Lawsuits cite damages in Bayou Teche oil spill

Five lawsuits on behalf of St. Mary Parish citizens have been filed against PSC Industrial Outsourcing for damages associated with the March 28 oil spill on Bayou Teche near the Adeline Bridge.
David Lebourgeois and Julie Lebourgeois, Daniel Dupre and Angela Dupre, Scott Dupre, Jay Boudreaux and Joanie Boudreaux, and Kyle Hebert filed lawsuits within the past two weeks against the company, according to St. Mary Parish clerk of court records. All the plaintiffs own property bordering Bayou Teche in St. Mary Parish and allege contamination of property, groundwater and aquifers, contamination of wildlife, plants, ground and trees, and devaluation of property, the lawsuits said.
The plaintiffs are seeking actual and punitive damages, and attorney fees.
PSC “owned and operated a crude oil reclamation facility and saltwater disposal facility within the immediate vicinity” of the plaintiffs’ property, the lawsuits stated.
On March 28, PSC “allowed a significant volume of crude oil or like substance to spill into the navigable waters of Bayou Teche,” the lawsuits say.
PSC’s negligence caused the spill of crude oil into Bayou Teche and resulted in the contamination and pollution of adjacent property, the lawsuits said.
The lawsuits accuse the company of failing to monitor the pumping of crude oil into the storage tank, “resulting in the overflow and eventual spill of crude oil into” Bayou Teche.
The lawsuits allege PSC failed to install an alarm system that would detect the spill of crude oil, which would have avoided the spill, according to the lawsuits. PSC also failed to inspect and monitor the pumping of crude oil at the facility to avoid oil traveling to surrounding areas and groundwater, adequately train personnel assigned to the task at hand, and immediately warn the public in the area to the extent of the contamination, the lawsuits said.
Sheriff’s office deputies responded to the spill in Bayou Teche near the Adeline Bridge. The St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office received a report of a substance in the water at 5:30 p.m. March 28.
Watch-standers with Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Morgan City received a call around 6 p.m. March 28 from PSC Industrial Outsourcing reporting that an unknown amount of crude oil spilled into Bayou Teche, a Coast Guard news release said. The reporting source stated a tank was being filled with crude oil when the incident occurred.
Crude oil entered Bayou Teche and headed east toward Charenton, the Coast Guard release said. Officials deployed roughly 3,000 to 4,000 feet of 18-inch hard boom. Shore-to-shore hard boom with sorbent boom was placed on the east and west boundaries of the affected area.
As a safety precaution March 28, the sheriff’s office advised area residents to shelter in place. The following day, Louisiana State Police Haz Mat evaluated the situation and lifted the shelter in place advisory for residents and reopened La. 87, which had been temporarily shut down.
A unified command composed of the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator’s Office, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and PSC Industrial Outsourcing responded to the spill, EPA Spokesman Joe Hubbard said. Hubbard said the Coast Guard estimated March 29 that 11,550 gallons of oil spilled into Bayou Teche.
The St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office reported April 14 that the portion of Bayou Teche that was closed due to the oil spill had been re-opened with a no-wake zone in effect between the buoys.
Attorney Eugene Ledet Jr. of Brian Caubarreaux & Associates in Alexandria is representing all five plaintiffs in the lawsuits. Ledet said today that he represents 21 different property owners in the case and plans to have a total of 21 lawsuits filed by the end of the week.
The Daily Review called PSC’s office in Houston Monday and left a message for a spokesperson but had not received a call back as of this morning.