[StBernard] Rules for Environmental Damage Suits Advance

[Westley Annis]

Rules for Environmental Damage Suits Advance
By SUE LINCOLN
Originally published on Fri May 16, 2014 10:22 am

They're called "legacy lawsuits"-when property owners sue oil and gas
companies for environmental damage done in decades past. Thursday,
Louisiana's House spent hours hearing-and ultimately approving-two bills
dealing with legacy lawsuits.

"When we get to court, we know there's an issue," explained Chalmette
Representative Ray Garofalo, while introducing his bill, which would let
parties on either side ask the Department of Natural Resources to come up
with a remediation plan for the polluted or otherwise damaged property.
"Any of the parties can say, 'DNR, please develop this plan, and by the way,
here's a check for a hundred thousand dollars to fund the development of the
plan," Garofalo explained.

Once the plan was submitted, the court and the parties could then decide
whether to go ahead with the suggested remediation or continue with the
suit. Garofalo said this would expedite the actual clean-up of more
properties.

In contrast, Senator Robert Adley's bill slows the court cases. It requires
DNR remediation plans be submitted to the court before the suits can
advance. It doesn't provide any mechanism for funding the development of
each remediation plan, and as Garofalo observed,

"DNR does not have the money to just go and look at every site and develop a
plan to clean it up."

That could delay the Southeast Louisiana Levee Board lawsuit, as well as any
lawsuits resulting from the Bayou Corne sinkhole.

The Adley version was developed with input from, and the approval of, the
Louisiana Oil and Gas Association.

"I think this bill protects Big Oil, personally," observed Marrero
Representative Patrick Connick, who opposed Adley's bill. "Why are we
treating Big Oil differently from anybody else who causes harm and damage to
somebody's property?"

Both bills received full House approval, and the Adley bill is nearing
completion of the legislative process. Should the Garofalo bill also win
full legislative approval, it will trump the Adley bill, and become the
preferred method of handling legacy lawsuits. That's because, as the later
bill approved, Garofalo's bill would "express the most recent will of the
Legislature."