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Sierra Club Lawsuits

Protecting Texas Citizens from Dangerous Clean Air Act Violations

Case Updates:

January 7, 2008

 On January 7, 2008 the Sierra Club and Environment Texas took legal action in federal district court against Shell Oil Company and several affiliates.  The lawsuit – the first case in Texas in which citizen groups are suing to stop illegal air emissions arising from so-called “upset” events – claims that Shell has repeatedly violated the Clean Air Act at its Deer Park, Texas, oil refinery and chemical plant, resulting in the release of millions of pounds of excess air pollutants over the past five years, including toxic chemicals such as benzene and 1,3-butadiene.

Shell’s Deer Park facility is a 1,500-acre complex located on the Houston Ship Channel in Harris County, about 20 miles east of downtown Houston.  It is the nation’s eighth-largest oil refinery and one of the world’s largest producers of petrochemicals.  The facility is also the second largest source of air pollution in Harris County, which ranks among the worst in the nation in several measures of air quality.

 “I live and work downwind from Shell, in Channelview.  My family and my employees simply can’t afford to breathe in any more air pollution,” said Sierra Club member and small business owner Karla Land.  “We have laws to protect air quality for a reason.  Shell is breaking those laws and they need to be made to stop.”

Details and Documents:

News Articles:

Shell Sued for Emissions from Refinery
January 7, 2008, by Juan A. Lozano, Business Week

Sierra Club Sues Shell Over Refinery Pollution
January 7, 2008, by Erwin Seba, Reuters