Oct 25, 2019   SOURCE: BusinessWire

 Healthy Gulf Reports: Taylor Energy is Still Suing to Block Safe Collection of Their Oil

One year ago today, the U.S. Coast Guard ordered Taylor Energy to clean up its 15-year oil spill. When Taylor missed deadlines for submitting a containment plan, the Coast Guard took over containment efforts. A year later, the oil is finally being contained by the Coast Guard and Louisiana-based contractor Couvillion Group, but Taylor Energy is still suing (2:18-CV-14046; 2:18-CV-14051) to block the largely successful containment operation and to allow oil to continue to flow into the Gulf.

The tally of safely recovered oil has reached 198,000 gallons in only six months of collection— an average of 1,000+ gallons of oil captured daily.

In a Washington Post article, Coast Guard Captain Kristi Luttrell lauded the custom built containment invention, saying: “I’m in awe of what they did. We gave them a task and they did it, and they should be very proud of what they’ve done.”

September 2019 marked the 15th anniversary of the Taylor Energy Mississippi Canyon 20 Oil Spill, the longest active oil spill in the history of the United States. Conservative estimates put the Taylor Energy MC20 spill at millions of gallons of oil released, a figure that Taylor Energy contests.

Healthy Gulf, an advocacy organization committed to protecting Louisiana’s coast, natural resources and marine life, has challenged Taylor Energy to reconsider its stance in a series of ads, including this one.

“The Taylor family has long been regarded as a leading philanthropic force in Louisiana,” said Scott Eustis, community science director for Healthy Gulf. “But Taylor Energy, which carries the founder’s name, is clouding the legacy that they have built. Their leaking oil has impacted our waters, our economy and our way of life. We have invited leadership at Taylor Energy to come together to join us in pursuit of an appropriate path of engagement that leads to plugging and abandonment of the wells, to no avail.”

Healthy Gulf is hosting a press conference on Thursday, October 24, 2019 at 4pm CST outside Taylor Energy’s headquarters at 1 Lee Circle, New Orleans, La. 70130.

“It’s time for us to come together as Louisianans, to understand that this spill must not set a precedent for oil spill response in our country,” continued Eustis. “Now that we know more than 1,000 gallons of oil are being collected every day from the Taylor wells, it’s time for Taylor Energy to step up and do the right thing—both morally and financially. It’s time for Taylor to drop their lawsuit, support the Coast Guard’s successful containment operation, and find a way to plug their leaking wells for good.”

Founded in 1994, Healthy Gulf, formerly Gulf Restoration Network, is a nonprofit focused on empowering people to protect and restore the natural resources of the Gulf of Mexico region.