Top bar

About POGO's Federal Contractor Misconduct Database (FCMD)

The government awards contracts to companies with histories of misconduct such as contract fraud and environmental, ethics, and labor violations. In the absence of a centralized federal database listing instances of misconduct, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is providing such data. We believe that it will lead to improved contracting decisions and public access to information about how the government spends hundreds of billions of taxpayer money each year on goods and services. Report an instance of misconduct »

ChevronTexaco Corporation

Aguinda v. ChevronTexaco (Amazon Rainforest Pollution)

Date: 05/07/2003 (Date of Filing)

Misconduct Type: Environment

Enforcement Agency: Non-Governmental

Contracting Party: None

Court Type: Civil

Amount: $0

Disposition: Judgment Against Defendant

Synopsis: A class-action lawsuit filed in Ecuador alleges Chevron subsidiary Texaco dumped billions of gallons of toxic wastewater into the Amazon rainforest from 1964 to 1992 while operating oil wells in the area. What has become known as the "Rainforest Chernobyl" is considered one of the world's worst ecological disasters. The suit, filed on behalf of approximately 30,000 rainforest dwellers, alleges the highly carcinogenic toxic waste has caused numerous deaths from cancer, spontaneous miscarriages and genetic malformations, and demands that Chevron pay for the cleanup, estimated to cost at least $6 billion. In February 2011, a judge of the provincial court of justice of Sucumbíos in Lago Agrio found Chevron liable and ordered the company to pay $8.65 billion for remediation and an equal amount in punitive damages. The judge also ordered Chevron to pay $860 million to the Amazon Defense Coalition, the group formed to represent the plaintiffs. The judgment is currently on appeal in U.S. court. See related ChevronTexaco pending instance, "Amazon Rainforest Pollution – Criminal Indictment."