Ilya Marritz
Ilya Marritz covers business for WNYC.
ExxonMobil Liable for Polluting Drinking Water
Monday, October 19, 2009
New York, NY –
ExxonMobil will have to pay more than $100 million in damages for contaminating six public drinking water wells in southeast Queens.
That's the decision of a jury in a lawsuit brought by the city of New York. The city alleged ExxonMobil didn't give adequate warning to authorities when it put the additive MTBE in its gasoline. MTBE is considered a public health risk and can leak from underground storage tanks.
After an 11-week trial, the jury ordered Exxon to pay most of the cost of decontaminating the wells.
Several other companies including Chevron, Citgo, and Sunoco, have already settled similar lawsuits with the city; ExxonMobil was the only one to contest the charges. The company is considering its legal options.
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