County leaders agree to sue Arkema plant

Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday authorized the county attorney to file a lawsuit against Arkema over its struggles to manage stores of hazardous chemicals during Hurricane Harvey.

The county’s Pollution Control Services Department found serious violations of the Texas Clean Air Act by Arkema, County attorney Vince Ryan said in a statement. The county will try to recover the costs from responding to the crisis at the company’s Crosby plant.

The commissioners made the decision to approve the suit as part of its agenda wide unanimous vote.

“We’ve shown if you’re a bad actor, we’ll hold you accountable,” said Precinct 2 Commissioner Jack Morman.

Arkema’s Crosby facility is in Morman’s precinct.

The county attorney’s office said it is preparing the suit which could be filed as soon as Friday.

Arkema lost control of its Crosby facility after floodwaters cut the power and wiped out its back up generators.

The company has repeatedly said that the flooding was an unprecedented event. In a Sept. 11 post on Arkema’s web site, the company stated it, “cooperated completely with all first responders and numerous regulatory agencies … to keep the public safe.” The company did not have an immediate comment about the pending Harris County suit.