A Louisiana jury ordered Chevron Corporation to pay $744.6 million to Plaquemines Parish after finding them liable for not fulfilling their obligations to restore the wetlands, failing to obtain proper permits and abandoning equipment. The case marks the first ruling in a plethora of lawsuits brought against large oil and gas companies for the degradation and land loss of the Louisiana coast.

Texaco — a subsidiary of Chevron — was found by a jury to have ignored state law, failed to obtain proper permits and abandoned equipment in the wetlands of Louisiana’s coast, causing hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars in damages. The majority of the money Chevron has been ordered to pay is earmarked for land loss caused by the corporation’s actions.

In court, Chevron’s lead attorney Mike Phillips pushed back on the idea that Louisiana’s land loss could be attributed to the company’s actions; rather, choosing to point to the levees along the Mississippi River’s coast as the real perpetrator of land loss.

John Carmouche, who oversaw the parish’s legal team, has come under scrutiny for his intentions behind taking the case. Nevertheless, he wrangled widespread support in the case, including from the state government, which typically advocates for the oil and gas industry.

“The traditional notion [was] that what was good for the oil industry is good for the state. And that was, for many years, the attitude the United States had, particularly with offshore oil,” Mark Davis, director of the Center for Environmental Law at Tulane University School of Law, said. 

Davis pointed to two main reasons why the state government may be more willing to go against the oil and gas industry in this case.

“One is [that] the collapse of the coast is really hurting people and local governments. And keep in mind, every time an acre of marsh turns into open water, at some point, it ceases to be private property. And theoretically, nobody has to pay taxes on it … So it’s not as though the only economy to be concerned about is oil and gas,” Davis said. “[Secondly] when someone has promised to do something, then it’s not really hostile to them when you hold them to it.”

Daniel Friess, the Cochran family professor of earth and environmental sciences, also commented on the importance of wetlands and their ecological and societal benefits. 

“It’s more than just biodiversity and stuff like that … the Gulf of Mexico is one of the most productive fisheries in America, and in part because of all the wetlands we have,” Friess said. “Coastal protection is [another] big benefit that we get. And those marshes are a big sponge to waves and storms and things, protecting whoever’s living behind.”

Friess also referenced the wetlands’ role in recreational activities and carbon sequestering as vital aspects and benefits of their existence. However, some wetlands are not able to be entirely restored.

“Some places, the local environment is just either, not gonna be conducive to it, right? Maybe it’s either too far gone or the local conditions, the waves and the sediments applying things are just not right,” Friess said.

Chevron has announced its intentions to appeal the case, further dragging out the already lengthy legal proceedings. 

“No one should start counting these dollars yet,” Davis said. “No one should start expecting to see them spent yet. This is like a relay race, where the trial is just one leg.”

Carmouche hopes the judgment will serve as an incentive for oil companies facing similar suits to settle out of court and avoid the protracted process of going through the legal system.

“I don’t think anybody wants to go to multiple trials. That’s very expensive, very time consuming. So the lawyer for the state, or for the parish, was like, this should make other parishes want to settle,” Davis said. “Also keep in mind that when you go to trial, a lot of information is made public. And if you can avoid going to trial, you can keep all that history quiet.”

As critical restoration funds continue to be tied up in court, Louisiana continues to run down the clock on land loss.