EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — One El Paso City Representative fears that after several toxic incidents, as well as Friday’s sinkhole, the Marathon refinery is hiding something “really, really bad.”
On Friday, KFOX14/CBS4 spoke with City Rep Josh Acevedo, who represents parts of Central El Paso, who is demanding answers after another incident was reported Thursday and a sinkhole opened up near the refinery on Trowbridge Drive, prompting a street closure and crews to “monitor the air.”
Acevedo said that he has received little to no information from Marathon about what has transpired in the last 48 hours.
“This is Marathon’s continued lack of information, lack of transparency, lack of accountability to our community, to my constituents, and to all of Paso at this point,” Acevedo said.
El Paso City Rep. Josh Acevedo. Credit: KFOX14/CBS4
From what Acevedo can piece together, he said that at about 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, “a lot of smoke was coming out,” and right after, he received messages that leadership at Marathon needed to “handle some operations,” canceling their planned meeting.
RELATED: Marathon meeting canceled after another reported refinery incident, El Paso rep says
Video was shared on the popular social media account @therealfitfamelpaso that appears to show that “smokey” incident.
“Smokey” incident shared on social media. Aug. 27, 2026. Credit: FitFam
KFOX14/CBS4 reached out to Marathon to learn more about this incident, but as of the time of this publication, the refinery did not reply.
However, when KFOX14/CBS4 reached out to Marathon regarding the sinkhole, the refinery released the following statement:
Trained teams are working to repair and cover a sinkhole on Trowbridge Drive near the refinery. There have been no injuries. El Paso Police and Fire have closed Trowbridge Drive while crews work to resolve the situation. As a precaution, air monitoring has been deployed, and there was no indication of off-site impact. Our priority is the safety of our employees and contractors, first responders, and the community, as well as minimizing environmental impact.
Acevedo said people who live in the area feel frustrated.
“These people are really, really angry and they’re really concerned about what is happening,” Acevedo said. “They feel that there is no accountability and that Marathon refuses to face them.”
Acevedo also said he believes the situation at the refinery is serious and that the lack of information is worsening public distrust.
“The longer that they stay quiet, the worse that this gets,” he said. “And I think I believe that what is happening at the refinery is really, really bad and they are hiding it.”
Acevedo also wants people to share their experiences with the City Council, noting that people can sign up for public comment during the meetings.
RELATED: Residents press congresswoman for answers after Marathon pollution release
This recent event follows a significant pollution release on August 4 and 5, which was later updated to show that more than 15 tons of pollutants were released into the air.
The release included approximately 10,000 pounds of propylene, 3,800 pounds of carbon monoxide, and over 1,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide.
Residents and officials, including U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, have expressed frustration over the impact on the community and the level of transparency provided by the company.
Escobar issued a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency to investigate the incident but the federal agency declined her request, saying oversight of the incident falls to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
“We got a response from the EPA yesterday and they totally rejected our call for an investigation. They told us this is a TCEQ issue,” Escobar said. “[it is] in the hands of the TCEQ.”
RELATED: Update: El Paso Marathon refinery incident released 15.4 tons of pollutants
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