Chevron on Trial

Evidence of Chevron’s “Stunning Hypocrisy” and Misrepresentations Before U.S. Federal Courts

NEW YORK--(August 31, 2010)--A U.S. Federal Court has been presented with two separate audits conducted at Chevron’s request that show “clear and convincing evidence” that the oil giant knowingly dumped billions of gallons of toxic waste directly into the Amazon and subsequently lied to cover it up, according to a legal brief by the 30,000 Ecuadorian rainforest residents suing the company for the illegal dumping.

The two separate audits, commissioned by Chevron’s predecessor company Texaco as it was wrapping up operations in Ecuador from 1990-92, found that the oil contamination “require[d] remediation at all production facilities.” The audits also demonstrate deliberate contamination by Texaco, noting that the company failed to protect surface water quality and intentionally dumped untreated toxic waste directly into the streams and rivers of the jungle.

The findings of the audits – presented for the first time in a U.S. federal court as part of a battle over various discovery requests related to the Ecuador litigation – stand in stark contrast to Chevron´s numerous statements that there is “no evidence that Chevron is responsible for any environmental damage” in Ecuador, made in multiple filings in recent weeks in several different federal courts.

Chevron’s public denials of any responsibility for damage to the region given the extraordinary findings in its audits are “shocking and cynical,” according to Ilann Maazel, an attorney for the Amazon residents. “These audits definitively prove that Chevron is guilty of contaminating Ecuador´s rainforest and that the company is now shamelessly hiding the truth about that undisputed fact to U.S. courts,” he said.

“It is incredible that Chevron lawyers make statements that there is no damage in the region even while their own audits unequivocally state the exact opposite,” said Maazel. “Chevron has consistently and intentionally made such false statements to federal judges in a cynical attempt to hide the extent of the contamination caused by its operations.”

Some of the shocking findings of the audits, which were conducted by two Chevron sub-contractors and paid for by the company, are:

• “All twenty-two production stations are currently, or have at some time, discharged oily produced water to the environment and flared excess gas. The stations have produced a total of approximately 1.4 billion barrels of oil, 250 million cubic feet of gas and 375 million barrels of produced water during the period more...

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This article, by Norman Lear, appeared June 08, 2010 on The Huffington Post