(June 22, 2006) Tarrytown, NY: In a stunning development, the Department of
Environmental Conservation (“Department”) announced yesterday that it
has referred the 17 million gallon ExxonMobil Greenpoint (Brooklyn) Oil
Spill case to State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer for aggressive
enforcement. The case had been handled internally by the Department for
nearly two decades. Last month, Riverkeeper, State Comptroller Hevesi, and
a powerful coalition of elected officials and concerned citizens called upon
the Department to terminate its closed-door consent order negotiations with
the oil giant and take a more transparent and aggressive approach.
“This is incredibly positive news,” said Riverkeeper President Alex
Matthiessen. “We applaud the Department for demonstrating it is finally
prepared to hold ExxonMobil accountable for its misdeeds. We look forward
to working with the Attorney General, the Department, the Comptroller and
all the interested parties to ensure that the massive spill no longer poses
a threat to Newtown Creek and its communities.”
The spill is one of the world’s largest. At 17 million gallons—6
million gallons more than the Exxon Valdez—it has spread under 55 acres of
commercial and residential Greenpoint. The spill has been seeping into
Newtown Creek for decades, has destroyed the local aquifer, and produces
dangerous underground vapors. ExxonMobil’s basic oil recovery system
fails to address these impacts.
Riverkeeper has been leading the charge to force ExxonMobil to aggressively
remediate the spill. The organization had also been critical of the
state’s reluctance to take meaningful action. Riverkeeper filed a federal
Clean Water Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act lawsuit against
the company in 2004. The case is now in the discovery phase and is being
handled by the law students of the Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic.
Six concerned citizens have joined Riverkeeper as co-plaintiffs: Mike and
Laura Hoffman, Teresa Toro, Rolf Carle, Deborah Masters, and Bill Schuck.
The case also has as co-plaintiffs Brooklyn Borough President Marty
Markowitz, Councilmembers David Yassky and Eric Gioia. Riverkeeper’s case
seeks remediation and extensive penalties.
"Brooklynites are thrilled that the state is finally being pro-active by holding ExxonMobil responsible and mitigating the Greenpoint oil spill's environmental and economic impacts on our borough," said Brooklyn Borough
President Marty Markowitz. "I am eager to work with Attorney General Spitzer, Comptroller Hevesi, and DEC in the days to come, as we make a clean break with Newtown Creek's polluted past."
Said Councilman David Yassky: "For far too long, the state has allowed
ExxonMobil to slide by and avoid a serious cleanup effort at Newtown Creek.
Now, after years of government dysfunction, we finally have an opportunity
to force a speedy and comprehensive remediation of the largest environmental
disaster in New York City's history. But, until that last drop of oil is
washed from our soil and waterways, we must continue to push for as fast a
cleanup as possible."
"This is amazing news," said Councilman Eric Gioia, who represents Long Island City and Maspeth, two neighborhoods that border Newtown Creek in Queens. "The Queens waterfront is in the midst of an economic, cultural, and residential renaissance. When we clean up and rehabilitate our borough's shores, we have the opportunity to build new homes, schools and libraries, and lush greenways along our banks, from Brooklyn all the way to the Bronx."
There are hundreds of homes and dozens of businesses above the spill.
Riverkeeper’s investigations uncovered threatening underground benzene and
methane gases migrating from the spill, through the soil, and towards the
community. These findings led to the filing of a private homeowners’
lawsuit against ExxonMobil and other parties by the renowned California firm
Girardi & Keese, with consultant Erin Brockovich.
Spitzer will be prosecuting ExxonMobil on behalf of the Department under
numerous provisions of the State Environmental Conservation Law as well as
multiple violations of the State Navigation Law, public nuisance law and
other relevant and appropriate state and federal environmental laws. In
addition, the Department will now seek full statutory penalties associated
with the violations, the assessment and collection of natural resource
damages, comprehensive remediation of the area, and complete recovery of
past and future costs related to agency oversight of the remediation
activities.
On May 8, 2006, NYS Comptroller Alan Hevesi issued a strongly worded missive
to the Department that ExxonMobil should not be allowed to negotiate a clean
up agreement until the full scope of the spill’s damage has been clearly
defined through independent studies and more information has been shared
with the public. The Comptroller offered to pay for these studies through
the State Oil Spill Fund.
At the federal level, Congressman Anthony Weiner and Congresswoman Nydia
Velazquez authored a provision in a 2005 federal spending bill (HR 889)
which directs the EPA to conduct a full assessment of the spill and its
impacts. The bill passed the House unanimously and is currently in the
Senate conference committee.
Riverkeeper is a non-profit environmental group dedicated to protecting and
restoring the Hudson River, its communities, and New York City’s upstate
drinking water reservoirs.
For more information on Riverkeeper and its Newtown Creek campaign, visit www.riverkeeper.org.
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