Exxon Lawsuit Dismissal Clears Path for SpaceX Site as Landry Prepares Tuesday Announcement
LAFAYETTE, La. — A federal judge has signed off on dismissing a coastal damages lawsuit that Vermilion Parish and the state of Louisiana brought against ExxonMobil, formally ending a legal fight that ran more than a decade and opening the door to what would be Louisiana’s first spaceport.
The dismissal is tied to a settlement Gov. Jeff Landry announced in June, and it’s expected to free up roughly 130,000 acres of Exxon-owned marshland in Vermilion Parish for use by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. An invitation sent to hundreds of Louisiana officials and business leaders this week says Landry will formally announce the SpaceX deal Tuesday, Aug. 25, at an 11 a.m. event in Abbeville.
What the Exxon Settlement Clears the Way For
The Vermilion Parish case was one of 42 coastal damages lawsuits led by Baton Rouge attorney John Carmouche, all alleging that oil and gas companies contributed to Louisiana’s land loss crisis through decades of coastal drilling and canal dredging. The suits, filed starting in 2013, sought funding from energy companies for coastal restoration work.
Terms of the Exxon settlement haven’t been made public, mirroring the confidentiality of other coastal case resolutions. It’s still not clear how much money, if any, the state will collect for restoration efforts, though Landry said in a statement that the deal will help clear hundreds of orphaned wells from the coast at no cost to taxpayers.
Only one of the 42 cases has actually gone to trial. A Plaquemines Parish jury ordered Chevron to pay $745 million in damages last year, a verdict the U.S. Supreme Court later sent back to federal court for possible retrial. Loyola University law professor Blaine LeCesne said the secrecy around these settlements leaves basic questions unanswered. “We deserve to know,” he said of the Exxon terms.
Landry Set to Announce SpaceX Deal in Abbeville
The Exxon land sits at the center of the anticipated SpaceX announcement. Sources familiar with the negotiations say the company would gain control of the 130,000-acre tract, known locally around Pecan Island, through a sale, donation or long-term lease, and would use it to build a launch facility similar to its Starbase site near Brownsville, Texas.
The site covers roughly 18 miles of coastline about 45 miles southwest of Lafayette, sandwiched between two wildlife refuges in an area known for hunting and fishing. SpaceX has told regulators it wants to expand its Starship launch capacity to support a broader satellite network, including plans for orbital data centers, and executives have said the company needs more launch sites to hit that goal.
Landry’s office and Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois have declined to comment directly on the SpaceX talks. SpaceX has also declined to comment, though Musk’s personal jet was seen at Lafayette Regional Airport for several hours last week.
How Acadiana Got Here
Louisiana lawmakers moved well ahead of Tuesday’s expected announcement. The Legislature passed a package of aerospace incentives this spring, later signed into law by Landry, that shields aerospace companies from liability tied to launch activity and blocks local governments or individuals from suing to stop a launch project. Energy Law Center director Keith Hall, of LSU, said the settlement appears to reflect what both the state and Exxon “think is in their mutual interest.”
The prospect of a SpaceX site has circulated in Vermilion Parish for months. State Sen. Bob Hensgens, R-Abbeville, has confirmed since the summer that an aerospace company was negotiating with area landowners, and he drew a crowd of more than 200 people to a Rotary Club talk on the subject last month without naming the company involved. Some hunting camp leaseholders in the area have reported losing their leases without explanation this year, a change several tied to the SpaceX speculation.
What Happens Next for Vermilion Parish
If Tuesday’s announcement confirms the deal, Vermilion Parish would join Texas and Florida as a hub for SpaceX’s launch operations, a shift local officials have largely framed around job creation in a rural parish that has lost population for decades. Fewer have addressed what a launch facility could mean for a coastline already losing ground to erosion, or for the waterfowl and fish that draw hunters and anglers to Pecan Island each year.
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Gallery Credit: Joe Cunningham
