July 30, 2007
Chevron Names Highly Respected Independent Observer to Help Ensure Integrity of Judicial Examination
Action Necessary Given "Multiple Irregularities Systematically Committed by Expert"
Nueva Loja, Ecuador, July 30, 2007 - Chevron Corp. has informed the Superior Court in Nueva Loja that it has appointed Rafael B. Marquez, a former U.S. environmental commissioner, to serve as an independent international observer and to provide independent oversight to ensure that the expert determination process related to an ongoing environmental lawsuit in Ecuador adheres to scientific and ethical standards.
The appointment of Mr. Marquez as an independent international observer is in response to the illegal and unethical conduct of Richard Stalin Cabrera, the expert appointed by the Court to oversee the second evidentiary phase of the case.
Mr. Marquez, a former member of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, has been recognized for his accomplishments in environmental quality and protection.
In its petition, Chevron asserts that it was necessary to appoint the n independent observer with sufficient background and qualifications to evaluate Cabrera's work, "in light of the multiple and systematic irregularities committed by Richard Stalin Cabrera during his 'expert examination'." The petition also cites that, to this date, no attention has been given by the Court to the legal petitions Chevron has filed in this matter with regards to Cabrera's work.
"Mr. Marquez brings a wealth of experience in providing technical oversight to environmental matters, said Ricardo Reis Veiga, vice president and general counsel of Latin America Products for Chevron. Hopefully, it will force the Court to make Cabrera accountable for his actions. If not, it will help guarantee that the world will know the truth about the integrity of this rapidly deteriorating process. Mr. Marquez is the first of several independent international observers that Chevron will bring to verify the various irregularities committed in a process that has become a judicial farce,"
Court-Appointed Expert's Lack of Qualifications, Technical Incompetence, and Bias
A mining engineer by trade, Cabrera has no experience in the evaluation of hydrocarbon impact. As the Court-appointed expert, he has made numerous mistakes and lapses in basis scientific protocols, to the point which all of the evidence he collects must be considered fatally corrupted.
In a July 2, 2007 petition to the Court, Chevron sought Cabrera's dismissal, citing his complete lack of integrity and bias shown towards plaintiffs. Cabrera's bias existed well before he began his task. In his work plan submitted to the court, he blamed Chevron's subsidiary, Texaco Petroleum Company, for all of the environmental damages in the concession area with no mention of the fact that Petroecuador has been the sole owner since 1992 and operator of the oil fields for the past 17 years.
More recently, Cabrera displayed his utter complicity with Plaintiffs' interests by echoing their calls for Petroecuador to halt its remediation obligations in the former concession that have been unfulfilled since 1998.
Marquez a Well-Qualified Expert
Mr. Marquez brings to his role a strong technical background, having served as an outside expert on a number of issues like the one currently before the Court, and has been appointed to a number of U.S. governmental agencies dedicated to environmental control. Mr. Marquez was appointed to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) in 1995, and upon his retirement in 2006 was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for his "long history of leadership on clean air issues" and for helping to make "Texas…a leader in the quantification of emissions reductions from energy efficiency and renewable energy."
Throughout his 11 year tenure at the TCEQ, Mr. Marquez was actively involved in the successful development of the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan, encouraging innovative, cooperative solutions for improving air quality. In addition, Mr. Marquez has served on a number of governmental commissions regarding air quality improvement, including the EPA's Federal Clean Air Act Advisory Committee, the governmental Joint Public Advisory Committee to the United States' Commission for Environmental Cooperation, and as chair of the Environmental Council of States Regulatory Reinvention Work Group. Mr. Marquez was also a board member of the Gulf Coast Water Authority, the State Waste Reduction Advisory Committee, and chairman of the City of Texas City Environmental Advisory Board.
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