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.

Contamination Was Covered Up From Taxpayers

PRESS RELEASE

The fact that the Republican-controlled Middletown Committee covered up contamination beneath Town Hall and the Middletown Cultural Center, respectively, is not in dispute.

Beneath the Town Hall engineers say there is a vein of diesel oil that continues to migrate, Grenafege said. He noted that the Middletown Committee is trying to tell residents that oil moves up hill from an old Exxon station and not down hill from Town Hall. “That’s nonsense,” Grenafege said.

Walsh said there is also contamination at the Middletown Cultural Arts Center, formerly known as the Banfield Building, which existed prior to ownership or construction. “And yet nothing was done to inform the residents or remediate the problem. How much is this mistake going to cost our taxpayers?” she said.

The candidates said the state has determined a decade ago that both contaminated sites have to be remediated, and yet nothing has been done. “This could cost millions,” Walsh said.

Grenafege said these contamination issues are emblematic of the contamination that has existed on the governing body for the past quarter-century.

Walsh said that, in view of the administration’s view of conservation, addressing contamination should have been Job No. 1. “But the Republican-controlled Township Committee’s commitment to conservation is for public consumption, not an actual commitment,” Walsh said.

The candidates agreed that there has been a conscious cover up of the facts surrounding the contamination of these two public areas. “There is no other way to explain the total absence of information about these very important issues,” Grenafege said.

The candidates agreed that the governing body has to address this issue. “As members of the Middletown Committee, Jim Grenafege and I will join with committeemen Patrick Short and Sean Byrnes and not only disclose the facts about this cover-up but address this situation in a public way,” Walsh concluded.

Pat Walsh: What you expect from a Committee Member -Responsible, Ethical, Accountable, Honest

Patrica Walsh, Democratic Candidate for Township Committee addressed a crowd of over 30 people Monday night at a press conference in front of Middletown's Town Hall.

Mrs. Walsh discussed issues that pertained to the economy, township debt,taxes,legal fees and the toxic contamination at the site of the Middletown Cultural Arts Center and underneath Town Hall itself.