Texas sues Shell over Houston-area chemical fire in May

DEER PARK, Texas — Texas has filed a civil lawsuit against the oil giant Shell, claiming the chemical fire that burned for close to three days at its facility near Houston in May caused environmental damage from airborne contaminants and waste that flowed into nearby waterways.

The lawsuit, which seeks $1 million in damages from the oil company and a neighboring facility jointly owned by Shell and Mexico’s national oil company, was filed last week in Travis County by the Texas attorney general’s office, which typically handles major industrial accident lawsuits, on behalf of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. It alleges that Shell violated state environmental laws protecting the air and water from pollution.