NJ panel takes its anti-Exxon settlement show on the road

New Jersey Assembly Judiciary Chairman John
McKeon today announced the committee will meet Wednesday in Bayonne to hear
public comment on the proposed $225 million settlement between the
Christie administration and ExxonMobil for the environmental damage caused by
Exxon’s refinery operations in Bayonne and Linden.
The
meeting is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m., June 3, in the City of Bayonne
Municipal Council Chambers at 630 Avenue C.

“The
Assembly has made its voice clear in opposing this settlement, but I also want
to make sure those directly impacted by this environmental damage get a chance
to make their voices heard,” said McKeon (D-Essex/Morris). “This settlement is a
slap in the face, especially those who live in the areas affected by the
contamination, yet it’s barely a slap on the wrist for Exxon. The public
deserves the chance to express their opinion and be heard loud and clear.”

The
committee has held several hearings on the proposed settlement, and on May 14
the Assembly approved a McKeon-sponsored resolution (AR-242) opposing the
proposed settlement. The resolution respectfully urged the court presiding over
the proposed settlement to reject it because it “shocks the conscience in light
of undisputed evidence of significant damage to, and loss of, the state’s
natural resources caused by pollution at the Bayway and Bayonne oil refinery
sites and at certain other ExxonMobil sites in New Jersey.”

The
Assembly resolution noted that the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection’s own experts estimated that restoration of former wetlands, meadows,
forests and intertidal habitat, and compensation for decades of contamination,
at the Bayway and Bayonne sites would cost $8.9 billion, including $2.6 billion
for primary restoration and $6.3 billion for compensatory damages, and $1.2
million for assessment costs.

Instead,
the Christie administration and Exxon agreed to a $225 million settlement, which
not only exempts Exxon Mobil from all natural resource damages claims and
liability from the Bayway and Bayonne facilities, but 16 other different
facilities owned or operated by Exxon.

Share this:

Like this:

Subscribe For Latest Updates