Louisiana suing Texas Brine over Assumption sinkhole

The state of Louisiana and Assumption Parish’s Police Jury and Sheriff’s Office raced against a looming legal deadline Friday to file a lawsuit against Texas Brine Co. and a Dallas subsidiary of oil giant Occidental Petroleum over the Bayou Corne-area sinkhole that emerged a year ago Saturday.

State and parish officials are seeking to recoup the costs of their emergency response efforts, while the state also is suing over the environmental damage allegedly caused by the Texas Brine cavern failure that led to the sinkhole.

Louisiana government’s suit, which was filed on behalf of all state agencies involved in the response, makes a claim, in part, under state environmental quality laws. Those laws allow assessment of up to $32,500 in civil penalties for each day of a violation and up to $1 million per day for intentional and willful violations.

Separately, Texas Brine filed suit on Friday against the Occidental subsidiary, Occidental Chemical Corp., and three other companies over the actions that Texas Brine claims the companies took leading up to the cavern failure. The three others are Vulcan Materials Co., Adams Resources Exploration Co. and Browning Oil Co. Inc.

More at http://theadvocate.com/home/6678266-125/louisiana-suing-texas-brine-over .