The state’s oil and gas industry advocates, along with U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, today are applauding a federal appeals court’s decision to uphold a lower court’s ruling in favor of energy companies blamed for damage to Louisiana’s fragile coast, The Associated Press reports.
“The appeals court’s decision to dismiss the suit—just like the district court did—was the right decision under the law,” Graves says in a statement. “This has been nothing more than a distraction to flood protection and coastal restoration efforts.”
The Louisiana levee board’s lawsuit blamed dozens of oil and gas companies for damage to the state’s coast. The board had argued that damage to the coast done by decades of drilling and canal dredging by energy companies contributed to the loss of coastal wetlands. The wetlands form a hurricane buffer for New Orleans, and the authority argued their loss meant more work and expense in protecting and maintaining levees.
When the lawsuit was filed in 2013, environmentalists hailed it as an effort to hold the industry accountable.
But the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling today upheld a federal judge’s 2015 decision in favor of energy companies that argued the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East lacked legal standing to bring its damage claims, which could have cost the oil companies billions of dollars.
The suit appeared to catch the industry and others by surprise. Then-Gov. Bobby Jindal joined industry leaders in calling it a boon for trial lawyers that would damage an industry that’s among south Louisiana’s major employers.
Jindal, a Republican, mounted a partially successful effort to remove supporters of the lawsuit from the flood protection board as their terms ended and replace them with industry supporters. He also pushed for a law to prohibit state agencies and local governments from pursuing such lawsuits. A few Louisiana coastal parishes have filed similar lawsuits that hinge on different legal issues.
Don Briggs, president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, referenced those suits in a statement hailing today’s federal court ruling. “This ruling is a step in the right direction, but we have many more miles to cover,” Briggs said in a joint news release with the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association.
“Our position remains validated by yet another court decision, further proving these allegations are baseless and without merit,” Chris John, president of the LMOGA, said in the same release.
