Valero Energy faces air pollution lawsuit
The Texas Attorney General office filed a lawsuit Friday against Valero Energy for ongoing air pollution at its Port Arthur refinery in Texas.
The lawsuit was filed in the Travis County District Court in Austin, Texas on behalf of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The Attorney General's office claims that the Port Arthur refinery has engaged in air emissions violations since 2014, including releases of benzene, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds and hydrogen sulfide.
“For several years, the Refinery has been plagued with continuing problems associated with operator errors and equipment malfunctions resulting in emissions events that emit unauthorized air contaminants into the environment. Since 2014, approximately 38 emissions events occurred at the Refinery—events caused by operator errors or equipment malfunctions.,” the Attorney General's office said in the filing.
The suit alleges that despite enforcement taken by the TCEQ and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency against Valero for past violations, "poor operational, maintenance and design practices continue to cause emissions events and unauthorized emissions of air contaminants from the Refinery into the environment."
According to the Houston Chronicle, Valero Energy spokeswoman Lillian Rojas said the refiner is working to address the concerns.
“Valero is committed to working cooperatively with the TCEQ and Attorney General to resolve the State of Texas’ enforcement concerns, Rojas said. “Valero takes compliance seriously and has made substantial strides in reducing emissions from the Port Arthur Refinery.
Manchester Refinery
Harris County in Texas plans to sue Valero Energy Corp for pollution from its Houston refinery, the head of the county’s environmental law department said.
The suit will be brought under a provision of the U.S. Clean Air Act that allows citizens to sue over pollution, said Rock Owens, managing attorney of the environmental practice group in the Harris County Attorney’s Office.
In recent years, environmental groups like the Sierra Club and Environment Texas have filed citizen lawsuits against refineries and chemical plants, but it is rare for governments to do so, Owens said.
“It’s been extremely unusual in Texas,” he said. “I can’t speak to the rest of the nation.”
The lawsuit, which would be filed in federal court must be preceded by a 60-day notice to Valero, the nation’s second largest refiner, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Owens expects that notice will be issued this summer.
The Valero refinery is bordered on one side by the Manchester neighborhood in east Houston along the Houston Ship Channel. Residents of the largely Hispanic neighborhood have repeatedly blamed pollution from area refineries and chemical plants for health problems.
“This is an area where people have been crying for relief for years,” Owens said.
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