Louisiana has reached a tentative agreement with ConocoPhillips to settle years of litigation over the oil major’s contribution to the state’s shrinking coastline.
Gov. Jeff Landry announced at a coastal advisory commission meeting last week that the state and the energy company are “words away from resolving the longstanding coastal litigation claims.”
“I have done my part and brought the parties together,” said Landry, a Republican. “I have negotiated this deal with the help of others, and I have put my signature on it. We now need the leadership of our coastal parishes to finish the job.”
The pending agreement follows dozens of lawsuits launched by Plaquemines, Cameron and other Louisiana parishes against oil majors beginning in 2013. The lawsuits seek millions of dollars in damages and allege the companies failed to obtain proper permits for drilling activity along the coastline, following the enactment of Louisiana’s Coastal Resources Management Act in 1980.
