Salt dome ruling stands, parish benefits

St. Landry Assessor Rhyn Duplechain was convinced he was right and, armed with an initial supporting ruling from now-retired Dist. Judge Ellis Daigle of Eunice, stuck to his case.
Last week, the Louisiana Supreme Court essentially said he, and Daigle, were right, in the belief that salt domes used as natural gas storage caverns are an improvement to land, and taxed at 15 percent of assessed value, rather than the 10 percent for unimproved land.
The difference in how the caverns are taxed in eastern St. Landry amounts to about $500,000 a year. Extended across the 14-parish region that has similar caverns, the tax income difference to local governments is even more substantial.
The litigation between Duplechain and Spectra Energy began some time ago, with the company paying the difference under protest into an escrow fund while the suit worked its way through the courts.
Daigle, who retired Jan. 31, did not buy the company’s argument, essentially saying money spent on the caverns by Spectra met the definition of improvements under the law.
The matter eventually went to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal, which upheld Daigle’s interpretation.
Spectra appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court, which last week denied writs, declining to hear the case and letting Daigle’s ruling stand.