Lawsuit: Chevron Owes Billions For Polluting Amazon

A court-appointed expert says Chevron should pay up to $16 billion for allegedly polluting the Ecuadorean Amazon.

A class-action lawsuit by 30,000 jungle settlers and Indians alleges the San Ramon, California-based company failed to clean up billions of gallons of toxic wastewater produced by Texaco Petroleum Co., which Chevron acquired in 2001.

The court in the jungle town of Lago Agrio confirmed the multibillion-dollar damage total to The Associated Press on Wednesday. It was tallied by geological engineer Richard Cabrera, but has yet to be approved by a judge.

Plaintiffs lawyer Pablo Fajardo told the AP that Cabrera recommends Chevron pay at least $8 billion in damages, and possibly another $8 billion representing company savings by operating recklessly.

"This is a significant advance because it gets us closer to the end of the trial," Fajardo said.

Chevron denies the allegations and says Texaco, which ended its Ecuador operations in 1992 after three decades, followed Ecuadorean environmental laws in a $40 million cleanup, which the government approved in 1998.

The oil company has repeatedly complained that Cabrera is not qualified to make the analysis and has questioned his impartiality.

"This trial is a farce," said Ricardo Reis Viega, Chevron's vice president for Latin America.

"We didn't know anything about this," he said of the report. "We found out because the press called."

Comments

[scottyboi84]

08:11 PM on 04/03/2008

This is incredible. With $11 billion profit, they could not spend the money to worry about cleaning up the environment, without which we could not survive. Boy, it's all about the almighty dollar in this country, isn't it? What about decency?! What happened to manners? If you make a mess, you clean it up.

[truthyguy]

12:09 AM on 04/04/2008

It is the Republican "me" generation. I want mine and screw you and everyone and everything else.

But don't worry. As Bush and McCain will tell you: "the marketplace will take care of everything if we just leave it alone to work."

[kfdan]

07:20 PM on 04/03/2008

"A class-action lawsuit by 30,000 jungle settlers and Indians alleges the San Ramon, California-based company failed to clean up billions of gallons of toxic wastewater produced by Texaco Petroleum Co., which Chevron acquired in 2001."

This is just the tip of the iceberg ... or should I say ... oil-berg! The pollution created by drilling, refining and just scaring the land surrounding these oil rigs ... unless it's in the desert ... is horrid. Displacing a local population and creating an environment that is poisonous to the surrounding life ... plant and animal is NOT excusable and requires governments to force oil companies to pay for their greed and clean up the mess. Valdes anyone!

[Bobby]

06:54 PM on 04/03/2008

Let's see. Gas has increased form $1.41 a gallon in 2001 to well over $3.00 a gallon now under Dumbya Bu$h. A guy whose family has made it's fortune on war profiteering and oil. Sort of why we attacked Iraq, huh? It now looks like Exxon, Chevron and the boys will be making a TON of money from the Iraqi oil. Didn't Exxon just report an $11 BILLION dollar profit last quarter? And who used to be on Chevron's board? Condi Rice. War against terror? Yeah right. Terror in the Bu$h administration maybe.

[sparkey]

06:29 PM on 04/03/2008

Now I know why gas went up 15 cents today. The customers have to pay for polluting the Amazon

[cls105]

05:37 PM on 04/03/2008

update your still.. i can't wait till it hits four.It's going down before the presidential elections though.

[marinade]

04:29 PM on 04/03/2008

Reason 32,495 to quit using gas.

[Kyuzo]

02:49 PM on 04/03/2008

$2.12 a gallon...thanks for the blast from the past with that photo!

[lisakaz]

07:56 PM on 04/03/2008

Exactly. Where is that "cheap" gas??? Grrrrrrr.

[lisakaz]

02:41 PM on 04/03/2008

Can't they just rendition these criminal conspirators to The Hague. Waterboarding for oily CEOs!

[joebaggadonuts]

12:46 PM on 04/03/2008

So we can't get the oil companies to pay their fair share of taxes, and we can't get them to pay their debts levied against them by the court systems of the world. What say we nationalize them and elect their CEOs?

[eugenegerard]

11:27 AM on 04/03/2008

The oil companies are real quick to pay judgements. Look how fast Prudhoe Bay was paid.

[imusintheevening]

04:10 PM on 04/03/2008

Just another 20 year employment program for their lawyers.

[fact finder]

07:36 PM on 04/03/2008

eugenegerard; Yup and you and I will end up paying for their foul ups in higher gas prices.

[joebhed]

10:37 AM on 04/03/2008

Let's see.
Exxon - Valdez.
Chevron - Amazon
BP - Iran.
Where do we buy some green gasoline?

[thegreatgiginthesky]

10:42 AM on 04/03/2008

Green gasoline is a myth. Unfortunately the manufacture of gasoline will lead to environmental pollution. We can only hope to reduce the pollution never stop it completely. Short of a new clean energy source that is abundant and cheap is found we are stuck with fossil fuels. Even if a new source were found do you think the corporations listed above will just sit back?

[dtl1218]

02:46 PM on 04/03/2008

Green gasoline, I dunno. But for greener fuels, I use biodiesel from Piedmont Biofuels www.biofuels.coop. Shameless plug I know, but its for a good cause, for all of us.

[ErnestineBass]

10:12 AM on 04/03/2008

Good luck collectin', amigos. (See Exxon Valdez case)