On Friday, Mayor Cantrell announced that the City of New Orleans filed a lawsuit against oil, gas, and pipeline companies who have been responsible for damaging coastal wetlands.
“New Orleans has been harmed. The people of our City have been harmed and our way of life is threatened by the damage done to our coastal wetlands,” Mayor Cantrell said.
“The land that’s been lost was a protective barrier defending us from hurricanes and floods. If current trends hold, New Orleans will be a literal coastal city within the next fifty years – with no protective land barriers. Given the challenges we face when it comes to our infrastructure, the additional strain of these damages demands action. Getting our fair share means being made whole by the companies who have harmed us.”
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According to the mayor’s press release, analysts from the Rand Corporation, Tulane University, and Louisiana State University have found that coastal land loss could cost the state of Louisiana more than $133 billion over the next 50 years.
Six other southern Louisiana parishes have also filed lawsuits against the oil and gas industry.
“We are filing this lawsuit to ensure that the residents of Orleans Parish are safe, our economy is protected, and to help restore our coast,” said City Attorney Sunni LeBeouf.
