Vermilion Parish Police Jury goes on record opposing DA Stutes’ lawsuit

The Vermilion Parish Police Jury voted unanimously not to support the lawsuit filed by District Attorney Keith Stutes against oil and gas companies over damage to the Vermilion Parish’s coast.
The day before Stutes filed the lawsuit, he informed the police jury at their meeting what he was doing. It was the first time the jury became aware of the lawsuit.
Two police jurors, who work in the oil and gas industry, spoke against the lawsuit. Mark Poché and Nathan Granger said the oil and gas industry is Vermilion Parish’s friend and not its enemy.
“It is ironic that Mr. Stutes feels compelled to what is best for the parish without an endorsement from the governing authority of the parish,” said Poché. “If there was any merit to this, his attorney would not have listed 49 companies of which almost 40 of them were not in existence when the canals were dug. This is a typical frivolous lawsuit that continues to drive business out of our state.”
Granger recommended to the police jury that they vote to oppose the lawsuit. Granger said the lawyers listed every oil and gas company that received a permit in Vermilion Parish in the lawsuit.
“The majority of our revenue in this parish come from the oil and gas industry,” said Granger. “As the governing body, we need to show we are not part of the lawsuit. We need to go on record and say we oppose the lawsuit.”
Poché said the last thing Vermilion Parish needs to do is create a bad environment for oil and gas companies who want to drill in the parish. He said the industry is dying and Vermilion Parish is going to suffer for a long time.
Poché said, “The message of this lawsuit sends to independent oil and gas companies that if they are thinking about getting a permit to drill in Vermilion Parish, they are not going to come. The message the lawsuit is sending is do not come to Vermilion. The police jury had no say.”