Battle over offshore oil expensive

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The cost of Louisiana’s legal battle with the federal government over federal offshore oil revenues has topped $580,000, with more bills yet to come.

The bills come from a Washington, D.C., law firm hired to represent Gov. Kathleen Blanco and the Department of Natural Resources in a fight to block the issuance of new drilling permits until the federal government agrees to assess damage along the coast and fix it, if needed. The ultimate goal is to get a share of the more than $5 billion a year the federal government gets from Outer Continental Shelf production.

“This is an investment that’s well worth the money,” said Sidney Coffee, a former Department of Natural Resources coastal specialist who now is the governor’s coastal affairs adviser. “It’s something we feel very strongly will set us on the right path for the federal government to do what it should have done all along n take seriously the effects of offshore production on our coast.”

The law firm, Van Ness Feldman, has a $1 million billing limit set by the Legislature. It has two contracts, totaling $375,000 from Department of Natural Resources to deal with federal statutes that affect DNR and $575,000 from the state attorney general’s office for representing the state in court dealings.

Money to pay the legal bills comes out of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund, which is built up with offshore oil revenue and would be the depository of revenue the state wants to receive from Outer Continental Shelf production.