Go, Meemaw, Go

Blanco sues federal agency over offshore environmental damage
7/20/2006, 3:16 p.m. CT
The Associated Press

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Gov. Kathleen Blanco sued the federal government on Thursday in an ongoing dispute over Louisiana's share of federal royalties generated by oil production off the state's coastline.

The suit accuses the federal Mineral Management Service of disregarding the environmental damage caused by oil and gas exploration, particularly after the damage done to the coastline last year by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Blanco seeks an injunction blocking a scheduled Aug. 15 lease of 4,000 blocks in the western Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas exploration.

The lawsuit is the latest in Louisiana's push for a share of federal royalties from oil and gas production off its coast. The issue has been brought forward every year, so far unsuccessfully, by the state's congressional delegation.