A Southeast Louisiana jury ruled oil company Chevron must pay more than $740 million dollars to restore damage it caused to coastal wetlands 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 – which Chevron says it will appeal – 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.

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 $8.6 million for abandoned equipment — a total of $744.6 million. Including interest from when the lawsuit was filed in 2013, the amount earmarked for restoration exceeds $1.1 billion, according to attorneys for Talbot, Carmouche & Marcello, the firm behind the lawsuit.

  • comador @lemmy.worldEnglish
    36·
    8 hours ago

    Chevron Reports Fourth Quarter 2024 Results:

    • Reported earnings of $3.2 billion; adjusted earnings of $3.6 billion
    • Returned record $27 billion cash to shareholders in 2024

    Drop, meet bucket.

    They should be paying this annually to every area they pump from.

        • LilB0kChoy@lemm.ee
          1·
          3 hours ago

          I think you don’t understand how the Presidential pardon works in the United States. I’m tired of the doomerism and negativity I’m seeing all over Lemmy that seems to be detached from reality.

          If 47 somehow manages to start pardoning civil offenses feel free to come back and gloat. Although I’m not sure why you’re so keen on it happening.

          Until then, this is a win for Louisiana and the land along the Gulf and I’m going to celebrate it. There’s too little of news like this lately

          By the way, that’s the Gulf of Mexico I’m referring to.

          • Cenotaph@mander.xyzEnglish
            1·
            2 hours ago

            I don’t know that anyone’s keen, but he’s not supposed to have tariff powers either and yet here we are