Click the link to read the article on the Commerce City Sentinel Express website (Monte Whaley). Here’s an excerpt:
August 7, 2024
Earthjustice is suing Suncor on behalf of GreenLatinos, the Sierra Club and 350 Colorado
Commerce City has been pummeled so long by toxins spewed by local energy companies — including Suncor Energy — that some residents have almost grown used to the bad water and air that surround them every day, City Councilor Renee M. Chacon said this week. Chacon hopes a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court this week will make Suncor answer for its environmental abuses. The suit asks a federal judge to force the Suncor refinery to comply with the Clean Air Act, mitigate and offset harm done to the public for violating the federal law and assess fines for each violation of the Clean Air Act up to $121,275 per day. The lawsuit lists 28 specific claims against Suncor and claims that “Suncor consistently and continuously violates the air pollution limits imposed by regulations and conditions of its air permits.” Chacon said in a news release that fines may not be a big enough punishment for Suncor.
“Commerce City has been the sacrifice zone for corporations like Suncor for so long, the abuse to my community has been normalized and even expected to happen for Colorado’s economy,” said Chacon, who is also a member of the activist group GreenLatinos. “No more normalizing this level of cumulative pollution for any community, Suncor should be prosecuted for more than just fines, especially in a state that has acknowledged environmental justice should be a human right to access clean air, land, water, and a better quality of life for all.”
The complaint claims that Suncor has repeatedly violated the Clean Air Act by failing to control hazardous emissions from its Commerce City refinery, resulting in long-lasting harm to surrounding communities in north Denver. Earthjustice filed the lawsuit on behalf of GreenLatinos, the Sierra Club, and 350 Colorado. Before filing the lawsuit, Earthjustice and its clients documented over 9,000 instances of Clean Air Act violations, according to the lawsuit. That includes exceeding federal limits of airborne particulate matter, toxic emissions like benzene and formaldehyde, and other dangerous pollutants.