None of the plaintiffs issued a press release or otherwise announced the lawsuit on their websites.
How often do Attorneys General from 3 States sue the Federal government without broadly publicizing their actions? Neither the AG for Louisiana, Texas, nor Mississippi issued a press release to announce their suit to block BOEM’s financial assurance rule.
The limited media coverage of the lawsuit originated from a single Reuters article. Apparently Reuters learned about the suit and reached out to the litigants. Their article quoted Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill as follows:
“This is a really egregious direct assault on intermediate level producers of oil and gas, and that affects a lot of business in our state,” Murrill told Reuters in an interview.
That quote is all we have from the AGs. Why the absence of announcements:
- Oversight?
- Recognition that the offshore industry (and their constituents) are divided on financial assurance policy?
- 35 years of failure on the part of industry and government to resolve these issues and better protect the taxpayer?
- High profile bankruptcies with unresolved decommissioning liabilities?
- GAO reports critical of financial assurance practices?
- Uncertainty regarding liability for pre-1997 lease transfers?
- Federal funding of Gulf of Mexico decommissioning for the first time in the history of the OCS program?
- Acknowledgement that some Federal action is needed?
- Ongoing well plugging challenges on State lands?
- Interest in working with industry and the Federal govt to seek policy solutions that best address OCS decommissioning issues? (This would be encouraging.)
State of Louisiana et al v. Deb Haaland et al
| Plaintiff: | State of Louisiana, Louisiana Oil & Gas Association, State of Mississippi, State of Texas, Gulf Energy Alliance, Independent Petroleum Association of America and U S Oil & Gas Association |
|---|---|
| Defendant: | Deb Haaland, U S Dept of Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Elizabeth Klein, Steve Feldgus and James Kendall |
| Case Number: | 2:2024cv00820 |
| Filed: | June 17, 2024 |
| Court: | US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana |
| Presiding Judge: | James D Cain |
| Referring Judge: | Thomas P LeBlanc |
| Nature of Suit: | Other Statutes: Administrative Procedures Act/Review or Appeal of Agency Decision |
| Cause of Action: | 28 U.S.C. ยง 2201 Constitutionality of State Statute(s) |
| Jury Demanded By: | None |
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 