American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2015 - 140

Plaquemines parishes have filed 28 lawsuits against more than 100 companies
for allegedly violating coastal permits.
A lower court already has struck down
Act 544, passed by lawmakers and signed
by Governor Bobby Jindal last year, to
stop a lawsuit brought by the Southeast
Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East
against 97 oil and gas companies. It claims
coastal drilling and dredging have contributed to coastal erosion, Briggs reviews.
Act 544 only authorizes entities under
the Coastal Zone Management Act, which
excludes the SLFPA-E, to bring lawsuits,
and LOGA awaits court rulings on the
decision of 19th Judicial District Judge
Janice Clark in October to strike down
the act, he says.
Jindal still upholds the constitutionality
of the act and maintains that the issue is
appealable directly to the Louisiana
Supreme Court (AOGR, December 2014,
pg. 23). Clark ruled that the act violated
the state constitution's separation of
powers and public trust doctrine, but
Hanks, who attended the arguments,
insists the nature of the discussion seemed
beyond Clark.
"There was a definite political agenda
that Janice Clark was playing to," Hanks
says. "It will be very interesting to see
how the higher courts look at this. It is
my understanding that she has the highest
turnover rate by the appellate court than
any sitting judge in Louisiana. We have
to play the legal system game and opponents of our legislation who represent
the other side and the levy district are
very well funded. They do this often and
quite well, and know how to get their
message out no matter how incorrect it
is. We are fighting the court of public
opinion as well. We are trying to do a
better job of getting our side out and explain, but to be honest, it's a pretty complicated set of facts."
Predicting an outcome of the case is
difficult, Briggs says.
"It is almost like trying to predict the
price of oil and how long the downturn

LOGA Annual Meeting
Lake Charles, La.
Wednesday, March 11
10 a.m. Golf Tournament, Gray Plantation
Golf Club, Lake Charles
4-7 p.m. Registration Open, L'auberge du
lac Casino Resort
5-7 p.m. Welcome Reception, Ballroom

Thursday, March 12
7 a.m. Registration Open, L'auberge du
lac Casino Resort
7:45 a.m. Breakfast Meeting
9:15 a.m. Break
9:30 a.m. Louisiana Industry Operator
Panel
11:45 a.m. Keynote Luncheon
1:30 p.m. Afternoon Session
Louisiana Agency Panel
3 p.m. Break
3:45 p.m. Afternoon Session
Legislative Panel
LOGPAC Annual Meeting
6:30 p.m. Reception
7 p.m. Dinner

Friday, March 13
8 a.m. Breakfast
Speaker: TBA
8:30 a.m. Breakfast Session
9 a.m. Silent Auction Closes
9:30 a.m. LOGA Board of Directors Meeting

is going to last," he compares. "About
the time you make a prediction, you will
be wrong. There are a lot of moving
parts to that lawsuit. Other parts are being
appealed to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals. The timing is difficult to estimate."
Act 544 opponents point out two companies named in the levy board lawsuit
have settled, but Briggs insists that two
out of 97 is hardly news and the settlement
amount of $50,000 is small in comparison
with the $10 billion that attorneys are
seeking.
"The negative impact of this suit will
continue to reverberate across the state.
Fewer dollars will be invested into our
state economy, fewer rigs will be present,

and in turn, fewer dollars will be contributed to our state budget," Briggs warns.
Meanwhile, LOGA reports, the town
of Abita Springs, La., has filed suit to
prevent an operator from drilling a single
well, according to an overview from
LOGA.
"Previously, the industry was battling
a small group of trial lawyers over legacy
lawsuits," Briggs says. "Now, parish officials, mayors and judges are taking part
in the battle to make oil and gas operations
more difficult in Louisiana."
With statewide elections coming this
year, Briggs says he is urging members
to support candidates with pro-business
outlooks. This year, he notes, Louisiana
will elect a governor and attorney general,
and also will fill a host of offices for
state representatives, senators and judges,
and determined a host of local offices.
Annual Convention
Briggs urges members to attend
LOGA's 2015 annual convention to get
the latest guidance on business, political
and regulatory trends. LOGA is in discussions to attract additional speakers
with financial backgrounds in order for
members to gain additional insights into
market conditions, Hanks says.
Events begin with golf at 10 a.m.,
March 11 at Gray Plantation. Registration
at L'Auberge du Lac opens at 4 p.m.,
and a welcome reception is planned for
that evening.
Registration opens at 7 a.m. on March
12. Breakfast is scheduled for 7:45 a.m.
The morning's session will include a
Louisiana operators' panel, and lunch
will include a keynote speaker, Briggs
says.
Afternoon presentations include a
Louisiana agency panel, a legislative
panel, and the LOGPAC annual meeting.
Closing the evening will be an evening
reception and dinner.
After a breakfast and an accompanying
session on March 13, the LOGA board
meets at 9:30 a.m., Briggs concludes. Ì

LISTING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
FROM PAGE 127
Evidence from Europe documents a
range of species coexisting with the syndrome's causative agent with minimal infection and mortality rates, NAFWA says.
One research project it cites shows the
amount of infection on surviving bats in
the U.S. Northeast has decreased significantly from the time of mass mortality.
Studies also document that a few hibernating
bat colonies in the Northeast have stable
and increasing populations, NAFWA adds.

The association urges USFWS to consider the effects of ongoing conservation
efforts before making its final decision.
In parts of several Northeast states, the
northern long-eared bat occupies similar
forest habitats as other federally listed
species, such as the Indiana bat, Virginia
big-eared bat, and gray bat. As a result,
NAFWA contends, protective measures
already are in place in a significant percentage of the northern long-eared bat's

140 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

range, and state agencies are conducting
numerous research projects focused on
white-nose syndrome.
"Depending on the outcome of the
listing decision by the service, these ongoing conservation actions may be in
jeopardy," the association warns. "If the
species is listed as endangered, many of
the resources being devoted to research,
conservation and monitoring the species
may need to be diverted to address new

American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2015

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