Release: Statement From The Pelican Institute On Freeport-McMoran Deal

For media inquiries please contact Chris Lowery (225) 726-1822 or chris@pelicaninstitute.org.

Baton Rouge — CEO of the Pelican Institute, Daniel Erspamer, released the following statement after the Department of Natural Resources usurped the wishes of Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin and Iberia Parishes, and signed for them in the proposed Freeport-McMoran settlement:

“Government bureaucrats and trial lawyers continue to collude against Louisianans in backroom deals like the proposed Freeport settlement. It is clear state government has usurped the power and right of local government to make their own choices. These backroom deals are driving jobs and opportunity out of Louisiana while failing to provide the benefits to the coast they claim.

As it did in the 2021 legislative session, the legislature should continue to reject the sketchy credit scheme on which the proposed settlement is built. These environmental credit schemes have never delivered on their promise in any state they have been tried. They have a long record of corruption and failure to deliver any real results. It’s time to end these punishing lawsuits, reject this outrageous government overreach, and get back to the hard work of protecting our environment and creating a state where everyone has the opportunity to flourish.”