Latest Mississippi River Delta News: Dec. 5, 2013
BP, Anadarko ask appeals court to reverse spill decision
By Margaret Cronin Fisk & Daniel Lawton, Bloomberg Businessweek. Dec. 4, 2013.
“Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and BP asked an appeals court to toss out a judge’s finding they were both liable under the U.S. Clean Water Act for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill…” (read more)
La. agency plans lawsuits over $1.2B coastal repair costs
By Sean McLernon, Law360. Dec. 4, 2013.
“The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority on Tuesday instructed the state attorney general to file a pair of lawsuits against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in a bid to avoid more than $1.2 billion in coastal restoration costs sought by the federal government…” (read more)
St. Bernard considers oil and gas suit similar to Plaquemines and Jefferson
By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, La.). Dec. 4, 2013.
“The St. Bernard Parish Council has passed an ordinance allowing parish government to enter into “a reasonable attorneys fee contract” to sue oil and gas companies for damage caused to local wetlands…” (read more)
St. Bernard turns to law firm used by other parishes seeking damages from drillers
By Bob Marshall, The Lens (New Orleans, La.). Dec. 4, 2013.
“The St. Bernard Parish Council took a first step on Tuesday toward joining Plaquemines and Jefferson parishes in suing oil and gas companies for industry damage to coastal wetlands…” (read more)
Levee boards association criticizes suit against oil and gas companies
By Jeff Adelson, The Advocate (New Orleans, La.). Dec. 4, 2013.
“The Association of Levee Boards of Louisiana formalized its opposition Wednesday to a coastal-erosion lawsuit against oil and gas companies filed by a flood protection authority representing the east bank of the New Orleans area…” (read more)
State levee boards association demands withdrawal of East Bank levee authority’s suit against energy companies
By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, La.). Dec. 4, 2013.
“The Association of Levee Boards of Louisiana on Wednesday voted to oppose the wetlands damage lawsuit filed against 97 oil, gas and pipeline companies in July by the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East, and requested the authority to drop the suit…” (read more)
Feds, state coastal authority at odds over paying for projects
By Amy Wold, The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.). Dec. 4, 2013.
“The state’s coastal authority voted Tuesday to start legal action against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, asking the courts to decide how much, if anything, the state is obligated to pay toward two ecosystem and levee projects in south Louisiana…” (read more)
Both sides agree BP engineer deleted emails, not on whether it was a crime
By Richard Thompson, The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.). Dec. 4, 2013.
“Opening arguments Tuesday in former BP engineer Kurt Mix’s federal trial on charges of obstructing justice found the two sides in harmony on one point: Mix indeed deleted text messages and voice mails from his work phone in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster…” (read more)