The lake and Calcasieu estuary has been embroiled in controversy since the 1994 Condea Vista ethylene dichloride pipeline spill.

The spill, according to the web site Axiom Amnesia was estimated between 19 and 47 million pounds and is considered "one of the largest in U.S.

[2] The affected part of the estuary includes (but is not limited to) the Calcasieu River from northern Moss Lake up to the salt water barrier, that is north of both the existing bridge and any realigned new bridge in Lake Charles.

[3] The spill has brought about lawsuits from individuals plaintiffs (500 of them), with some settlements accepted amounting to $50 million, stories of corporate espionage,[4] and a lawsuit between ConocoPhillips and Sasol North America, the Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Attorney with federal trustee's being the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Department of the Interior (DOI), the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) that amounts to almost $15 million.

Any future inside corridor construction, especially concerning any new bridge, will be delayed until after that date.