Settlement Proposed to Restore Natural Resources from an Oil Spill in Offshore Louisiana

JAN. 10, 2022 — On Dec. 20, 2021, a settlement was proposed in Federal District Court to resolve claims related to the Taylor Energy Platform oil spill at Mississippi Canyon 20 (“MC-20”). $16.5 million of this settlement is to restore natural resources injured by the spill.

Graphics depicting an underwater oil platform.
Illustrations of how the Taylor MC20 Platform in the Gulf of Mexico appeared before and after damage from Hurricane Ivan in 2004. The third panel shows the containment system installed to capture oil from persistent leaks. (September 2019 - Gulf of Mexico credit: NOAA/Kate Sweeney)

The spill began in 2004, when the Taylor Energy production platform located in the Gulf of Mexico about 10 miles off the coast of Louisiana collapsed during Hurricane Ivan, resulting in an ongoing oil discharge that continues to today.  

“This settlement represents an important down payment to address impacts from the longest-running oil spill in U.S. history" said Nicole LeBoeuf, director of NOAA's National Ocean Service in a DOJ press release. "Millions of Americans along the Gulf Coast depend on healthy coastal ecosystems. NOAA and our co-Trustees look forward to working in partnership with the National Pollution Funds Center to ensure the region and the ecosystem can recover from this ongoing tragedy.”

If approved, $16.5 million of this proposed settlement will go towards projects that restore the natural resources impacted by the Taylor Energy oil spill. 

The proposed consent decree is available for public comment on the Department of Justice website. For more information, contact Kevin.Kirsch@noaa.gov.

Last updated Tuesday, November 8, 2022 1:42pm PST