ROCKLAND (AP) – A neighborhood group worried about the health implications of dust from the Dragon Products Company cement plant has gone to court – again.

Neighbors for a Safe Dragon accused the Maine Department of Environmental Protection of dragged its feet in making the Route 1 plant comply with state environmental regulations.

Dragon filed for a solid waste license in 1991.

The group filed a petition Thursday in Knox County Superior Court against the DEP Commissioner Dawn Gallagher. The group also argued that the DEP erred in its decision not to grant intervenor status to the group.

“This petition seeks review of the DEP’s failure to issue a final decision with respect to this license,” the legal complaint states. “This failure constitutes agency inaction, reviewable by the Superior Court.”

The Neighbors group already sued operators of the 123-acre plant over the dust in March in U.S. District Court.

Steve Davis, director of DEP’s Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management, said work has been continuing behind the scenes with discussion and correspondence between Dragon and environmental regulators over the past 14 years.

The Neighbors group doesn’t want to shut down Dragon. Portland lawyer Peggy McGehee says the group simply wants the company to comply with environmental regulations and reimburse the plaintiffs for damages.

In April, Dragon filed its formal plan with DEP, which included capping its roughly 15-acre cement-kiln dust pile.

The capping or closure plan was approved July 8, Davis said, and construction started July 11.

The dust pile will be covered with a foot-thick layer of clay, which will then be topped with 6 inches of soil and seeded, he said.

AP-ES-07-23-05 1502EDT