As the second leading producer of crude oil and second leading producer of natural gas in the U.S., Louisiana has a lot to lose in a series of coastal lawsuits that claim the energy industry is to blame for the rapidly eroding coastline.
Shortly following an attempt by the Plaquemines Parish Council to withdraw from the lawsuits, which fell one vote short of the tally needed to withdraw, the November elections were held and there was speculation that the new council would continue the effort to remove itself from the litigation.
According to an article by The Advocate, the newly elected officials of the Plaquemines Parish Council are more likely to want to continue the lawsuits against the oil and gas industry, which groups such as Grow Louisiana Coalition oppose as they believe the energy industry is supporting much needed jobs in the state.
“The people of Plaquemines still have important decisions to make about who represents them in the coming days,” Marc Ehrhardt, executive director of Grow Louisiana Coalition, recently told the Louisiana Record. “The Grow Louisiana Coalition will continue to talk to those citizens and the people that support job growth and opportunity in parishes across Louisiana about the importance to the oil and natural gas industry to our way of life,” Ehrhardt said.
Despite efforts by industry lobbyists and business interests to ensure that supporters of the industry be elected, the outcome was not so favorable, as many of the elected council members have voiced a need to abstain due to personal involvement in the energy industry and others voicing a strong commitment to seeing the suits through to the end.
“When oil and natural gas grows, Louisiana grows," Ehrhardt said. "Pursuing lawsuits against a parish's largest employer isn't growth or opportunity. It's a small number of trial lawyers trying to pursue their own agenda."