Chevron ordered to pay $745 million for damaging Louisiana wetlands over decades

A Louisiana jury found Chevron liable for decades of environmental damage in Plaquemines Parish, ordering the company to pay $745 million for land loss, contamination, and abandoned oil infrastructure.

Adeel Hassan reports for The New York Times.

In short:

• Plaquemines Parish argued that Chevron, through its acquisition of Texaco, violated state coastal laws by failing to restore wetlands and remove equipment after oil and gas operations ceased.
• The jury awarded compensation for environmental damage: $575 million for land loss, $161 million for pollution, and $8.6 million for leftover infrastructure.
• Despite the verdict, Chevron claims the 1980 law doesn’t apply to activity from earlier decades and plans to appeal.

Key quote:

“This verdict is just one step in the process to establish that the 1980 law does not apply to conduct that occurred decades before the law was enacted.”

— Mike Phillips, lead trial lawyer for Chevron

Why this matters:

Louisiana's coastal wetlands once formed a sprawling, sponge-like buffer shielding Gulf communities from hurricanes, storm surge, and sea-level rise. But decades of oil and gas development, including canal dredging and pipeline installation, have sliced the marshes into fragments and hastened their collapse. Every hour, roughly a football field of wetland vanishes, making way for open water where land once anchored ecosystems, livelihoods, and cultural traditions. Meanwhile, climate change adds a compounding pressure, pushing saltwater further inland and amplifying the intensity of storms. The degradation of these wetlands strips away one of the country’s most effective natural defenses against extreme weather.

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