"But the lawsuit, filed Friday by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office, could shield the petrochemical giant from harsher litigation from a local citizen group."
"The Texas Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit Friday afternoon against Dow Chemical Co., North America’s largest chemical manufacturer, describing hundreds of water pollution violations from its industrial complex on the rural Gulf Coast in Seadrift.
While the state’s 46-page lawsuit followed a 60-day notice of intent to sue filed in December by a local environmental activist, the lawsuit could actually shield Dow and two other companies by superseding litigation by the citizen group seeking tougher cleanup provisions under the Clean Water Act.
The state’s lawsuit said Dow, its subsidiary Union Carbide and the Brazilian petrochemical manufacturer Braskem “have been in habitual non-compliance” with pollution permits at their chemical manufacturing complex in Seadrift, 80 miles northeast of Corpus Christi.
The companies “have violated, and continue to violate, the Texas Water Code, the Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act, and regulations and permits” since at least 2020 through hundreds of described violations including unauthorized discharge of waste, unauthorized disposal of industrial solid waste and failure to report violations, the lawsuit says."
Dylan Baddour reports for Inside Climate News February 17, 2026.
