Valero refinery faces air pollution lawsuit
A trio of environmental and citizens groups said Wednesday they plan to file a federal lawsuit against Valero Energy and seek penalties against the San Antonio refiner for violations of the federal Clean Air Act at its Port Arthur refinery.
The groups, Environment Texas of Austin, Port Arthur Community Action Network and the national advocacy group Sierra Club, said they notified Valero and its subsidiary Premcor Refining Group, of the pending suit, the first step in pursuing an action under the Clean Air Act. The law allows citizens to file suits seeking enforcement of Clean Air provisions, but they must first provide the companies 60-days notice.
The groups said they would file the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Beaumont after the 60-day period has lapsed. Valero did not re
spond to requests for comment.
Since 2008, the Sierra Club and Environment Texas have filed four citizen suits over air emission. That includes a successful lawsuit against Exxon Mobil’s Baytown refinery that eventually led a federal judge to issue a $20 million penalty against the company in April 2017. Exxon Mobil is appealing that ruling.
In a separate enforcement action, Exxon Mobil also reached a settlement with EPA to pay $2.5 million in penalties over air pollution at Texas and Louisiana plants and agreed to invest $300 million in upgrading its Gulf Coast plants. Environment Texas and Sierra Club have also reached settlement agreements in similar lawsuits against Shell’s Deer Park refinery and Chevron Phillips Cedar Bayou chemical plant in Baytown.
The environmental groups said that compliance records filed by Valero with the state show the Port Arthur facility has released 1.8 million pounds of pollutants from 600 air emissions violations over five years. Luke Metzger, executive director of Environment Texas, said the groups could seek $60 million in penalties or more against Valero.
“Valero’s Port Arthur Refinery has a poor compliance record even when compared to other Texas oil refineries,” Metzger said.
Valero has released over 850,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide without authorization over the past five years, according the environmental groups’ analysis of state records. Exposure to sulfur dioxide can cause respiratory illness and worsen the effects of asthma and chronic pulmonary disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
In 2017, a tank fire at the Port Arthur refinery caused the release roughly 287,000 pounds of particulate matter, which is linked by health studies to a range of cardiovascular problems, including heart attacks, strokes and congestive heart failure.
The 2017 tank fire also resulted in the release of more than 52,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide and about 25,000 pounds of volatile organic compounds, according to state records, along with other air pollutants. The incident led to investigation by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which referred the case to the attorney general’s office in June 2018.