Tell Shell to Clean Up Its Act in DeerPark

If you live in Texas, like I do and my family does, then you should take action against Shell Oil for what it has done to air quality in Deer Park and the surrounding Houston Ship Channel area.

Sierra Club and Environment Texas filed a lawsuit today in federal district court against Shell Oil Company and several affiliates. The lawsuit is the first case in Texas in which citizen groups are suing to stop illegal air emissions.

Read about the issue here:

Environmental Groups Sue Shell Oil for Clean Air Act Violations at Deer Park Refinery and Chemical Plant - Environment Texas

. . . 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.

Or, just take action by adding your name to a letter to John Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil.

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 had a good friend who lived in Deer Park and LaPorte. I would go down there to visit her and could not believe she could live there with her kids. There is an oily chemical smell and taste to the air around the refineries that cannot be healthy.

While oil companies are reporting records profits, they should use some of that money to clean up the soil, water and air around their refineries. When there is no more oil to be refined, the sites will be abandoned by the oil companies and will become Brownfields or Superfund sites that will take tax dollars to clean up.

Tags: shell oil, deer park refinery, sierra club, environment texas, lawsuit