Gabby Brown, gabby.brown@sierraclub.org
Houston, TX -- The Sierra Club and Environmental Integrity Project have announced their intention to file a civil lawsuit challenging Clean Air Act violations from the James Lake Gas Plant in Ector County, Texas.
The plant, located about 10 miles northwest of Odessa, processes gas by stripping out the dangerous acid gas hydrogen sulfide. Over the last five years, the plant has routinely reported illegal levels of sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide releases due to excessive acid gas flaring. Sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide are especially dangerous for people with asthma and other respiratory conditions.
In a letter sent on Friday to the plants’ owners, James Lake Midstream, LLC and Canyon Midstream Partners, LLC, the groups gave notice of their intent to file a lawsuit in a United States District Court that would ask the court to require the company to stop its dangerous and unlawful emissions, pay fines required by the Clean Air Act, and to conduct other beneficial environmental projects in the areas affected by James Lake’s pollution.
“It is unacceptable that the operators of this plant have ignored the law and forced Texans to breathe polluted air, threatening their health and safety,” said Neil Carman, Clean Air Program Director for the Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter. “They must stop this dangerous and negligent behavior.”
Ilan Levin, Environmental Integrity Project attorney, said, “Permian Basin residents shouldn’t have to breathe dirty air because oil and gas companies aren’t following the law. Public health and safety should not take a back seat to oil and gas development.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.