Pallone Urges Rejection of Inadequate Settlement between Christie Administration and ExxonMobil

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 2, 2015


WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, released his public comment letter to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) urging the rejection of the Christie Administration’s proposed settlement in the State’s lawsuit against ExxonMobil Corporation for the company’s contamination of two oil refineries in New Jersey. Pallone is also encouraging New Jerseyans to submit public comments to NJDEP before the June 5 deadline.

In March, the Christie Administration announced its decision to settle New Jersey’s $8.9 billion environmental damage lawsuit against ExxonMobil for a mere $225 million. The proposed settlement came after an 11-year legal battle to recover damages from ExxonMobil for the contamination of more than 1,800 acres of wetlands, marshes, meadows and waters in northern New Jersey.

“I encourage New Jerseyans who have concerns with the Christie Administration’s proposed settlement with ExxonMobil to join me in submitting a public comment,” said Congressman Pallone. “It is important that we let our voices be heard on the Christie Administration’s misguided decision, which threatens to destroy years of hard work and set an extremely dangerous precedent for future polluters to degrade our state with virtually no consequences.”

Pallone is also concerned that a small percentage of the already insufficient settlement could be used for clean-up and remediation of the environmental damage because only the first $50 million of environmental damage settlements is required to be set aside for such purposes. As Pallone notes in his letter, he is disappointed that Governor Christie recently vetoed legislation in New Jersey to require money from these settlements to go towards clean-up.

In his letter, Congressman Pallone wrote, “I was sent to Congress in 1988 to put a stop to ocean dumping and the reckless industrialization of the Jersey Shore. Ensuring the ecological vitality of New Jersey’s coastline and waterways has always been one of my top priorities. This insufficient settlement is an affront to the long term objective of cleaning up New Jersey’s legacy of toxic contamination.”


The full text of Congressman Pallone’s letter is HERE.