environmental groups and local residents have opposed the terminal based on health and environmental concerns, particularly because it would be developed adjacent to a proposed river sediment diversion area that the Sierra Club says is “critical to restoring the state’s eroding coastal wetlands”

The permit says the facility doesn't conflict with the state's coastal restoration plans, despite being located on the same property.

"The economic benefits of the project outweigh the anticipated direct impacts to coastal waters and resources, which are small, if any," according to the "basis of decision" for the permit from DNR's Office of Coastal Management.

The state Coastal Restoration and Protection Authority said it came to an agreement with Ram Terminals that would allow both the coal export project and coastal restoration to move forward but environmental groups are still adamant the two projects will not be able to coexist.

"The department has failed in its duty to protect Louisiana's coast and its people by granting a permit for a highly polluting coal export terminal near Myrtle Grove and Ironton in Plaquemines Parish," Louisiana Environmental Action Network executive director Marylee Orr said in a statement.

The DNR accepted public comments on the coastal use permit application until August 26 before granting the CPU.

Ram Terminals still needs a water quality certification from Louisiana's Department of Environmental Quality, a US Army Corps 404 permit authorizing construction in wetlands and a compensatory mitigation plan for wetlands from federal and state agencies.