Governments to stop pursuit of more money from Exxon over Valdez spill

Key wildlife populations like otters that were devastated in the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska have fully recovered, the US Justice Department said Thursday. John Cruden of the Justice Department’s Environmental and Natural Resources Division said in a statement that the decision to end governmental legal action over the 1989 oil spill highlights the success of restoration efforts.

A settlement was done in 1991, in which the oil giant was given the order to pay $900 million in civil damages and $125 million in criminal fines and restitution. The governments withdrew a 2006 request to ExxonMobil Corporation to fund bio-restoration of subsurface lingering oil patches after scientists found that exposure to such oil is no longer impacting the ducks and otters, the Justice Department says. Further, due to income earned on the settlement funds, the Trustee Council now has more than $200 million at its disposal for future restoration work.

On October. 8, 1991, U.S. District Court Judge Russel Holland approved both a plea agreement resolving criminal charges against Exxon Corporation and Exxon Shipping (Exxon) under various federal environmental laws and a settlement agreement between Exxon and the United States and the state of Alaska resolving all civil claims between them pertaining to the spill. A federal report released past year on one species, sea otters, noted the wide range of recovery among different wildlife. A designated oil spill trustee council used the civil settlement money to help restore natural resources and habitats affected by the 1989 oil spill.

Assistant Attorney General Kaci Schroeder informed legislators of the decision Wednesday in an email, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press.

U.S. Navy Mechanized Landing Craft anchored along the shoreline as Navy and civilian personnel position hoses during the Exxon Valdez oil spill clean-up on Smith Island in Prince William Sound, March 24, 1989.

A council charged with directing restoration efforts will consider what next steps are needed at any remaining oil sites and that US scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will continue to monitor those areas, USA and state officials said.

Officials said their still remains significant signs of the oil under the soil and in rocks in the area.