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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

MTBE Cleanup Costs (Santa Monica, CA)

Date: 02/16/2005 (Date of Settlement)

Misconduct Type: Environment

Enforcement Agency: EPA

Contracting Party: None

Court Type: Civil

Amount: Unknown

Disposition: Settlement

Synopsis: “Under the terms of a settlement filed…in federal court, several oil companies [including Chevron, Shell and Exxon] will pay $1.5 million to the Environmental Protection Agency for costs it incurred while directing the investigation and cleanup of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), a gasoline additive, from a groundwater basin formerly used for drinking water by the City of Santa Monica, California... The agreement between the EPA and the oil companies follows eight years of investigation and cleanup under the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and California’s Porter Cologne Act. The MTBE contamination in the vicinity of Santa Monica’s drinking water wells came from at least 25 possible sources, most of which were gas stations in the Charnock Sub-Basin.” Including past costs, the oil companies are expected to spend more than $200 million to address the cleanup.