FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ENRD

THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2007 (202) 514-2007

WWW.USDOJ.GOV TDD (202) 514-1888

Major Chemical Manufacturer will

Spend $125 Million to Reduce Pollution
WASHINGTON – Equistar Chemicals LP, headquartered in Houston, Texas, will
spend more than $125 million on pollution controls and cleanup to address a myriad
of air, water and hazardous waste violations at seven petrochemical plants in Texas,
Illinois, Iowa and Louisiana, the Justice Department and the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) announced today.

The consent decree, lodged in federal district court in Illinois, requires Equistar to
invest in comprehensive control and operational measures expected to significantly
reduce air, water and hazardous waste pollution from the seven manufacturing
facilities. The states of Iowa, Illinois and Louisiana have all joined the federal
government in today’s settlement.

“Today’s settlement provides Equistar with the opportunity both to address past
failures and to be pro-active in making company-wide changes to reduce the
likelihood of future violations at these plants,” said Ronald J. Tenpas, Acting
Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural
Resources Division. “Equistar’s decision to work cooperatively with the Department
of Justice, EPA, and the state plaintiffs benefits everyone – dollars that would
otherwise be spent on litigation can now be used for environmental improvements.”

“Equistar will be the first in the petrochemical industry to adopt these stricter
environmental measures, many of which will go beyond what the regulations would
require,” said Granta Nakayama, EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Enforcement
and Compliance Assurance. “Through these investments in environmental
compliance, Equistar has a chance to turn its performance record around, and
ultimately become a leader in the industry by running a cleaner, less polluting
facility.”

The plants which are subject to today’s settlement are Equistar’s facilities in Morris,
Ill.; Clinton, Iowa; Lake Charles, La. (currently inactive); Channelview, Texas;
Chocolate Bayou, Texas; Corpus Christi, Texas; and La Porte, Texas.

The case was initiated as a result of inspections conducted by the EPA’s National
Enforcement Investigations Center (NEIC) at Equistar’s Channelview, Texas, and
Morris, Ill., facilities. During the inspections, the EPA identified extensive Clean
Air Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and Clean Water Act violations.

The inspectors also found that Equistar had violated laws requiring the company to
immediately report spills and releases of hazardous substances to federal and state
immediately report spills and releases of hazardous substances to federal and state
emergency response centers. Once Equistar was notified of the violations, the
company agreed to address potential compliance issues at all seven of its
petrochemical plants.

Equistar has already initiated action to correct the regulatory violations identified
and will continue to implement enhancements to its air, water and hazardous waste
programs to address widespread deficiencies. Under the first 18 months of the
settlement, Equistar is required to conduct a number of separate environmental
audits of its operations to identify any additional problems, report its findings and
proposed corrective measures back to the EPA and state regulators, and fix the
problems.

In addition, Equistar has agreed to monitor and fix leaks of volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) and hazardous air pollutants, such as benzene, from process
units; to change out equipment that uses ozone-depleting substances; and to reduce
flaring of VOCs. Equistar will also pay stipulated penalties under the consent decree
for flaring based on the amount of pollution released to the atmosphere. At its
Channelview facility in Texas, Equistar will install a wastewater treatment system
that will reduce harmful air emissions by at least 26 tons per year. In addition, the
company will eliminate the improper land disposal of an estimated 150,000 tons of
D018 benzene-contaminated hazardous waste per year.

In addition to the pollution controls, Equistar will pay a civil penalty of $2.5 million
(to be divided among the federal government and participating states), and spend
$6.56 million on federal and state supplemental environmental projects. The projects
include a system to capture hazardous air emissions from process vents at the
Channelview, Texas, facility, and state projects that include: (1) the purchase of
emergency response equipment and newer, cleaner school buses; (2) funding for the
Mississippi River Tourism Center; and (3) hazardous waste cleanup activities in the
wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

According to the EPA, VOCs can contribute to respiratory disorders such as asthma
and reduced lung capacity. They can also cause damage to ecosystems and reduce
visibility.

The consent decree is subject to a 30-day comment period and final approval by the
court. A copy of the consent decree is available on the Justice Department Web site
at http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.

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