Mexican authorities raid Celanese chemical plant in environmental dispute
5/8/2015 12:00:00 AM
Criminal investigators under Mexico's Attorney General (Procuradaria General de la Republica -- PGR) raided the chemical plant of Grupo Celanese in Poncitlan, Jalisco, Mexico on Friday morning, according to two law firms working on the case.
Acting on a search warrant ordered by a Mexican federal district judge, they are investigating alleged violations of Mexican environmental law. The alleged violations include contaminating the Santiago River and soil with mercury and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK).
The law firms of Del Toro Carazo Abogados and Ramos & Hermosillo Abogados are working closely with the Mexican Attorney General's office on the investigation.
The raid followed a preliminary investigation by the PGR, which involved taking samples from the river and adjacent soil. In a report dated April 1, 2015, PGR investigators allegedly determined that Grupo Celanese leaked mercury into the river in concentrations higher than the allowed maximum of .01 mg of mercury per liter of water. The surrounding soil was also found to be contaminated with mercury and methyl ethyl ketone in higher than allowed levels.
The Santiago River is approximately 200 yards from the Celanese plant. Poncitlan, a town of about 45,000 people, is around 50 miles from Guadalajara, and across the river some 250 yards away.
Celanese built the plant in 1947 and recently completed a 10-inch diameter natural gas pipeline as part of a $55-million investment to expand capacity. Reportedly, this expansion caused it to be reclassified as a "high risk" facility from being a "medium risk" facility before, which resulted in land-use and environmental disputes with the town, according to the law firms.
Celanese appealed to Mexico's Supreme Court to overrule municipal planning officials, the law firms said. The risk reclassification implied additional buffer zones around the plant. The Supreme Court rejected the Celanese appeal.
Nonetheless, Celanese reportedly proceeded to increase factory production without the appropriate authorizations, the law firms allege.
Celanese responded to the allegations with a statement of its own on Friday:
"The allegations referenced in this news release are baseless and without a foundation of fact or scientific data. The Celanese facility in Ocotlan, Mexico, operates according to the regulatory requirements of Mexican environmental law, and Celanese has a long history of working cooperatively with regulatory authorities to ensure it is in compliance with all environmental requirements. The plant is currently under no citation for an environmental regulatory violation. Additionally, Celanese did receive the necessary authorization for recent plant expansion and related activities."
"Celanese operates all of its global manufacturing facilities in a manner consistent with -- and in compliance with -- local, regional and federal safety, environmental and regulatory laws."
Celanese officials said the Ocotlan plant continues to operate normally and without interruption despite the search warrant executed by the PGR. The Ocotlan plant produces acetate tow (an air-filtration medium).
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