Environmental Groups Sue Chevron Phillips Over Texas Plant
20 August 2009 - 6:19AM
Dow Jones News
Environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against
Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC alleging that its Cedar Bayou
chemical plant near Houston has repeatedly violated the Clean Air
Act.
The Sierra Club and Environment Texas claimed the Baytown,
Texas, plant has released more than a million pounds of excess air
pollutants since 2003.
The plant is the company's largest domestic manufacturing
facility, where olefins and other chemicals are produced. Chevron
Phillips is jointly owned by Chevron Corp. (CXV) and ConocoPhillips
(COP).
The two sides plan to meet to discuss a settlement, said Philip
Hilder, one of the attorneys representing the environmentalists.
However, there is no guarantee that an agreement will be reached,
Hilder said.
Chevron Phillips is committed to lowering pollution at the plant
and has reduced the amount of emissions it has made since 2001,
said company spokesman Brian Cain.
In April, the same environmental groups filed a similar lawsuit
against a Houston-area refinery partly owned by Shell Oil Company,
the U.S. subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA). Shell agreed to
pay $5.8 million, which was distributed to local community
groups.
-By Susan Daker, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9208;
susan.daker@dowjones.com