
Chevron ordered to pay more than $740 million to restore Louisiana coast in landmark trial
POINTE À LA HACHE, La. (AP) — Oil company Chevron must pay at least $740 million to restore damage it caused to southeast Louisiana's coastal wetlands, a jury ruled on Friday following a landmark trial more than a decade in the making.
The case was the first of dozens of pending lawsuits to reach trial in Louisiana against the world's leading oil companies for their role in accelerating land loss along the state's rapidly disappearing coast. The verdict – likely to be appealed – could set a precedent leaving other oil and gas firms on the hook for billions of dollars in damages tied to land loss and environmental degradation.
What did Chevron do wrong?
Jurors found that energy giant Texaco, acquired by Chevron in 2001, had for decades violated Louisiana regulations governing coastal resources by failing to restore wetlands impacted by dredging canals, drilling wells and billions of gallons of wastewater dumped into the marsh.
The jury awarded $575 million to compensate for land loss, $161 million to compensate for contamination and $8 million for abandoned equipment.
'No company is big enough to ignore the law, no company is big enough to walk away scot-free,' the plaintiff's lead attorney John Carmouche told jurors during closing arguments.
A 1978 Louisiana coastal management law mandated that sites used by oil companies 'be cleared, revegetated, detoxified, and otherwise restored as near as practicable to their original condition' after operations ended. Older operations sites that continued to be used were not exempt and companies were expected to apply for proper permits.
But the oil company did not obtain proper permits and failed to clean up its mess, leading to contamination from wastewater stored unsafely or dumped directly into the marsh, the lawsuit said.
The company also failed to follow known best practices for decades since it began operating in the area in the 1940s, expert witnesses for the plaintiff's testified. The company 'chose profits over the marsh' and allowed the environmental degradation caused by its operations to fester and spread, Carmouche said.
How are oil companies contributing to Louisiana's land loss?
The lawsuit against Chevron was filed in 2013 by Plaquemines Parish, a rural district in Louisiana straddling the final leg of the Mississippi River heading into the Gulf of Mexico, also referred to as the Gulf of America as declared by President Donald Trump.
Louisiana's coastal parishes have lost more than 2,000 square miles (5,180 square kilometers) of land over the past century, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, which has also identified oil and gas infrastructure as a significant cause. The state could lose another 3,000 square miles (7,770 square kilometers) in the coming decades, its coastal protection agency has warned.
Thousands of miles of canals cut through the wetlands by oil companies weakens them and exacerbates the impacts of sea level rise. Industrial wastewater from oil production degrades the surrounding soil and vegetation. The torn up wetlands leave South Louisiana – home to some of the nation's biggest ports and key energy sector infrastructure — more vulnerable to flooding and destruction from extreme weather events like hurricanes.
Chevron's lead attorney, Mike Phillips, said the company had operated lawfully and blamed land loss in Louisiana on other factors, namely the extensive levee system that blocks the Mississippi River from depositing land regenerating sediment — a widely acknowledged cause of coastal erosion.
The way to solve the land loss problem is 'not suing oil companies, it's reconnecting the Mississippi River with the delta,' Phillips said during closing arguments.
Yet the lawsuit held the company responsible for exacerbating and accelerating land loss in Louisiana, rather than being its sole cause.
Chevron also challenged the costly wetlands restoration project proposed by the parish, which involved removing large amounts of contaminated soil and filling in the swaths fragmented wetlands eroded over the past century. The company said the plan was impractical and designed to inflate the damages rather than lead to real world implementation.
Attorney Jimmy Faircloth, Jr., who represented the state of Louisiana, which has backed Plaquemines and other local governments in their lawsuits against oil companies, told jurors from the parish that Chevron was telling them their community was not worth preserving.
'Our communities are built on coast, our families raised on coast, our children go to school on coast,' Faircloth said. 'The state of Louisiana will not surrender the coast, it's for the good of the state that the coast be maintained.'
What does this mean for future litigation against oil companies?
Carmouche, a well-connected attorney, and his firm Talbot, Carmouche & Marcello have been responsible for bringing many of the lawsuits against oil companies in the state.
Louisiana's economy has long been heavily dependent on the oil and gas industry and the industry holds significant political power. Even so, Louisiana's staunchly pro-industry Gov. Jeff Landry has supported the lawsuits, including bringing the state on board during his tenure as Attorney General.
Oil companies have fought tooth and nail to quash the litigation, including unsuccessfully lobbying Louisiana's Legislature to pass a law to invalidate the claims. Chevron and other firms also repeatedly tried to move the lawsuits into federal court where they believed they would find a more sympathetic audience.
But the heavy price Chevron is set to pay could hasten other firms to seek settlements in the dozens of other lawsuits across Louisiana. Plaquemines alone has 20 other cases pending against oil companies.
The state is running out of money to support its ambitious coastal restoration plans, which have been fueled by soon-expiring settlement funds from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and supporters of the litigation say payouts could provide a much-needed injection of funds.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New York Post
24 minutes ago
- New York Post
London's lefty mayor touts record numbers of Americans applying for British citizenship
They're trading their sneakers for trainers and elevators for lifts. A record number of Americans have applied to become British citizens, London's lefty mayor touted at an event in the UK Monday. 'I've got to say we're delighted that record numbers of Americans are applying for British citizenship or to live and work here, and that many are choosing to settle in London,' Sadiq Khan told the crowd at the Concordia Europe Summit, as he heralded the capital as a 'beacon of hope, progress and possibility.' Some 1,931 Americans applied for UK citizenship in the first three months of 2025, according to figures from the UK Home Office — marking the highest number since recordkeeping began in 2004. Advertisement REUTERS Meanwhile, the number of US citizens applying to settle in the UK as their permanent home — rather than just move there for an undefined period — also hit a record last year, with more than 5,500 Americans granted settled status, a 20% increase from 2023. 'Our city will always offer newcomers a warm welcome,' Khan added. Advertisement AP However, at the same time, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the government was planning to impose more stringent requirements on legal migrants, while also extending the time newcomers would have to wait to claim citizenship. In a news conference earlier this month, Starmer declared an end to a 'squalid chapter' that has seen migration to the UK more than triple over the last 10 years, which he called 'a failed experiment in open borders.' In a policy paper last month, Starmer — who previously championed the significant increase of migrants to the city — called the damage caused by immigration to the country 'incalculable.' Advertisement Around 5,800 Americans gave up their US citizenship during the first six months of 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and at a time of widespread social and political upheaval in the country. However, taxes were also cited as another reason some made the decision, Alistair Bambridge, a partner at Bambridge Accountants, told CNN at the time. 'These are mainly people who already left the US and just decided they've had enough of everything,' he said. The surge in would-be expatriates in the first quarter of 2025 is a 12% increase from the previous quarter, continuing a sharp uptick in the trend which started in the middle of 2024.


New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Elite universities offer to spend more endowment cash to stave off tax hit after Trump attacks ‘woke' policies: report
Some of the richest universities in the US are proposing a deal with the federal government that would allow them to spend more of their own money in exchange for a reprieve on a proposed tax on their endowments, according to a report. Nearly two dozen elite schools — including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Duke and the University of Chicago — are backing a plan that would commit them to distributing at least 5% of their endowment value each year. In return, they're asking Congress to scale back a proposed 21% tax on their investment income, a massive jump from the current 1.4% rate, the Wall Street Journal reported. Advertisement 4 Students walk on the Stanford University campus in this 2019 file photo. AP The White House has framed the tax hike as a way to hold 'woke, elitist universities' accountable. President Trump has launched an aggressive campaign against elite universities, accusing them of hoarding tax-advantaged wealth, embracing 'woke' politics and defying federal law. His administration has moved to revoke their tax-exempt status, block access to federal research grants, and restrict international student enrollment — turning once-reliable sources of funding into pressure points. Advertisement The schools, which are part of a group called the Learn Alliance, circulated a proposal on Capitol Hill that outlines a compromise. They'll increase annual spending on things like financial aid and research, and in exchange, they're asking lawmakers to scrap the House-passed tiered tax system in favor of a much lower flat rate — either 2.4% or 3.4% on investment income. 'What I hear from Republican members of Congress is a desire to ensure that colleges are using their charitable endowments to support today's students and researchers rather than saving too much for the future,' Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber told the Journal. Advertisement 4 Nearly two dozen elite schools — including Harvard — are backing a plan that would commit them to distributing at least 5% of their endowment value each year. AP 'Those are valid concerns, and this proposal directly addresses them.' Eisgruber argued the plan would free up billions of dollars for student-focused spending and local economic development, while a steep tax hike would have the opposite effect — discouraging schools from using their endowments. The Learn Alliance says its plan would generate at least $30 billion in additional spending over a decade. Advertisement That far exceeds the $6.7 billion in federal revenue the current House-endorsed tax is expected to raise during the same time period, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. If adopted, the proposed 5% distribution rule would mark a major shift. Private foundations already follow a 5% payout rule, but colleges and universities have long resisted such mandates, arguing they need flexibility to manage for the long term. The new House bill would also increase the tax on private foundation investment income to 10%, up from the current 1.39%. 'This would be a significant shift in national policy,' Liz Clark, vice president of policy and research at the National Association of College and University Business Officers, told the Journal. 4 The schools, which are part of a group called the Learn Alliance, circulated a proposal on Capitol Hill that outlines a compromise. Yale is one of the members of the alliance. Shutterstock She added that schools are under unusual pressure in the current political climate to show they're putting their money to work. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee and frequent critic of large endowments, said Thursday that lawmakers were only beginning to dig into the endowment tax issue. Advertisement 'I've heard from small colleges in Iowa who say these tax increases would hit them hard,' he said. According to a recent analysis by higher education research group Ithaka S+R, most schools that would fall under the proposed 21% tax rate currently distribute less than 5% of their endowments annually. 4 The image above shows Blair Hall on the campus of Princeton University in Princeton, NJ. LightRocket via Getty Images Over a five-year period ending in June 2023, the report found that several top universities failed to meet the 5% mark in most years. Advertisement 'Even small percentage increases in spending would translate to a significant jump in dollar terms because the endowments are so large,' said Catharine Bond Hill, an economist at Ithaka. Not all schools are taking the same approach. A group of smaller colleges is lobbying Congress to cap the investment tax at 1.4% for institutions with fewer than 5,000 full-time students. These schools, which lack the diversified funding sources of larger institutions, say the higher rates would hit them disproportionately hard. Meanwhile, another coalition — including Vanderbilt University and Washington University in St. Louis — is pushing for a system that rewards schools with tax breaks if they meet certain benchmarks, like enrolling a higher percentage of low-income students.

Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Canada plans to hit NATO spending target early and reduce US defense reliance, Carney says
TORONTO (AP) — Canada will meet NATO's military spending guideline by early next year and diversify defense spending away from the United States, which he says no longer plays a predominant role on the world stage, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday. Carney said Canada will achieve NATO's spending target of 2% of gross domestic product five years earlier than it had previously planned. 'Our military infrastructure and equipment have aged, hindering our military preparedness," Carney said. 'Only one of our four submarines is seaworthy. Less than half of our maritime fleet and land vehicles are operational. More broadly we are too reliant on the United States.' According to NATO figures, Canada was estimated to be spending 1.33% of GDP on its military budget in 2023, below the 2% target that NATO countries have set for themselves. Canada previously said it was on track to meet NATO's spending target by the end of the decade. 'Our goal is to protect Canadians, not to satisfy NATO accountants,' Carney said. The announcement of increased spending came as Canada is about to host U.S. President Donald Trump and other leaders at a summit of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations in Alberta on June 15-17, and before the NATO summit in Europe. It also comes as NATO allies are poised to increase the commitment well beyond the 2% target. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said last week that most U.S. allies at NATO endorse Trump's demand that they invest 5% of gross domestic product on their defense needs and are ready to ramp up security spending even more. Carney has said that he intends to diversify Canada's procurement and enhance the country's relationship with the EU. 'We should no longer send three quarters of our defense capital spending to America,' Carney said in a speech at the University of Toronto. 'We will invest in new submarines, aircraft, ships, armed vehicles and artillery, as well as new radar, drones and sensors to monitor the seafloor and the Arctic.' Canada has been in discussions with the European Union to join an EU drive to break its security dependency on the United States, with a focus on buying more defense equipment, including fighter jets, in Europe. Carney's government is reviewing the purchase of U.S. F-35 fighter jets to see if there are other options. 'We stood shoulder to shoulder with the Americans throughout the Cold War and in the decades that followed, as the United States played a predominant role on the world stage. Today, that predominance is a thing of the past,' Carney said in French. He added that with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the United States became the global hegemon, noting its gravitational pull, always strong, became virtually irresistible and made the U.S. 'our closest ally and dominant trading partner.' 'Now the United States is beginning to monetize its hegemony: charging for access to its markets and reducing its relative contributions to our collective security,' Carney said. The prime minister said that "a new imperialism threatens.' 'Middle powers compete for interests and attention, knowing that if they are not at the table, they will be on the menu," Carney said. Trump's calls to make Canada the 51st U.S. state have infuriated Canadians, and Carney won the job of prime minister after promising to confront the increased aggression shown by Trump. Carney said that the long-held view that Canada's geographic location will protect Canadians is becoming increasingly archaic. European allies and Canada have already been investing heavily in their armed forces, as well as on weapons and ammunition, since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.