WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court handed a win Friday to oil and gas companies fighting lawsuits over coastal land loss and environmental degradation in Louisiana.
The 8-0 procedural decision gives the companies a new day in federal court after a state jury ordered Chevron to pay upward of $740 million to clean up damage to the state's coastline, one of multiple similar lawsuits.
Backed by the Trump administration, the companies argued the case belongs in federal court because they began oil production and refining during World War II as U.S. contractors. They deny responsibility for land loss in Louisiana and argue it's wrong to sue them for what they did before state environmental regulations were in place.
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 an additional 3,000 square miles (7,770 square kilometers) in the coming decades, its coastal protection agency has warned.
Trees that have died due to the encroachment of salt water are scattered throughout what remains of Isle de Jean Charles, which has been decimated by climate change and man-made coastal erosion, in Louisiana, U.S., April 7, 2021. Members of the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw tribe have lived on Isle de Jean Charles for nearly 200 years and soon they will have the option to resettle inland, in the nation's first federally-funded HUD climate resilience grant relocating a Louisiana community affected by climate change. Picture taken April 7, 2021. REUTERS/Kathleen Flynn
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry backed the lawsuits when he was attorney general, even though he's a longtime oil and gas industry supporter. Attorneys for local Louisiana leaders say the Supreme Court appeal was a stalling tactic.
The companies appealed to the high court after jurors in Plaquemines Parish — a sliver of land straddling the Mississippi River into the Gulf — 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 case is one of dozens of lawsuits filed in 2013 alleging oil giants including Chevron and Exxon violated state environmental laws for decades.
The companies asked the justices to overturn a 2024 decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that allowed the suit to stay in state court.
Justice Samuel Alito recused himself from the case, saying he has financial ties to ConocoPhillips. He's previously recused himself from other cases due to his stock holdings.