Several coastal parishes announced yesterday that they had reached a deal with mining company Freeport-McMoRan over claims that its aggressive drilling for oil damaged the state’s vanishing coast, a settlement that could lead to other agreements with energy giants as the state scrambles to stop its disastrous land loss.
In a tentative agreement with 12 parishes, Freeport-McMoRan said it would pay up to $100 million toward restoring the coast, although much of that total it could recoup through environmental credits, The New York Times reports.
Freeport-McMoRan is just one of 98 companies that have been sued in 46 lawsuits over coastal damage, according to John Carmouche, a lawyer representing eight of the 12 parishes that are part of the tentative agreement. But the deal is likely to blaze a trail for future negotiations between the parishes and industry leaders like ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP and Shell.
In response to the settlement, the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association and the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association issued a joint statement. The organizations said the settlement was the latest chapter in an effort to “shakedown” Louisiana companies for legally conducting production activities, and that the uncertainty created by this litigation, which will likely continue, will drive jobs, families and investments away from Louisiana.
