Forensic Environmental Assessment and Hydrology in Louisiana’s First Oil Field: A 100-Year Recreation of Historical Land Use

Tonja Koob Marking

doi:10.51501/jotnafe.v41i2.830

Authors

Tonja Koob Marking Gaea Consultants LLC https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4493-9517

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51501/jotnafe.v41i2.830

Keywords:

hydrology, drainage, land use, environmental assessment, Louisiana, oil, Environmental assessment, Forensic Engineering

Abstract

Approximately 110 years after the discovery of oil in Louisiana, fourth- and fifth-generation landowners filed a legacy lawsuit to recover damages resulting from alleged environmental contamination of family property from oil exploration, extraction, and storage. As part of the complaint, the descendants claimed that, due to the new technology of the oil industry, their uneducated ancestor could not have had reasonable knowledge and business relationships to fully understand the contracts he signed with oil companies to lease his land for oil exploration. Forensic environmental assessment and hydrology enabled the recreation of the site’s historical land use and its potential for environmental impacts. Forensic analyses utilizing records and sources from disciplines typically not consulted in engineering studies provided essential insight into the origins of drainage alterations and contaminant transport across the site, including family records that demonstrated the plaintiffs’ ancestors had knowledge of (and contributed to) the site’s purported deteriorated conditions.

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