John,

For nearly a century, Louisiana’s coast has paid the price for unchecked oil and gas extraction. Now a current lawsuit seeks to hold Chevron accountable for devastating Louisiana’s coastline through oil and gas development dating back to 1932.

For generations, companies carved thousands of miles of canals through fragile wetlands to access drilling sites and lay pipelines. Those canals allowed saltwater to surge inland, shredded marshes that once buffered coastal communities from storms, killed freshwater vegetation, and accelerated erosion.

Oil and gas operators also dumped vast quantities of toxic waste -- drilling muds, produced water, and other byproducts -- directly into Louisiana’s marshes, contaminating soils and waterways and undermining the land’s ability to regenerate.

The results have been catastrophic. Louisiana lost roughly 2,000 square miles of coastal land between 1932 and 2016 -- an area nearly the size of Delaware. Entire communities have been pushed closer to open water. Storm surge now travels farther and hits harder. Fisheries have been disrupted. Flood risks have soared, not because this damage was inevitable, but because industry repeatedly ignored restoration obligations written into its permits.

Send a message to Chevron’s CEO today. Tell him to stop evading responsibility for the damage Chevron caused and to drop its attempt to derail Louisiana’s lawsuit.

If Louisiana wins this case, coastal communities could finally receive billions of dollars needed to repair and restore wetlands that protect lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure. If Chevron wins, it will face zero consequences for nearly a century of damage -- and a dangerous precedent will be set, weakening the ability of states and local governments nationwide to hold corporations accountable for environmental destruction.

Louisiana’s Solicitor General says Chevron does not dispute the core facts, that they “dumped billions of gallons” of oil and gas extraction waste “directly into our marsh.” What Chevron does dispute is whether it should be responsible for fixing the damage.

Rather than face that reckoning in Louisiana state court, Chevron is attempting to move the case into federal court, where it believes it will receive a more sympathetic hearing. This is not a defense on the merits -- it’s an attempt to evade accountability by gaming the justice system.

Chevron should fix what it broke. Instead, it is trying to walk away from the destruction of Louisiana’s coast.

Tell Chevron’s CEO: Stop evading responsibility for Chevron’s destruction of Louisiana’s coastline.

Thank you for helping to bring environmental justice to Louisiana’s wetlands.

- DFA AF Team