TOSCO (FORMERLY UNOCAL)

(Closed)

In Communities for a Better Environment, et al. v. Union Oil Company (Unocal) and Tosco Oil Company (formerly Exxon Oil Company), a number of Bay Area environmental organizations and private citizens challenged Unocal's and Exxon's discharge of excessive amounts of selenium into the San Francisco Bay in violation of the oil companies' pollutant discharge permit limits.  As a result of settlements reached in the two cases, the oil companies agreed to comply with their selenium discharge permit limits and to contribute millions of dollars to local foundations to fund projects dedicated to the health of the San Francisco Bay and its ecosystem.