It was disturbing to learn that a judge has dismissed the suit by the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East for compensation from oil and gas companies because of damages to our coast that occurred during their exploration and development. The law may give them the right to do their work under permits, but it appears that most of those permits required leaving the lands and wetlands they explored in good condition when finished that would not deteriorate the Louisiana coast.
Many permits in the past required the acquirer to restore that land to its condition that existed before the exploration and/or production began. That would require damming up canals dug and restoring other changes made in waterways and the way our coast operated.
This was not done to any great extent in the past. We have seen unprotected canals that were dug for oil production opening up the wetlands and contributing to our deteriorating coast that now exists without any correction after the work was finished.
If the companies that did this are not responsible for fixing it, who is?
We need further lawsuits on this subject and at least some help from those companies which caused our coastal problems to help relieve them. That is one of our main ways in which restoration of our beloved coast in Louisiana can be restored.
It’s time our state take the lead in bringing harmony between the Gulf of Mexico and its shoreline so each will hold its own bounds and continue to produce two paradise areas that enrich living in many ways. And our lawmakers and courts should help us proceed to accomplish that purpose.
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