2020 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 7
BY SENATORS HEWITT, BERNARD, CATHEY, CLOUD, CORTEZ, FESI, HENRY,
HENSGENS, JOHNS, MCMATH, MILLIGAN, ROBERT MILLS,
MIZELL, PEACOCK, REESE, TALBOT, WHITE AND WOMACK
AND REPRESENTATIVES AMEDEE, BAGLEY, BEAULLIEU,
BISHOP, BUTLER, COUSSAN, DEVILLIER, DUBUISSON,
EDMONDS, EMERSON, FARNUM, FIRMENT, FONTENOT,
FRIEMAN, GOUDEAU, HORTON, MCCORMICK, MIGUEZ,
CHARLES OWEN, ROBERT OWEN, SCHAMERHORN AND
WRIGHT
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request the local officials in Cameron Parish, Jefferson Parish, Plaquemines
Parish, St. Bernard Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, Vermilion Parish, and the city
of New Orleans to dismiss the forty-three coastal lawsuits that have been filed
against over two-hundred large and small oil and natural gas companies in Louisiana.
WHEREAS, since the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) was enacted by the
Louisiana Legislature in 1980, the state of Louisiana has issued more than thirty thousand
coastal use permits to authorize and encourage the safe and responsible development of oil
and natural gas resources throughout Louisiana's working coast; and
WHEREAS, from 1980 through 2013, local governing bodies collected millions of
dollars in tax revenues generated by these production activities and never sought to assert
enforcement authority over these operations, which are clearly defined in R.S. 49:214.25(A)
as "uses of state concern" that fall exclusively under the jurisdiction of state government
agencies; and
WHEREAS, since 2013, Cameron Parish, Jefferson Parish, Plaquemines Parish, St.
Bernard Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, Vermilion Parish, and the city of New Orleans
have contracted with private legal counsel to improperly bring unprecedented enforcement
actions against the oil and natural gas industry; and
WHEREAS, actions such as these, taken by private legal counsel on behalf of local
governments, violate the original intent of the Louisiana Legislature when the CZMA was
enacted; and
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WHEREAS, the state alone is vested with the authority to issue and regulate coastal
use permits concerning uses of state concern, as defined by R.S. 49:214.25(A)(1), and the
state has the sole authority to bring enforcement over these permits under CZMA; and
WHEREAS, local governments are limited in their ability to bring enforcement
actions under CZMA as it relates to issues of local concern as defined by R.S.
49:214.25(A)(2); and
WHEREAS, since the inception of the CZMA, over forty years ago, local
government entities have never sought to assert such inappropriate widespread action over
state issued coastal use permits in a manner that violates the original intent of the CZMA;
and
WHEREAS, over six years of litigation has provided no benefit for Louisiana's
precious coastline; and
WHEREAS, these lawsuits consume limited judicial resources and put our state at
a competitive disadvantage when it comes to attracting jobs and investment; and
WHEREAS, for nearly a century, the safe, responsible production of oil and natural
gas in Louisiana has helped fuel our state's economy and our nation's energy independence;
and
WHEREAS, today, the development of Louisiana's vast oil and natural gas resources
supports over two-hundred sixty thousand high paying jobs and contributes more than two
billion dollars in annual state revenues; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana oil and natural gas companies also generated more than
two-hundred thirty million dollars in direct funding for coastal restoration and hurricane
protection projects over the last five years; and
WHEREAS, the production of oil and natural gas is essential to the economy and
well-being of Louisiana and the United States, and addressing the critical energy and
environmental needs of the state and the country requires cooperation instead of
unproductive lawsuits.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the local officials in Cameron Parish, Jefferson Parish, Plaquemines Parish,
St. Bernard Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, Vermilion Parish, and the city of New
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Orleans to dismiss the coastal zone lawsuits, pursuant to La. Code of Civil Procedure Art.
1671 concerning voluntary dismissal.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
parish president, district attorney, and council or police jury of Cameron Parish, Jefferson
Parish, Plaquemines Parish, St. Bernard Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, Vermilion Parish,
and to the mayor, district attorney, and city council of the city of New Orleans.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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