ANCHORAGE - Republican Drue Pearce, the federal official responsible for coordinating planning for the proposed Alaska natural gas pipeline, has resigned her position at the request of the Obama administration.
Pearce, a former Alaska state Senate president who has held the position since it was created by then President George W. Bush in 2006, said she will step down effective Jan. 3.
The Office of the Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation is reviewing competing plans offered by both TransCanada Corp. and a joint venture formed by BP and ConocoPhillips to build a pipeline to ship natural gas from Alaska's North Slope to domestic U.S. markets.
Pearce was the first person to hold the job, which is designed to keep federal agencies working together to get the pipeline built without undue delay. Some 22 federal agencies in the United States - plus others in Canada Thomas Barrett- must sign off on an environmental impact statement before the project can move forward.
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who is the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said she was pleased that Pearce's deputy, retired U.S. Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thomas Barrett, will serve as the interim coordinator until the White House appoints someone new.
Showing posts with label Exxon loses $105 million lawsuit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Exxon loses $105 million lawsuit. Show all posts
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
More on New York MTBE case: ExxonMobil ordered to pay $105 million
NEW YORK - A federal jury in Manhattan, after an 11-week trial, has found ExxonMobil liable for contaminating New York City's groundwater with the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), and awarded the City of New York $105 million in damages.
The city sued ExxonMobil for the costs of removing MTBE from drinking water wells in southeast Queens. The jury found Exxon liable for product liability for failure to warn people about the dangerous nature of its product as well as trespass, public nuisance, and negligence.
The city presented evidence that ExxonMobil added MTBE to gasoline knowing that it would contaminate groundwater when the gasoline leaked and knowing that underground storage tanks at gas stations, many of which are owned by ExxonMobil, regularly leak.
The City also contended that ExxonMobil ignored warnings from its own scientists and engineers not to use MTBE in areas of the country, like Queens, that use groundwater for drinking water.
ExxonMobil failed to inform government agencies, gasoline station owners, water suppliers, and the public about the dangers from MTBE.
New York State banned MTBE in 2004, after the chemical had polluted groundwater drinking water supplies throughout the state. Some 20 other states have also banned MTBE.
The city sued ExxonMobil for the costs of removing MTBE from drinking water wells in southeast Queens. The jury found Exxon liable for product liability for failure to warn people about the dangerous nature of its product as well as trespass, public nuisance, and negligence.
The city presented evidence that ExxonMobil added MTBE to gasoline knowing that it would contaminate groundwater when the gasoline leaked and knowing that underground storage tanks at gas stations, many of which are owned by ExxonMobil, regularly leak.
The City also contended that ExxonMobil ignored warnings from its own scientists and engineers not to use MTBE in areas of the country, like Queens, that use groundwater for drinking water.
ExxonMobil failed to inform government agencies, gasoline station owners, water suppliers, and the public about the dangers from MTBE.
New York State banned MTBE in 2004, after the chemical had polluted groundwater drinking water supplies throughout the state. Some 20 other states have also banned MTBE.
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