After 26 years and more than $1 billion in fines, the federal and Alaskan governments are ending their court battle with ExxonMobil Corp. over the Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska.
The Department of Justice and Alaska Department of Law announced Thursday they are closing the federal and state actions against the oil giant due to the recovery of species affected by the spill.
In 2006, the federal and Alaskan governments contended the spill was still affecting harlequin duck and sea otter populations in Prince William Sound. That allowed them to reopen the case and seek an additional $100 million form the company, per the terms of the 1991 plea agreement.
However, scientists say the duck and otter populations are back to pre-spill conditions and the oil spill is no longer affecting those species.
“The reopener in our settlement with Exxon was unique and set a high bar for recovery of additional damages,” said John Cruden, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Together with our partners in the Alaska Department of Law, we preserved a potential reopener claim and investigated it to its logical end. Our action today allows us to celebrate all that has been accomplished in Prince William Sound since the spill.”
When the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound and spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil in March 1989, it was the biggest environmental disaster in history.
The spill sullied 1,500 miles of coastline, three national parks, four national wildlife refuges, a national forest, five state parks, four state critical habitat areas and a state game sanctuary, according to the Justice Department.
It killed a large amount of birds and marine animals and affected Alaska residents who depend on the sea for their livelihoods, officials said.
Exxon agreed to pay a $125 million fine and restitution to settle a criminal case and $900 million to settle a civil case. That $900 million reimbursed the governments for their costs and helped restore the areas affected by the spill.
Alaskan Attorney General Craig Richards said the governments will continue to monitor the area of the spill to see if there is any other lingering damage. If there is, he noted, the case could be reopened again.
“Although we will not be pursuing Exxon for additional damages, our decision today does not close the book on lingering oil,” he said. “We are fortunate to have alternatives for dealing with this issue that can be undertaken without the constraints of the Reopener language. We will be engaging Alaskans through the Trustee Council process to advise us on what steps they would like to see us take. ”
