ALLIANCE, La. (AP) — The oil industry has left a big footprint on Louisiana, but its legacy is being questioned like never before with Democrat John Bel Edwards in the governor's mansion.

Turning state politics upside-down, leaders of both parties are taking Big Oil to court, seeking billions in damages for making the coast sink into the sea.

Industry lawyers blame damage on levees built to control the Mississippi River. And one executive calls the lawsuits a hypocritical shakedown, given the industry's $73 billion economic impact.

A Delaware-sized stretch of Louisiana is gone forever, but the politicians hope to save what's left.

 

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