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sites in the former concession area. 689 In 1998, the Government of Ecuador certified
TexPet’s adequate performance of its remedial obligations and finally “release[d],
absolve[d] and discharge[d] TexPet” and its parent companies from “any liability and
claims.” 690 (Even one of plaintiffs’ own consultants acknowledged internally that he “did
not find any clear instances where Texpet did not meet the conditions required in the
cleanup.” 691 ) The release left Petroecuador and the Government solely responsible for
environmental conditions in the former concession area. This corresponded with its
exclusive control over the area after the Consortium ended in 1992.
5.2.3 The Government of Ecuador and the Local Governments Acted on Behalf
of Their Citizens
In settling any potential claims for environmental remediation arising out of the
Consortium’s operations, the local governments and the State were acting on behalf of
their respective citizenries, including the plaintiffs in this action. According to a well
settled principle of Ecuadorian legislation that arises from Art. 12 of the Civil Code, laws
that regulate specific matters prevail with regard to those matters over the general
legislation. At the time when the settlement agreements were signed, the State was
exclusively responsible for regulation of the environment and was tasked with
redressing any “violation of the respective regulations and technical provisions” of the
Law on Prevention and Control of Environmental Contamination. 692
The various settlement agreements between TexPet and the municipal
governments contained specific provisions expressly intended to benefit the populations
of the former concession area. 693 Thus, TexPet provided equipment (including an
airplane) and money for medical clinics, education centers, and other social services. 694
689 See Final Release, dated Sept. 30, 1998, filed May 4, 2004 at 10:02 a.m., Record at 7294-99v,
7298v; Remediation Contract dated May 4, 1995, filed July 15, 2004 at 9:10 a.m., Record at 7855-82v,
7857.
690 Final Release dated Sept. 30, 1998, filed May 4, 2004 at 10:02 a.m., Record at 7294-99v,
7298v.
691 E-mail from Douglas Beltman to Pablo Fajardo and Steven Donziger, dated August 1, 2008 at
4:27 p.m., filed as Annex 10 to Chevron's Motion filed October 29, 2010 at 5:20 p.m. (STRATUS-
NATIVE063668).
692 Article 6 of the Hydrocarbons Law gives the Ministry for Industry responsibility for
environmental issues relating to the oil industry. This role was reaffirmed in Article 5 of Executive Order
2982 of August 24, 1995, which provided that “[t]he Office of Undersecretary of the Environment (SMA) of
the Ministry of Energy and Mines, through the National Environmental Office” will “monitor, evaluate and
approve Environmental Studies throughout the Ecuadorian Territory” and will “verify compliance with
these Regulations and, in the event of noncompliance, it will require the persons responsible to restore
the affected areas and to provide the pertinent compensation to the affected population.”
693 See, e.g., Airplane Sales Contract Between TexPet and Indigenous Groups dated Dec. 9,
1996, filed June 28, 2004 at 4:35 p.m., Record at 7759-62v, 7759v-61; Lago Agrio Municipal Settlement &
Release dated May 2, 1996, filed May 4, 2004 at 10:04 a.m., Record at 7300-40v.
694 See, e.g., Acta of Receipt of Equipment from TexPet, Mar. 30, 1998, Record at 7725-29,
7727-28; Release of TexPet upon Receipt of Payment dated June 24, 1998, filed May 25, 2004 at 2:30
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