8 Suits Filed Over Crude Oil Spill Along Bayou Teche

LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — Eight lawsuits have been filed by people seeking damages from a Texas industrial services company that spilled about 12,500 gallons of crude oil in March along and into the Bayou Teche.

The Advocate reports the suits against Houston-based PSC Industrial Outsourcing were filed in April in state court in St. Mary Parish, where the spill occurred. The suits were transferred this week to U.S. District Court in Lafayette.

The plaintiffs seek damages for contamination to property, groundwater and aquifers; contamination to wildlife, ground and vegetation; property devaluation; and punitive damages against the company.

The U.S. Coast Guard has said about 12,500 gallons of crude oil flowed through an open valve and spilled onto the surrounding land and some of it into the nearby bayou.

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Information from: The Advocate, http://theadvocate.com

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