Environmental Groups Sue Suncor for Colorado Refinery Pollution

Environmental groups filed a lawsuit against Suncor Energy on Tuesday, alleging that pollution from the company’s Commerce City refinery in Colorado has resulted in long-lasting harm to surrounding communities.

The lawsuit was filed by Earthjustice on behalf of GreenLatinos, the Sierra Club and 350 Colorado in a federal court in Denver.

The organizations said in a statement they had documented more than 9,000 instances of alleged Clean Air Act violations by Suncor over a five-year period and the refinery had exceeded federal limits of airborne particulate matter and toxic emissions like benzene and formaldehyde.

Calgary-based Suncor said in an email it was aware of the complaint and was reviewing the matter.

Commerce City is Colorado’s only oil refinery and processes about 98,000 barrels per day. The facility has been dogged by problems in recent years including a fire in December 2022 and complaints from residents about air-quality issues.

In February, the state of Colorado fined Suncor $10.5 million for violating air pollution laws between 2019 and 2021.

“Suncor has repeatedly exceeded its air permit limits for years and is sending that pollution into the surrounding neighborhoods,” said Ian Coghill, a senior attorney with Earthjustice.

(Reporting by Williams in British Columbia’ Editing by Marguerita Choy)