While a New Orleans energy company announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement in a lawsuit stemming from the company’s failed efforts to stop a decade-old, slow-motion oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the environmentalist groups that filed the suit say they’re pleased at the progress of negotiations—but maintain it’s too early to talk about potential settlements.
As The Associated Press reports, a federal court filing today states that an agreement has been reached between Taylor Energy Co. and the environmental groups. Taylor says in a news release it has agreed under the settlement to make a $300,000 donation to a Louisiana marine research consortium and to fund $100,000 in research on the ecological effects of small, long-term leaks in the Gulf.
Taylor also says it will host a public forum and publish a website with information on the company’s spill response.
Environmental groups led by the New York City-based Waterkeeper Alliance sued Taylor Energy in 2012, accusing it of withholding information about the leak’s potential impact on the Gulf ecosystem. The groups also argued that the public was entitled to know more about the company’s government-supervised effort to stop the leak, which was the subject of an AP investigation in April.
Waterkeeper Alliance, Apalachicola Riverkeeper and the Louisiana Environmental Action Network say in a joint statement that they have a “conceptual agreement” with Taylor, but nothing’s final. They say they won’t talk about details until a settlement is signed. The groups sued Taylor Energy in 2012, accusing it of withholding information about the leak’s potential impact on the Gulf.
A trial for the groups’ lawsuit was scheduled to start Oct. 5. U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan, who refused to dismiss the suit in July, would have heard testimony without a jury. A court record filed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Wells Roby says the agreement still needs approval from the U.S. Coast Guard and federal offshore environmental officials.
Under settlement terms outlined in Taylor’s news release, the company will donate $300,000 to the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium to purchase vessels, electronics and other equipment that the company says will help the consortium compete for grants. It also will fund $100,000 in research to study the “ecological impact of long-term, small, diffuse hydrocarbon discharges in the Gulf of Mexico.”
