Statement by Rusty Hardin on behalf of Arkema Inc. – April 10, 2019
Harris County prosecutors are doubling down on an unprecedented and outrageous attempt to criminalize a natural disaster. They have filed more charges trying to prosecute a company for the Act of God that was Hurricane Harvey. We can only conclude that with a May trial date looming, prosecutors realize they can’t prove the previous charges and are grasping at straws. This is a political prosecution in search of a theory.
Many citizens, businesses and even Harris County courthouses have still not recovered from the unexpected disaster that Harvey was. Yet the DA’s office persists in trying to place criminal blame on Arkema and its employees despite their remarkable and heroic efforts amid the six feet of water no one predicted.
The Harris County Flood Control District concluded that in the area of Arkema’s Crosby plant, Harvey was a 5,000- to 20,000-year rainfall event. That our county prosecutor persists in desperately seeking a way to criminally blame a company for the ravages of this storm should give us all pause. Arkema stands by its employees and will fight this unwarranted political action.
Rusty Hardin is Partner and Founder, Rusty Hardin & Associates, LLP.
