Last July, the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East filed a lawsuit demanding that oil, gas and pipeline companies take responsibility for the damage they have done to Louisiana’s coastal wetlands. Now, Big Oil is lobbying the Louisiana legislature to bail them out and make taxpayers foot the bill instead. If you are a Louisiana resident, click here to urge your state legislators to oppose a bailout for Big Oil.Every day we lose a little more of our coast. So far we’ve lost land equal to Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, Plaquemines, and St. John the Baptist Parishes combined. Scientific studies, some of which the oil and gas industry has participated in, show that 36-80% of the land lost is related to oil and gas activities. Big Oil should pay its fair share to clean up the mess it made.If oil and gas companies get their way, taxpayers will be on the hook for most of the $50 billion state Coastal Protection Master Plan. Right now a court will decide what the oil companies owe to help save our coast, but Big Oil is spending big bucks lobbying legislators to bail them out. If you live in Louisiana, please take action to tell your state legislators to protect taxpayers, not Big Oil.State legislators have introduced several bills that would bail out the oil and gas companies and make taxpayers cover the cost of restoration. This mess isn’t ours to pay for. Urge your Louisiana state senator and representative to oppose these bills, and send a clear message that Big Oil needs to pay for the damage they have caused.Steve Murchie is GRN’s Campaign Director.
