A energy company is seeking federal action, claiming that a 14-year-old oil spill is due in part to a lack of a containment system and claiming that all active leak sites are no longer losing fuel.
According to WHNT.com, Taylor Energy Company filed their lawsuit in New Orleans is seeking to have a previous order by the Coast Guard thrown out. The order from the Coast Guard would cost the energy company $40,000 and stemmed from a Washington Post report which raised awareness about Taylor Energy's leak that occurred after Hurricane Ivan hit in 2004.
Taylor Energy claims that the Coast Guard's claims were not sufficiently backed and that the leaks are no longer losing oil.
No Waste Louisiana, an environmental advocacy group, commented on the situation and where they believe the fault lies, despite Taylor Energy's claims that they have plugged all leak sites.
"The responsibility for all harm caused by petrochemical extraction and production lies with the companies themselves," Jane Patton of No Waste Louisiana told Louisiana Record. "Louisiana residents funded massive tax cuts and subsidies for Taylor Energy while they profited millions of dollars from oil extraction in the Gulf. We taxpayers should not have to pay any further money to clean up Taylor's mess - especially when they've known for 14 years that they were polluting the water and harming wildlife from this spill."
Patton said that industries need to be prepared to fully pay for the damages they are responsible for, as their actions impact the environment and lives of Louisiana residents.
"Louisiana residents are fighting against the harm these industries have freely caused to our health and home: We're resisting pipelines, plastics plants, and other new fossil fuel and petrochemical infrastructure," Patton said. "The petrochemical and fossil fuel industries should all be worried about their future in the entire Gulf South, as momentum builds around the vision for an alternative future that isn't extractive or polluting."