The 1989 spill of the company’s Exxon Valdez tanker dumped nearly 11 million gallons (42 million liters) of crude oil on Bligh Reef in the Gulf of Alaska’s Prince William Sound, killing thousands of otters and other species.
Advertisement
USA and Alaska state officials announced on Wednesday they will no longer seek an additional $92 million from Exxon Mobil Corp.to pay for environmental cleanup and restoration stemming from the massive Exxon Valdez oil spill almost three decades ago.
A settlement was done in 1991, in which the oil giant was given the order to pay $900 million in civil damages and $125 million in criminal fines and restitution.
Ultimately, money from the original settlement was used for studies on lingering oil and measures to make it non-toxic, the state Department of Law said.
In 2006, near the end of the period in which the clause could be invoked, the governments demanded $92 million from Exxon based on the preliminary cost of implementing a plan to address lingering oil. The 1991 settlement contained a “reopener” provision that allowed the Alaskan and federal governments to ask for another $100 million from Exxon if they learned of environmental problems that developed after the settlement.
“While there may still be value in addressing lingering oil for other reasons, the patches of lingering oil that remain can no longer be considered an impediment to the recovery of sea otters or harlequin ducks or a significant ongoing threat to their now-restored populations in the spill area”, Justice wrote in a court filing.
U.S. Navy Mechanized Landing Craft anchored along the shoreline as Navy and civilian personnel position hoses during the Exxon Valdez oil spill clean-up on Smith Island in Prince William Sound, March 24, 1989.
Advertisement
The filing late Wednesday came ahead of a planned status hearing in the U.S. District Court in Anchorage on Thursday. Scientists will continue to monitor lingering oil sites and will report back to the trustee council to decide whether more restoration work is needed, according to the Justice Department.
