Judge: Oil, Gas Firms Not Liable For La. Coastal Erosion
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a New Orleans-area levee authority's lawsuit charging oil, gas companies with destroying Louisiana's coastal wetlands.
In 2013 the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East filed a landmark lawsuit against nearly 100 oil and gas companies over damage they allegedly caused to Louisiana's wetlands. The authority is one of two regional boards set up by the state after Hurricane Katrina to better protect the New Orleans area from flooding. The companies had faced billions of dollars in damages if the suit had been successful.
The suit argued the oil companies did not clean up the damage on Louisiana's coast.
In dismissing the lawsuit Friday, the judge says federal and state laws did not provide any avenue by which the levee authority could successfully bring suit.
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