WBRZ - Baton Rouge

Louisiana's top lawyer is urging the federal government to approve construction of sand barriers to
protect wetlands from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Attorney General Buddy Caldwell is threatening to sue over what he calls "petty jurisdictional concerns" of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The state has been informed that the agency is "inclined to deny a routine request for a dredge and fill permit."

Caldwell says the state has the right to do the work as an emergency response to the oil threat, and if the Corps denies the permit, he will advise the governor to continue work - and take the case to court.