The Supreme Court hands a win to oil and gas companies fighting environmental lawsuits in Louisiana

The U.S. Supreme Court is seen in Washington, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) 2026-04-17T15:46:06Z WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court handed a win Friday to oil and gas companies fighting lawsuits over coastal land loss and environmental degradation in Louisiana. The unanimous procedural decision gives the companies a new day in federal court after a state jury ordered Chevron to pay upward of $740 million to clean up damage to the state’s coastline, one of multiple similar lawsuits. Backed by the Trump administration, the companies argued the case belongs in federal court because they were working to quickly increase the supply of aviation gasoline for the U.S. government during World War II. The high court agreed. Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the 8-0 court, noted Congress has long allowed lawsuits against the government and its contractors to be heard in federal court and this suit is clearly related to Chevron’s wartime efforts to bolster the U.S. aviation fuel supply. freestar.queue.push(function () { window.fsAdCount = window.fsAdCount + 1 || 0; let customChannel = '/dynamic_' + fsAdCount; let adList = document.querySelectorAll(".fs-feed-ad") let thisAd = adList[fsAdCount]; let randId = Math.random().toString(36).slice(2); thisAd.id = randId; let thisPlacement = fsAdCount == 0 ? "apnews_story_feed" : "apnews_story_feed_dynamic"; freestar.newAdSlots({ placementName: thisPlacement, slotId: randId }, customChannel); }); Louisiana’s coastal parishes have lost more than 2,000 square miles (5,180 square kilometers) of land over the past century, according to the U.S. Geological Survey , which has also identified oil and gas infrastructure as a significant cause. The state could lose an additional 3,000 square miles (7,770 square kilometers) in the coming decades, its coastal protection agency has warned . Republican Gov. Jeff Landry backed the lawsuits when he was attorney general, even though he’s a longtime oil and gas industry supporter. An attorney for local Louisiana leaders, John Carmouche, said they disagree with the decision but plan to keep the lawsuits alive. /* Desktop-first: fully collapse by default */ #ap-readmore-embed { display: none; margin: 0; padding: 0; height: 0; min-height: 0; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; position: relative; z-index: 2; } /* Only show on mobile */ @media (max-width: 767px) { #ap-readmore-embed { display: block; margin: 28px 0; height: auto; overflow: visible; } } #ap-readmore-embed .ap-readmore-btn { appearance: none; -webkit-appearance: none; border: 0; background: #000; color: #fff; cursor: pointer; display: inline-flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; gap: 10px; padding: 14px 22px; border-radius: 999px; font-family: inherit, "AP Sans", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 700; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.2px; line-height: 1; box-shadow: 0 10px 18px rgba(0,0,0,0.12); transition: transform 120ms ease, box-shadow 120ms ease, opacity 120ms ease; 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var root = rootCandidates.find(function (c) { return c.contains(stopEl); }) || document.body; var all = root.getElementsByTagName("*"); var hidden = []; for (var i = 0; i “Simply changing where the case will be heard, as has happened, will not deter our efforts to have Big Oil held accountable for the damages they caused and the enormous restoration they owe the people of Louisiana,” Carmouche said. The companies appealed to the high court after jurors in Plaquemines Parish — a sliver of land straddling the Mississippi River into the Gulf — 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. freestar.queue.push(function () { window.fsAdCount = window.fsAdCount + 1 || 0; let customChannel = '/dynamic_' + fsAdCount; let adList = document.querySelectorAll(".fs-feed-ad") let thisAd = adList[fsAdCount]; let randId = Math.random().toString(36).slice(2); thisAd.id = randId; let thisPlacement = fsAdCount == 0 ? "apnews_story_feed" : "apnews_story_feed_dynamic"; freestar.newAdSlots({ placementName: thisPlacement, slotId: randId }, customChannel); }); Chevron applauded the Supreme Court’s decision, saying the claims are related to work that the companies did under federal supervision. “Chevron looks forward to litigating these cases in federal court, where they belong,” the company said in a statement. The company denies responsibility for land loss in Louisiana and argues it’s wrong to sue it for what it did before state environmental regulations were in place. The case is one of dozens of lawsuits filed in 2013 alleging oil giants including Chevron and Exxon violated state environmental laws for decades. Friday’s ruling overturns a 2024 decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Carmouche said it affects 11 of the 42 cases against various oil companies. Justice Samuel Alito recused himself from the case, pointing to financial ties to ConocoPhillips. He’s previously recused himself from other cases due to his stock holdings. ___ Brook reported from New Orleans. LINDSAY WHITEHURST Whitehurst covers the Supreme Court and legal affairs for The Associated Press. She’s won multiple journalism awards in a career that’s spanned two decades. twitter mailto JACK BROOK Based in New Orleans, Brook covers Louisiana with a focus on state government, environmental issues and infrastructure. He is a Report for America corps member and can be reached on the secure messaging app Signal at jackbrook.88 twitter instagram mailto 获取更多RSS： https://feedx.net https://feedx.site