Shell Oil to Pay Mere $1 Million for Puerto Rico Water Pollution
Long time "friend of the environment" Shell Oil has graciously agreed to pay just over a million dollars, plus another quarter million, because they've been compelled to do so, following guilt in the illegal discharge of pollutants into a creek that flows to the Caribbean Sea.
The full terms of the agreement between the federal government and Shell Chemical Yabucoa, Inc. of Puerto Rico has been difficult to attain, but some details have been published in a decree set forth between the U.S. Department of Justice in the Federal District Court for the District of Puerto Rico in conjunction with Shell.
"This agreement marks a solution to a longstanding series of serious violations," US EPA Regional Administrator Alan Steinberg stated from his New York office. "Not only is Shell paying for these violations with its checkbook, [but according to the legally mandated guidelines set forth in the unusually lenient out-of-court settlement agreement] it is taking [meek, modest] steps to avoid future problems."
Shell purchased the facility from Puerto Rico Sun Oil, LLC in 2001. They had an EPA permit to discharge treated storm water, process wastewater and sanitary wastewater under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. It seems those already lax terms were violated, and at no point were the people of Puerto Rico given opportunity to sound off on personal, professional, tourism and other environmental impacts before the deal was ratified.
Apparently the facility was not in compliance with its pollution discharge permit when Shell purchased it, and little if anything has been done to correct the matter since the new company took ownership.
As a side note, the various bioluminescent bays around Puerto Rico, for which this great island is so famous, continue their perilous slide into extinction due to pollution. Maybe it isn't a side note, but that's for the public to decide. Surely it hasn't been pointed out yet in any mainstream news article we could find.
The federal agency said in its complaint that Shell failed to fulfill the agreement to clean up wastewater discharges. By their failure, Shell violated the Clean Water Act and continued to discharge pollutants well in excess of acceptable limits, and failed to report discharge data.
If Shell restarts petrochemical activities at the facility, which they have already stated is "unlikely", the company must install a 1.34 million gallon storage facility for contaminated storm water.
With tens-of-billions in oil profits recorded by the quarter from each of the major oil companies over the past couple years, it's unconscionable that such practices should take place, and yet they do. If you have a problem with these paltry (out-of-court, and therefore unadjudicated) settlements, you should contact your local, regional and federal representatives to demand a greater degree of accountability.
