Legacy site issue not going away

The regular session might be over, but the debate over so-called legacy sites—oilfields that have been contaminated and require mitigation—isn’t going away. This year, the oil and gas lobby wanted to give the state more control over legacy sites and speed up litigation, but the proposal was voted down during the committee process. Landowners and trial lawyers wanted to maintain the status quo. Don Briggs, president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, says he’s already working on a sequel. “There will be legislation next year,” Briggs told those gathered at Louisiana Energy Day in New Orleans Monday. “We’re going to be working with the trial lawyers to find a solution.” The Legislature first got involved with this touchy issue in 2003 after the state Supreme Court affirmed a $33 million property damage award in Corbello v. Iowa Production. Some lawmakers saw a disturbing trend in the judgment. The landowners were not required to use the money for clean-up and the courts were beating up on oil companies by awarding huge sums, thus creating an unfriendly business climate. As a result, the Legislature adopted what was then referred to as the “Corbello bill,” which required the feuding parties to work out their differences with the state Office of Conservation if possible. But the biggest hiccup, from the perspective of oil firms, is that companies operating a site that was contaminated by a previous owner are being pulled into the system, which is why they’re called “legacy” sites in the first place. “Companies with nothing at all to do with the damages are getting caught up in this,” Briggs says. “And that’s just not right.” —Jeremy Alford