XOM Exxon Mobil Corp

   (FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 8/26/15) 
   By Kate King 

A New Jersey judge approved a $225 million settlement on Tuesday between Gov. Chris Christie's administration and Exxon Mobil Corp. to end a legal battle over polluted sites, a deal environmentalists denounced as grossly inadequate.

Superior Court Judge Michael Hogan described the settlement in his ruling as "fair, reasonable, in the public interest" and consistent with a state law that seeks to protect New Jersey's natural resources from contamination by petroleum products and other hazardous substances.

Environmental groups criticized the ruling. In a statement, the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club accused Judge Hogan of "rubberstamp[ing] the biggest corporate subsidy in state history."

"This settlement is incomplete because it neglects to restore 1,500 acres of wetlands," said Jeff Tittel, the club's director. "We are down, but not out. We will continue to fight this sellout."

The state initially sought $8.9 billion from Exxon, and battled the oil company in court for 11 years before the parties notified the court of their proposed settlement in February. The litigation stemmed from allegations that Exxon, which owned and operated refineries in the Bayonne area for much of the 20th century, contaminated wetlands, meadows and waterways.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Christie's administration hailed the judge's decision as affirmation of what she called the state's "fair and historic settlement."

"The Christie administration has not only secured the largest environmental-damage recovery in state history, but also cemented Exxon Mobil's obligation to pay for the complete cleanup and remediation of these sites on top of this landmark payout," said Nicole Sizemore, a spokeswoman for Mr. Christie.

Tuesday's decision follows a 60-day public comment period, which ended June 5, and unsuccessful attempts by eight environmental groups and New Jersey state Sen. Raymond Lesniak to intervene in the case. The vast majority of the 16,013 public comments received by the court opposed the settlement, according to Judge Hogan's ruling.

Opponents said the settlement was far too meager to compensate for the damage done to northern New Jersey's wetlands.

"This is a multibillion-dollar gift to Exxon Mobil from Gov. Christie and his administration, at the expense of New Jersey residents," said Margaret Brown, an attorney for Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group.

An Exxon spokesman said the company lauds the decision.

"This settlement has brought this case to a fair and reasonable conclusion," company spokesman Alan Jeffers said in an email. "Both parties will now have the benefit of the certainty and finality that comes from this settlement."

Oil refining in Bayonne dates back to the late 1800s, when John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Co. constructed a pipeline from Pennsylvania to Bayonne, according to court records.

At its peak in 1936, the Bayonne refinery covered 650 acres and employed 5,000 workers.

A landmark 1911 U.S. Supreme Court decision forced the breakup of Standard Oil into 34 companies, including Jersey Standard, which changed its name to Exxon Corp. in the 1970s and continued to operate the northern New Jersey refineries.

The company began discussing environmental remediation with the state in the early 1990s, and as of December 2014 had spent more than $258 million on remediation in the Bayonne area, according to Judge Hogan's ruling.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 25, 2015 21:55 ET (01:55 GMT)

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