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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 »

Royal Dutch Shell PLC

MTBE Products Liability

Date: 08/05/2002 (Date of Settlement)

Misconduct Type: Environment

Enforcement Agency: State/Local

Contracting Party: None

Court Type: Civil

Amount: Unknown

Disposition: Settlement

Synopsis: Thirty-one oil and petroleum refiners and distributors were sued in California state court over the contamination of water wells near Lake Tahoe by the gas additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE). Twenty-five defendants settled with the South Tahoe Public Utility District before trial began in September 2001 for a total of $31 million in cleanup costs. In the ensuing trial, the jury found the remaining companies – Shell Oil Co., Shell Products Co., Equilon Enterprises LLC, Texaco Inc. and Tosco Corp. – liable for selling a defective product, namely gasoline containing MTBE. Those companies eventually settled for over $28 million.