http://www.boston.com/dailynews/242/nation/Exxon_Mobil_to_make_final_paym:.shtml

Exxon Mobil to make final payment on damage settlement from 1989 Alaska oil spill

By Maureen Clark, Associated Press, 8/30/2001 22:30

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) Exxon Mobil will make its final annual payment this week on the $900 million damage settlement from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, the company said Thursday.

But environmentalists urged the government to seek another $100 million from the oil giant to correct what they say is unanticipated, lingering damage in Prince William Sound.

''It is our assertion that this is not their final payment,'' said Rick Steiner of the Coastal Coalition at a news conference.

On Saturday, Exxon Mobil will deposit $70 million into an Alaska Department of Revenue account, said Tom Cirigliano, a spokesman for the oil company.

The Exxon Valdez hit a reef in Prince William Sound in March 1989 and spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil. The spill fouled more than 1,000 miles of shoreline and killed tens of thousands of birds and marine mammals.

Exxon, the federal government and the state reached an agreement in 1991 calling for Exxon to pay $900 million in civil damages, $100 million in criminal restitution and a $25 million fine.

That agreement included a clause that allowed the governments to seek an additional $100 million for damages unknown at the time of the settlement. The claim must be filed between 2002 and 2006.

Environmental groups signed a letter Thursday to President Bush and Gov. Tony Knowles, asking them to seek the additional payment.

Assistant Attorney General Craig Tillery said plenty of time remains for the state to decide whether to pursue the claim.

''You don't just go out and make a claim such a long time ahead of when you need to,'' Tillery said. ''If you're going to make that claim you need to be careful and get all the information that you can to support it.''

Gina Belt, an attorney with the U.S. Justice Department, also said it was too early for the federal government to decide whether to pursue the claim.

Exxon said any discussion of the clause was premature.

''If and when a claim is made, the government will need to support it with appropriate data and we will evaluate the claim at that time,'' the company said in a news release.

The company also said the environment in Prince William Sound is ''healthy, robust and thriving.''

But the environmental groups say much of the wildlife affected by the spill has not yet recovered, including loons, cormorants, harbor seals and killer whales.

Only two species bald eagles and river otters have recovered fully, according to research done for the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, which oversees restoration of the sound.

''We still have oil on the beaches of Prince William Sound,'' Steiner said. ''It's still causing toxic contamination in the food web.''

Among the groups signing the letter were the National Wildlife Federation, The Wilderness Society, Natural Resources Defense Council, The Ocean Conservancy, The Alaska Center for the Environment, the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council and the Coastal Coalition.

On the Net:

Exxon Mobil: http://www.exxon.mobil.com

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council: http://www.oilspill.state.ak.us/index.html

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2001