[StBernard] Louisiana Takes on Oilfield Polluters

[Westley Annis]

Louisiana Takes on Oilfield Polluters
By SABRINA CANFIELD 



NEW ORLEANS (CN) — A new lawsuit against the oil industry brings to five the
number of Louisiana coastal parishes that claim oil and gas companies'
violations of state laws have caused coastal erosion and contamination.

     Governor John Bel Edwards at the end of September gave coastal parishes
30 days to file lawsuits alleging state law violations by the oil industry.
Otherwise, Edwards said, the state will file for them.

     In the most recent lawsuit, St. Bernard Parish claims ARCO, Chevron,
ConocoPhillips and 11 other companies broke state laws by not obtaining
proper permits, not properly discharging oilfield waste, not constructing
sites adequate to withstand inclement weather, and not properly disposing of
toxins, all of which has contributed to coastal erosion and pollution.

     Jefferson and Plaquemines parishes filed similar lawsuits two years ago
and Cameron and Vermillion parishes earlier this year. Louisiana has
parishes rather than counties.

     Louisiana loses a football field of land every hour on average.
Strangulation of the Mississippi River, with dams that prevent sediment from
traveling to needed areas for reconstruction is part of the problem. The
other problem has to do with gas and oil development.

     Oil and gas pipelines have carved up what's left of the wetlands,
contributing to saltwater intrusion, resulting in collapse of the freshwater
vegetation that could keep soil firmly rooted, and improper disposal of
oilfield wastes have left costal land and water toxic.

     The lawsuits are aimed at working out a deal with oil and gas companies
to cover the cost of the damage caused by drilling and dredging in coastal
areas, and by contaminating water and land with drilling byproducts.

     Edwards, a Democrat, ran for office last year on the promise he would
hold the oil industry accountable — even if the individual coastal parishes
would not — for its part of the massive coastal land loss in Louisiana.

     The private attorneys Edwards plans to hire if the state files lawsuits
on behalf of coastal parishes have stirred up a controversy, in part because
Edwards has handpicked a legal team consisting of the largest contributors
to his campaign, and because Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry is
opposed to filing the lawsuits.

     So far, all five coastal parishes that have filed on their own have
hired the same Baton Rouge law firm, Talbot, Carmouche and Marcello, as
their lead attorneys.

     John Carmouche told Courthouse News Service in a phone interview last
week that parishes hiring their own attorneys to sue the industry — as
opposed to having Edwards bring the lawsuit on behalf of the state — is the
probably the best bet.

     "We strictly protect the locals' interests," Carmouche said.

     "We only represent the parishes, and are filing to protect the locals,
and we only sue the oil companies when there were violations of the law."

     St. Bernard officials hired Carmouche even though they were originally
of the opinion they would not file, he said, "until they saw what was
happening and they felt they had to protect the parish and protect the
locals, and they thought they would have more control."

     "I think it will be interesting in the next 45 days to see if
[parishes] can take control," Carmouche said.

     Edwards had tried to negotiate a settlement with oil companies to no
avail, the governor told WWL-TV in New Orleans.

     "I did have a meeting with the oil and gas industry, at which time they
didn't express much interest in continuing to talk," Edwards said. "So, as I
said I would do, we are going to move forward with the litigation."

     Edwards' letter did not help his relationship with Attorney General
Landry, a conservative Republican, who has said many times he opposes
holding the oil industry accountable for coastal damages through costly and
time-consuming litigation.

     Representatives for Landry did not reply to an emailed request for
comment.

     Landry issued a press statement the last time such a lawsuit was filed,
back in July, in Vermillion Parish.

     "Again — we can balance the tremendous benefits of the oil and gas
industry and the ongoing coastal crisis," Landry said. "But the creation of
superfluous litigation solely benefiting the attorneys involved does not
serve that purpose. Furthermore — creating a situation where multiple courts
rule on the same issues will result in inconsistencies, conflicts and
confusion.

     "We intend to intervene in this lawsuit and any subsequent ones to
protect the interests of our state and its people in the most judicious and
economical manner," Landry said.

     A representative from Chevron replied to an emailed request for comment
by saying the oil and gas industry is the number one supporter of Louisiana
wetlands, and that "Chevron has been working hand-in-hand with nonprofit
groups and the government on environmental programs for decades."

     The oil giant said it is converting a 71,000-acre former oilfield in
St. Charles Parish into a wetland bank.

     ConocoPhillips said it does not comment on active litigation.

     The industry defendants have not restored the wetlands to their
original condition, St. Bernard Parish says. The industry disposes of
radioactive and other toxic waste in unlined earth waste pits, which "are
simply holes, ponds, or excavations dug into the ground or marsh," and many
of them have never been closed, leading to water contamination, according to
the complaint.

     State law requires oil and gas extraction sites to be "restored as near
as practicable to their original condition upon termination of operations to
the maximum extent practicable," the lawsuit says, and the oil and gas
industry has not done that.

     "The law is the law, and the law hasn't changed since 1978," Carmouche
said. "I think what has changed is parishes now believe it is their
fiduciary duty to uphold the law."