Federal Judge to Make Final Ruling in Record-Setting Environmental Settlement with Formosa Plastics Corp.
MEDIA ADVISORY
Dec 2, 2019
Contact:
Erin Gaines, Attorney, TRLA (512) 374-2739; egaines@trla.org
Amy Johnson. Attorney, TRLA (503) 939-2996; amy@savagejohnson.com
Diane Wilson, Plaintiff (361) 218-2353; wilsonalamobay@aol.com
Nancy Nusser, Communications Director, TRLA, 410 934 9588, nnusser@trla.org
Federal Judge to Make Final Ruling in Record-Setting Environmental Settlement with Formosa Plastics Corp.
On Dec. 3, a federal court judge in Victoria, Texas will rule on the final consent decree in the environmental settlement between Formosa Plastics Corp. and residents of the state’s Point Comfort region. The judge is expected to sign off on the $50 million settlement that Formosa agreed to in October for discharging billions of plastic pellets into the waterways around its Point Comfort facility. The plaintiffs include former shrimper Diane Wilson, represented by attorneys with Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA).
The decision will be the final step in a case that sets precedent:
The $50 million settlement is the largest settlement of a Clean Water Act suit brought by private citizens in the history of the United States. (It is five times the previous largest settlement of a Clean Water Act suit brought by private individuals. (Public Interest Research Group of N.J. v. Witco Chemical Corp., Nos. 89-3146, C-359--83 (D.N.J. Jan. 15, 1993). The largest Clean Air Act suit brought by private individuals awarded $19.95 million. (Environment Texas & Sierra Club v. ExxonMobil, No. CV H-10-4969, 2017 WL 2331679 (S.D. Tex. Apr. 26, 2017)).
At a time when plastic pollution of oceans has reached urgent levels, Formosa agreed to rare “zero discharge,” meaning the company’s Point Comfort facility can no longer discharge any plastics into waterways. This is a standard that citizens all over the United States are trying to reach.
The hearing will take place at 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 3 in the federal courthouse in Victoria, Texas (312 S Main St #406, 77901). For more information or to arrange interviews with Wilson or her attorneys, please contact Nancy Nusser (410)-934-9588; nnusser@trla.org.
The settlement that Formosa reached also requires ongoing cleanup of discharged pellets, monitoring and reporting of future discharged pellets, and fines for those illegal discharges. The decree requires Formosa to hire an engineer to make important changes at the facility to prevent future illegal discharges.
The final consent decree will modified to reflect that funds for the Nurdle Patrol will be paid to the University of Texas Marine Science Institute.
Attached are photos of plaintiffs collecting plastic debris that was used as evidence in the trial.
Bob Lindsey, a plaintiff and member of the San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeepers, catalogues samples of plastic pellets and powders.
From left: Ronnie Hamrick, Bob Lindsey, and David Sumpter, plaintiffs and members of San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper, with kayaks used to collect samples of pellets and plastic powders discharged by Formosa's Point Comfort facility into Lavaca Bay and Cox Creek.
Diane Wilson, former shrimper and plaintiff represented by Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA), collecting plastic pellets from the waterways near the Point Comfort facility.
Established in 1970, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc. (TRLA) is a nonprofit organization that provides free legal services to about 23,000 low-income Texans in southwestern 68 counties. TRLA’s mission is to promote the dignity, self-sufficiency, safety and access to justice for low-income Texans by providing high-quality legal assistance and related educational services.