Good for the Iberia Parish Council that voted unanimously to urge that the parish not be included in any group that files suit against oil companies for damages they supposedly did years ago to Louisiana’s coastal areas.

Some have alleged that dredging canals in the coastal areas is responsible for as much as 80 percent of Louisiana’s coastal erosion problems. Others say the real culprit is the levees that keep the Mississippi River from dumping sediment on coastal areas that would build them.

Many have characterized the threatened lawsuits as a money-grab against companies that followed the rules in place years ago when the canals were dredged. Even more say that threatening these lawsuits, much less filing them, will send the wrong signal to oil industry executives, encouraging them to take their business to other states and with them the jobs on which so many in our state depend.

There have been several stories circulated locally about companies who have heard from competitors in other states about contracts they’ve picked up there because oil-related companies are protesting the threats Louisiana is making against their industry.

 Another big crowd turned out at Wednesday’s Parish Council meeting to urge the council to go on record that Iberia Parish didn’t want to be a part of the threatened lawsuits and to show its support for the oil industry.

Gov. John Bel Edwards has said if individual parishes don’t file suit against the oil companies over these alleged damages, he’ll have the state do it.

The council’s resolution asked the governor, the attorney general and the local district attorney’s office not to file any lawsuits on the parish’s behalf related to this issue.

“How far will it go?” asked one local businessman at Wednesday’s council meeting. “Will we file suit against transport companies for tearing up roads … we have to draw a line.” The perception is that these companies followed the rules and guidelines in place years ago for operating their business, but would be asked to take responsibility now for issues no one at the time foresaw.

Good for the Parish Council to ask that Iberia not be a part of this. If these companies complied with the rules and regulations in place when the work was done, it’s not fair to go back and now and try to make them responsible for things they weren’t asked to do.

WILL CHAPMAN

PUBLISHER