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September 30, 2016
Gernice Bourg
October 4, 2016
Terrebonne Parish President Gordon Dove has made clear his desires to Gov. John Bel Edwards regarding proposed lawsuits by the state against oil companies for damage to Louisiana’s coast.
Thanks but no thanks.
Dove hand-delivered a letter to Edwards at a meeting in Baton Rouge Friday, in which he not only declined Edwards’ invitation to sue oil companies on its own behalf, but also requested that the state not file suit on Terrebonne’s behalf, as the governor has indicated he will do. The letter was also signed by Lafourche Parish President Jimmy Cantrelle. The meeting’s purpose was discussion of the suits.
The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources plans to file suit against various oil companies on behalf of each of the state’s coastal parishes not already involved in such litigation. DNR also offered the parishes an opportunity to bring such lawsuits themselves within a month’s time. The difference is said to be that a given parish bringing suit of its own accord will automatically have a percentage of any settlement or award spent within its boundaries. If the state sues on behalf of a particular parish, then the money – while still destined for the state’s local coastal spending banks – will not necessarily be spent within the confines of that parish.
Dove has made clear that he has
no desire for either scenario to take place.
“Terrebonne Parish does not plan to file suit,” Dove wrote. “Accordingly, I formally and respectfully request that the State of Louisiana and/or the Department of Natural Resources do not sue on behalf of Terrebonne Parish.”
The law concerning lawsuits for coastal damages does not require that the governor respect Dove’s wishes. The option of filing on behalf of parishes is a statutorily designated option.
Three suits are pending currently, filed independently by Jefferson, Plaquemines and Cameron parishes. A Jefferson Parish judge has so far blocked that litigation, in an opinion which states that such suits may not proceed unless regulatory options – demand for compliance and associated penalties – have been pursued. Jefferson Parish has appealed that ruling.
At issue is alleged violation of coastal permits and, according to attorneys, cases where oil companies did not seek permits at all.
Lawyers who support the idea of individual parishes taking an action, including members of the local Terrebonne bar, say that if the parish does not move ahead with its own suit, whatever settlement is hammered out should Jefferson and the other parishes be successful with the appeal will exclude parishes not already on board.
Terrebonne’s business community has made clear its objections to the parish taking part in any kind of suit. Both the South Central Industrial Association and the Houma-Terrebonne Chamber of Commerce have issued clearly-worded statements in opposition.
Dove’s letter – which starts by thanking Edwards for all he has done in the past to assist coastal restoration efforts in Louisiana – echoes the ruling in the Jefferson Parish case. The parish president also argues that science proves coastal erosion was caused “primarily by the construction of levees on the Mississippi River that halted the fresh water and natural sediment deposits that were distributed throughout our tributaries and ecosystem for over 10,000 years building land, marsh etc. and holding high salinity level water back from the Gulf of Mexico.”
“Then, through the neglect of our barrier islands by the federal government and the State of Louisiana, the passes widened two to eight times their size, also allowing high salinity salt water into Lake Pelto, Terrebonne Bay, Barataira Bay, Breton Sound and many others,” Dove states. Industry and government, the digging of the Houma Navigational Canal and the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet and similar projects, Dove wrote, played their role in erosion of the coast. Sugar cane agriculture, muskrats and nutria did their part as well, Dove states.
Unable to sue the Army Corps of Engineers, nutria or muskrat, Dove reasons, it appears that the state has instead chosen to go for the deep pockets of the oil companies.
A lawsuit against the oil companies, Dove said, would include a suit against Terrebonne’s own corporate citizens, including major landowners like Conoco Phillips, formerly Louisiana Land & Exploration. A parish already impacted by high unemployment due to the low price of oil, Dove said, coupled with overall dependence on the oil and gas industry, further contradict the wisdom of Terrebonne taking part in any suit.
A response from Edwards was sought over the weekend from The Times. A staff member said Monday that the letter had not yet been located in order to facilitate a response.
Terrebonne Parish President Gordon Dove traveled to Baton Rouge to hand-deliver a letter to Gov. John Bel Edwards, asking him not to sue oil companies.
Oil rigs, scarcer than ever on the Louisiana coast, have been a major contributor to the local economy, which is why Terrebonne officials don’t want the state to sue the companies that own and operate them.
