Several environmental groups are appealing a decision by a judge who had barred them from challenging a $225 million settlement between Exxon Mobil and the Christie administration.

 

 

 

James M. O’Neill reports in The Record:

The environmental groups filed their appeal with the New Jersey Appellate Division, asking that court to overturn Superior Court Judge Michael Hogan’s decision to deny them legal status to intervene in the case. If the Appellate Division agrees with the environmental groups, it would open the way for them to formally challenge the actual settlement.

 

The settlement is designed to compensate the public for contaminated wetlands around two of Exxon’s former refineries in Linden and Bayonne. It goes beyond any costs incurred by Exxon to clean up the wetlands.

 

Governor Christie has defended the settlement, saying it was by far the largest of its kind in state history. But environmentalists and Democrats in the Legislature have been critical, saying the settlement is small compared with the $8.9 billion the state originally sought when it filed suit in 2004.