DALLAS – Environmentalists want Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal to drop his opposition to a lawsuit filed by a New Orleans levee district seeking compensation from 97 oil companies for damage to the state’s coastal areas.
Nine Gulf coast environmental groups have joined in an on-line petition drive asking Jindal to join the suit, not fight it.
The lawsuit filed in a New Orleans state civil court by the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East contends that access channels and pipeline canals have resulted in a loss of wetlands. Those damages make New Orleans and other coastal communities more vulnerable to hurricane winds and water surges, the district said.
The district is asking the energy exploration, production and pipeline companies to repair the damages and compensate it for hurricane protection efforts.
Paul Orr, a spokesman for the Louisiana Environmental Action Network, said the oil companies should pay their fair share of the coastal effort.
“It’s good for the state that there are some jobs provided by the oil and gas industry, but that industry is based on a limited resource that’s not going to last forever,” Orr said. “Then, what are we left with?”
Jindal said the levee district had overstepped its authority with the lawsuit. He said it endangers the state’s 50-year, $50 billion master plan for coastal restoration.
“We’re not going to allow a single levee board that has been hijacked by a group of trial lawyers to determine flood protection, coastal restoration, and economic repercussions for the entire State of Louisiana,” Jindal said.
The district hired three law firms that will receive 32.5% of the first $100 million of awarded damages, with their share dropping as damages increase.
Gladstone Jones, an attorney for the levee district, said Jindal’s opposition was misguided.
“They (levee district trustees) have to keep up with the costs of levee repairs, so they feel like they have an obligation to hold anyone and everyone accountable for their role in creating these escalated costs,” Jones said.
