CITGO Petroleum reaches agreement with Louisiana
CITGO Petroleum Corp. has entered an agreement with the State of Louisiana and other companies to conduct a portion of environmental remediation measures in the Bayou d'Inde, an estuary of the Calcasieu River.
The agreement comes as a result of cooperation with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) and other companies since EPA initiated a broad investigation of conditions in the area of the Calcasieu River Estuary in 1998.
Bayou d'Inde was one area identified for further investigation. CITGO, along with other companies, cooperated in a further investigation that identified specific areas of Bayou d'Inde that need corrective action to make the environment safer from potential exposure. That investigation was completed in 2009.
CITGO has agreed with the LDEQ to remediate the assigned areas, which include an area upstream of the Old Highway 108 bridge and a small portion of the fringe marshes below the Highway 108 bridge. The remainder of the cleanup will be handled by, and be the responsibility of, other parties.
According to a CITGO spokesperson: “We recognize that safety, the health of our employees and environmental stewardship are every employee's responsibility. Our cooperation with the LDEQ and other companies operating in the area of Bayou d'Inde is part of our ongoing commitment to these core values and the communities where we operate.”
CITGO, based in Houston, is a refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. The company is owned by PDV America Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., the national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
