NEW YORK (AP) - Exxon Mobil Corp. has agreed to pay $25 million
to resolve complaints over its handling of a huge underground oil
spill in New York City.
The deal with Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and the
environmental group Riverkeeper will resolve several years of
litigation over spills from refineries that once lined the Brooklyn
waterfront.
Exxon began extracting about 17 million gallons of oil from the
ground 20 years ago using a network of wells, but the pace of the
cleanup has frustrated neighborhood residents.
Oil has leaked continuously into Newtown Creek, which separates
Brooklyn from Queens. Some people living above the oil plume had
complained about fumes in their basements.
The settlement will require Irving, Texas-based Exxon, which has
pledged to complete the cleanup as fast as possible, to adhere to a
timetable.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
