In a staggering revelation, Louisiana Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Thomas Harris admitted under oath that he delegated sweeping governmental power over coastal drilling litigation to a personal injury attorney, all to the financial benefit of political cronies.
The Pelican Institute discovered the news via a public records request of the DNR, which turned over Harris’ April 2023 deposition in the case of Parish of Cameron v. Auster Oil and Gas, Inc., et al. That case is one of 43 lawsuits that were filed against oil and gas companies alleging that their drilling activity in Louisiana nearly a century ago damaged the coast. In the deposition, Harris testified that rather than investigating the allegations made against the oil and gas companies before the state joined the lawsuits, DNR left it to the law firms representing the parishes—who stand to benefit financially from a settlement or trial verdict—to search for regulatory violations instead. Harris’ testimony means that he effectively appointed a private personal injury attorney as the de facto head of a state agency.
