NEW YORK -- Exxon Mobil Corp. will pay $11.2 million to settle a 1996 lawsuit alleging that Mobil Oil Corp. dumped hazardous waste in New York’s Staten Island, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday.
The suit alleged that Mobil Oil mismanaged waste contaminated with benzene, a cancer-causing agent, at a petroleum product storage and distribution terminal on the Arthur Kill waterway in Staten Island (pictured). The suit sought penalties for violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
The $11.2 million settlement includes an $8.2 million civil penalty and $3 million to be used to buy or restore environmentally sensitive lands on the Arthur Kill. Mobil has admitted liability for discharging hazardous wastes from 1991 to 1993 into two large artificial ponds at the Port Mobil terminal on Staten Island without a permit and without the environmental protections required by law.
An injunction will be entered requiring ExxonMobil to perform cleanup at Port Mobil, the Justice Department said. Another injunction will be entered barring the company from arguing that environmental laws do not prohibit individual instances of hazardous waste dumping.
