Pallone Statement on Court Ruling Approving Controversial ExxonMobil Settlement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 25, 2015


LONG BRANCH, NJ – Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, decried today’s state court approval of the Christie Administration’s controversial settlement with ExxonMobil. The Christie Administration decided to settle New Jersey’s $8.9 billion environmental damage lawsuit against ExxonMobil for a mere $225 million. The settlement comes 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.

“The Christie Administration’s settlement destroys years of hard work and sets an extremely dangerous precedent for future polluters to degrade our state with virtually no consequences,” said Congressman Pallone. “New Jerseyans deserved nothing less than to be fairly compensated for the degradation of our land and resources. However, the settlement and the ruling, along with ExxonMobil’s attempts – supported by the Christie Administration – to shirk responsibility, are an insult to New Jersey. I am further troubled that the settlement fails to hold Exxon accountable for pollution at 16 other facilities in the state. Today’s ruling, which effectively lets big oil off the hook, is a reminder that those of us in New Jersey who are committed to the environmental health and economic well-being of our state must redouble our efforts in the leadership void left by Governor Christie.”

In June, Pallone wrote to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection urging the rejection of the proposed settlement.

In his letter, 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 his letter is available HERE.

Pallone: Environmental Groups Should Not be Silenced by Christie Administration on Inadequate ExxonMobil Settlement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 8, 2015


WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr., Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, made the following statement on court briefs filed by the Christie Administration and Exxon Mobil to block environmental groups from testifying against a $225 million settlement between the state and the oil company.

“I am deeply disappointed with the Christie Administration’s more-of-the-same maneuvering to let big oil off the hook at the expense of New Jersey. At the very least, our state’s environmental groups should be permitted to present facts and speak out against the misguided and severely insufficient settlement with ExxonMobil. Attempting to silence environmental groups after settling for a fraction of the multi-billion dollar environmental damage lawsuit adds insult to injury for our state. I applaud the environmental groups for taking a stand as a united front in order to make clear that corporations cannot wreak havoc on our communities without consequence.”

In June, Pallone sent a letter to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection urging the rejection the proposed settlement. The letter is available HERE.

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.

Pallone, Pascrell, Sires, Watson Coleman, Norcross Urge Rejection of Proposed Exxon Settlement

     Lawmakers cite prospect of settlement funds being diverted away to balance NJ state budget

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), Ranking Member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, joined Reps. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (NJ-09), Albio Sires (NJ-08), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) and Donald Norcross (NJ-01) in sending a letter to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) in strong opposition to the Christie Administration’s proposed settlement in the State’s lawsuit against Exxon Mobil Corporation for the company’s contamination of two oil refineries in New Jersey.

“Despite the fact that the State Attorney General’s office was seeking a nearly $9 billion settlement, the Christie Administration opted for a settlement of $225 million in damages – roughly three cents on the dollar – and does not require Exxon to fully restore the land to its original condition,” the lawmakers wrote. “The proposed settlement also includes 16 additional sites not included in the original lawsuit. The residents of the contaminated areas deserve to have the sites cleaned up, the natural resources there restored, and an assurance that political influence did not inappropriately impact this settlement.”

The full text of the letter is as follows:

April 13, 2015

NJDEP
Attn: Exxon Mobil Bayway Comments
P.O. Box 420 Mail Code 401-06Q
Trenton, N.J. 08625-0420

To whom it may concern,

We are writing to express our strong concerns with the Christie Administration’s proposed settlement in the State’s lawsuit against Exxon Mobil Corporation for the company’s contamination of two oil refineries. If approved, we believe that this settlement would be wholly inadequate in properly restoring the sites and compensating the State of New Jersey for decades of rampant pollution.

For more than a century, oil refineries now owned by Exxon have discharged more than 600 hazardous chemicals over more than 1,500 acres of lands held in the public trust in northern New Jersey, including wetlands, marshes, and meadows. These same facilities contaminated our ground water and dumped hazardous waste into our ponds and streams. The ecological health of our natural environment has been ruined and will require decades and billions of dollars to not just restore the lands but compensate the public for the loss use and damage from the oil spills. Expert report compiled for the State by Stratus Consulting Inc. of Colorado and Toxicological & Environmental Associates Inc. of Alabama assessed the cost of undoing of more than 100 years of pollution at the Bayonne and Linden refineries at $8.9 billion, indicating that it would require $2.5 billion to restore the sites and an additional $6.4 “to compensate for the decades of harm.”

Despite the fact that the State Attorney General’s office was seeking a nearly $9 billion settlement, the Christie Administration opted for a settlement of $225 million in damages – roughly three cents on the dollar – and does not require Exxon to fully restore the land to its original condition. The proposed settlement also includes 16 additional sites not included in the original lawsuit. The residents of the contaminated areas deserve to have the sites cleaned up, the natural resources there restored, and an assurance that political influence did not inappropriately impact this settlement.

Finally, we are concerned about the prospect of settlement funds being diverted away from their intended use and instead transferred into the State’s general fund to balance the budget. As you know, New Jersey state law allows the transfer of any recovered funds in excess of $50 million to the state general fund. In 2013, Governor Christie redirected $147.5 million of the $165 million settlement between the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Occidental Chemical Corporation over toxic pollution in the Passaic River into the general fund.

Reversing the damage done to the natural resources surrounding Exxon’s Bayway and Bayonne operations will be a difficult but important undertaking. However, we do not believe that the settlement proposed by the Christie Administration will achieve this important goal. We urge you to ensure that any settlement includes sufficient funds to restore the lands that these refineries have destroyed.

Thank you for consideration of this matter.

Sincerely,

________________________
Bill Pascrell, Jr.
Member of Congress


 ________________________
 Frank Pallone, Jr.
 Member of Congress


________________________
Albio Sires
Member of Congress


 ________________________
 Bonnie Watson Coleman
 Member of Congress


________________________
Donald Norcross
Member of Congress