More than 70 percent of Louisiana residents oppose diverting funds from coastal erosion lawsuits filed against energy companies for purposes unrelated to marshland restoration, according to a new survey.
The U.S. Chamber’s Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) polled 1,500 state residents from March 30 to April 29 and found that 70.4 percent of Louisianans don’t agree with efforts by some lawmakers in the state legislature to use legal settlement funds for projects not directly related to coastal restoration.
That popular opinion runs counter to a bill recently proposed by Sen. Rick Ward (R-Port Allen), which would have enabled a $100 million settlement agreed to by Freeport McMoRan, an energy company that no longer operates in Louisiana. Critics, however, have said that bill would have undermined the state’s coastal protection mechanisms and diverted funds from seaside restoration to projects such as road maintenance and utility improvements.
A bill by Sen. Bret Allain (R-Franklin) would ensure that legal settlement funds be restricted to coastal restoration projects. SB 122, which passed the state Senate earlier this month on a vote of 27-8, would dedicate three-fourths of civil damages funds to the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, with the balance going to local governments for the purpose of enhancing coastal protection.
Parish governments and the city of New Orleans have sued nearly 200 energy firms in litigation that dates back eight years. The complaints allege that the activities of oil and gas firms over many decades contributed to the erosion and loss of Louisiana’s coastal lands.
The Louisiana Oil and Gas Association (LOGA) has opposed state lawmakers’ efforts to alter the state’s procedures on coastal protection funds in order to allow the McMoRan settlement to move forward.
“Any funds coming from these coastal schemes should go to the coast, period,” Kati Hyer, LOGA’s spokeswoman, told the Louisiana Record in an email. “That is why we opposed the bills by Ward and (Rep. Tim) Kerner. Allain’s bill specifies the money goes to the coast.”
ILR and other observers argue that the state, parishes and the energy industry should work cooperatively to restore coastlands rather than engage in expensive civil litigation that financially benefits attorneys.
Critics also say that enabling the McMoRan settlement sets a precedent whereby attorneys can negotiate secret deals that in effect alter the Louisiana legislature’s environmental policies.
(Editor's note: The Louisiana Record is owned by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform).