Some
Louisiana wetlands have suffered degradation
because of the past containment of the Mississippi River which
has made brackish marshland too salty.
However, affected areas have
proven to be ideal for oysters and the state leased these waters for oyster
farming. In 1991, after many years
of planning, the
Caernarvon
Freshwater Diversion Project started. Fresh
water was diverted into Breton Sound restoring lower salinity.
This move made a number of leases unproductive by introducing both fresh
water and silt over the oyster beds. The
leaseholders sued.
A
recent Parish court decision ended
in a $48 million judgment for five plaintiffs.
If this class action suit settlement is extended to the remaining 125
plaintiffs it will cost the state $700 million. The lawsuit had been brought against both federal and state.
The federal case was dismissed on the grounds that the oyster fishermen
did not have a property interest in the salinity levels of the water above the
leases. The ruling was appealed but the Court of Appeals also turned the
plaintiffs down, holding that the oyster fishermen knew of the government’s
plan to restore the waters.
The
Coalition to restore Coastal Louisiana
has asked the state to appeal based
on the federal appeals court view, that the leaseholders entered the agreement
with the knowledge that at some point their use of the property might be
impaired. The Coalition is worried that other projects may be stymied
by this turn of events.
-Coast Currents v.VII #6 and Louisiana Coastal Law #77