Louisiana AG Backs $100M Deal in Freeport McMoRan Coastal Damage Suit
Attorney General Jeff Landry has said he’s backing a $100 million settlement between a dozen coastal parishes and mining corporation Freeport McMoRan to end a lawsuit over damage to Louisiana’s coastal wetlands, in what could become a landmark agreement.
The Republican attorney general’s decision to sign off on a deal immediately provoked swift criticism from organizations representing the oil and gas industry and some of his fellow Republicans who worry the agreement could set a precedent affecting dozens of other pending coastal lawsuits involving 12 coastal parishes and New Orleans against major oil companies. (New Orleans was not part of the Freeport McMoRan settlement.)