Formosa Plastics to pay $50M in settlement
Petrochemical plant agrees to amount in pollution lawsuit
A petrochemical plant agreed to pay $50 million to settle a lawsuit over releasing with plastic pellets into Lavaca Bay, located about 120 miles southwest of Houston
Formosa Plastics Corp., San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper and Calhoun County resident Diane Wilson reached the settlement on Tuesday, according to a U.S. District Court filing in Victoria.
Company officials reported that the $50 million would go to the newly formed Matagorda Bay Mitigation Trust to promote environmental sustainability in the region. Some of those projects include working with the Matagorda Bay Fishing Cooperative to restore marine ecosystems, environmental restoration work at Green Lake Park in Calhoun County, YMCA youth camps, beach restoration and funding the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve’s Nurdle Patrol to find and remove plastic pellets known as nurdles along area waterways.
“The conditions agreed to in this settlement demonstrate Formosa’s commitment to manufacturing our products in a safe and environmentally friendly manner,” Formosa Plastics Corp. USA Executive Vice President Ken Mounger said in a statement. “We will continue to partner with local communities and stakeholders to ensure that FPC USA environmental programs are at the top of our industry.”
In a statement, Wilson called the settlement a victory for the environment.
“The years of fighting to protect the natural resources of the Lavaca Bay-Cox Creek area have finally paid off,” Wilson said. “It’s a huge victory for the environment — and for the people who love and depend upon it. We look forward to working with Formosa to restore the health of our environment and make sure it stays pristine.”
Texas RioGrande Legal Aid sued Formosa in July 2017 on behalf of Wilson and her group, the San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper. The suit alleged Formosa had polluted waterways near its Point Comfort plant for nearly three decades. Wilson, a Calhoun County native and former shrimper, had fought Formosa since the early 1990s.
Employing more than 1,900 employees and 795 contractors, the Point Comfort plant produces resins for plastics such as high density polyethylene, low density polyethylene, polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride.
“A settlement of this size sends a powerful message to corporate polluters — there’s a steep price to pay for flagrant, chronic violations of laws that protect our environment,” Texas RioGrande Legal Aid attorney Erin Gaines said in a statement. “And with plastics pollution of our oceans at a crisis, the message comes at a vital time.”