City, county, and environmental officials have greeted the state’s posting of the proposed $225 million cleanup settlement with the Exxon Mobil Corporation the same way they dealt with it six weeks ago: with disillusionment, concern, and even “horror.”
The settlement, for the decades of pollution at the Bayonne and Linden “Bayway” sites, was first reported by The New York Times in late February. The state was originally seeking up to $8.9 billion to clean up and then restore the wetlands in the two cities, but is now willing to settle for $225 million. The legal fight over the cleanup of the two former industrial sites has been going on for more than a decade.
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NY/NJ Baykeeper and the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters are working together to boost that figure to 20,000 comments before the June 5 public comment deadline.
The League of Conservation Voters was equally critical of the proposal.
“Chris Christie is letting ExxonMobil off the hook for nearly $9 billion it owes for polluting wetlands and waters in North Jersey,” said Executive Director Ed Potosnak. “Instead of making Exxon pay to restore these environmentally sensitive areas, Christie cut a deal with Exxon.”
Potosnak said that in addition to the cleanups at the Bayonne and Linden sites, Exxon Mobil should pay the bill for returning wildlife habitats and water quality to what they once were.
“Christie's settlement is letting Exxon off the hook for restoring the environment that includes dozens of other sites not part of the original lawsuit,” he added.
The league urged stakeholders to send comments to the Christie administration voicing their opposition to the deal.
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