More than 2,300 shrimpers, boat owners and seafood businesses from across the Gulf Coast are suing two companies over an oil spill off Louisiana's coast on Aug. 8, 2022 — the opening day of shrimping season.
Roughly 200 of the plaintiffs are from Louisiana, with the rest from across the Gulf Coast. The case was filed last week in federal court in Houston.
A storage tank on Hilcorp’s offshore platform north of Timbalier Island failed after WCC allegedly damaged it during an oil transfer, according to the complaint. The plaintiffs say Hilcorp neglected to inspect the tank, which partially collapsed, fell into the Gulf, and spilled roughly 14,000 gallons of oil into nearby waters.
The slick drifted into Lake Pelto, a popular fishing area southwest of Cocodrie, prompting state officials to close about 33 square miles to oyster harvesting. Shrimpers say the contamination fears upended their season.
A spokesperson for Hilcorp, based in Houston, said that the platform’s automated systems immediately shut down when the spill was detected, and that the company quickly notified local, state and federal agencies. The company also said that it contracted a third-party lab to test shrimp in the area and confirmed that they were safe for human consumption.
Kimberly Chauvin, the co-owner of David Chauvin Shrimp Company in Dulac, is quoted in the lawsuit expressing her frustration over the difficulties the spill caused the shrimping industry.
“Fishermen are now confused on whether they should be taking a chance of going out to shrimp,” she told The Houma Courier shortly after the spill. “Do you spend the money for supplies to get rejected at the dock for the sale of your shrimp? And docks are worried that if we buy the shrimp, are we going to get paid by the processors or will they reject the shrimp? This is a no-win situation for us.”
About 33 square miles of Terrebonne Bay have been closed to oyster harvesting by the Louisiana Department of Health because of a spill of crude oil from a Hilcorp Energy storage tank.
The plaintiffs accuse the companies of negligence and of violating the federal Oil Pollution Act and state environmental laws. They are seeking damages for the lost profits and damage to their gear and boats. They also want the court to order the companies to restore affected fishing areas and take steps to “repair reputational damage done to Terrebonne Bay’s and Louisiana’s seafood industry.”
Richard J. Nava, the Houston-based attorney representing the plaintiffs, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. WCC also did not respond to a request for comment.
Hilcorp, one of the largest privately held oil companies in the U.S., reported more than a dozen spills in Louisiana after Hurricane Ida in 2021, and in 2018, paid $920,000 to settle claims that it dredged through oyster reefs without a permit.