Chevron will pay $740 Million to restore Louisiana's coastline, reports AP

The Associated Press reported that Chevron had been ordered to pay $740m to repair damages caused by the oil and gas giant to the coastal wetlands of southeast Louisiana.

Report: The jury's verdict awarded $575,000,000 for compensation for land losses, $161,000,000 for contamination, and $8,000,000 for abandoned equipment.

The original lawsuit was filed in 2013 by the Plaquemines Parish in Louisiana.

Louisiana coastal law mandates that all mining and exploration sites used for energy companies "clear, revegetate, detoxify, and otherwise restore as close as possible to their original conditions upon termination of operations."

The AP reported that jurors determined that Texaco, a company purchased by Chevron back in 2001, violated state regulations governing coastal resource management by failing to restore wetlands impacted from dredging, drilling wells, and millions of gallons wastewater dumped onto the marsh.

The report cited a lawsuit that stated Chevron failed to obtain the proper permits, and did not clean up the mess. This led to the contamination of the marsh due to wastewater dumped or stored in an unsafe manner.

Chevron and Plaquemines Parish Government have not responded to immediate requests for comment. Reporting by Vallari Shrivastava, Bengaluru. Editing by Alan Barona.

(source: Reuters)