One of the world's largest underground oil spills lurks beneath the shores of Newtown Creek in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, courtesy of oil companies such as ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco, and others. At approximately 17 million gallons and 55 acres, the spill is at least 6 million gallons larger than the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska. The spill is the result of leaks in the 1940s and 1950s. ExxonMobil neglected the spill for more than two decades, as it slowly migrated under the community and into the creek.

Artistic spill depiction created by Brooklyn resident Rolf Carle, a co-plaintiff in the oil spill litigation.

In a 1978 helicopter patrol, the US Coast Guard discovered a large plume of oil flowing out of the banks of the creek. Virtually no action was taken until 1990, when the state entered into consent orders with ExxonMobil. Rather than bring the company to justice, the order required only the most rudimentary cleanup, demanded no cleanup benchmark, and failed to order a single penny in penalties. Little has improved in the interim. The spill has been oozing under Greenpoint for five decades, destroying the local aquifer, rendering more than 50 acres of land undevelopable, settling under more than 100 homes on three residential blocks, severely contaminating Newtown Creek, and threatening aquatic life harbor-wide.

To ensure this spill receives immediate attention, Riverkeeper and six residents of Brooklyn and Queens filed a letter of intent to sue ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco, and ohters under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and/or the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). This letter, filed on January 26, 2004, provides sixty days (under CWA) and ninety days (under RCRA) for the defendants to come into compliance, after which Riverkeeper may file to hear the case in court. Riverkeeper announced the filing during a press conference at City Hall in Manhattan, joined by Councilmembers David Yassky (Brooklyn) and Eric Gioia (Queens), and other concerned residents and responsible businesses. Since then, both Councilmembers have joined the suit as coplaintiffs.

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