The expenditure of these settlement monies for restoration of the natural resources and services affected by the Spill has been overseen by three federal and three State natural resource trustee agencies – the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska required Exxon to pay $900 million over ten years, beginning in December of 1991. The settlement of the claims of the United States and the State of Alaska (the Governments) that was approved by the U.S. The Environmental Enforcement Section (EES) lawyers from the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD), in partnership with attorneys from other divisions in the Department and the State of Alaska, negotiated with Exxon regarding the natural resource damages attributable to the Spill. Nearly all of the monies from these awards have been distributed to the plaintiffs. The punitive damages award was reduced to $507.5 million after appeals by Exxon. Initially, that action resulted in a jury award against Exxon of $287 million in compensatory damages and $5 billion in punitive damages. The Spill spawned thousands of private claims, many of which were prosecuted by private attorneys through a class action lawsuit. disruption to recreational, tourism and subsistence gathering services, and loss of passive uses.damage to many Native Alaskan archeological sites.disruption of the Prince William Sound herring and other commercial fisheries.the death of thousands of sea otters and harbor seals.the death of approximately 300 bald eagles.the death of hundreds of thousands of seabirds and ducks.Environmental Impact of the Spill:Įffects of the Spill on natural resources and services included, in addition to the oiled shorelines and resultant loss of plants and invertebrates inhabiting them: Coast Guard and with advice from federal and state agencies and local communities, Exxon mounted a cleanup that extended into 1994 and cost the company more than $2.5 billion. The oil spread across nearly 1,500 miles of shoreline in the Sound and the Gulf of Alaska in the ensuing months, traveling, with the aid of wind and rough seas, as far as 600 miles to the south and west. Ultimately, the Exxon Valdez discharged approximately eleven million gallons of North Slope crude oil into the waters of Prince William Sound (Sound). history occurred on the night of March 23-24, 1989 when the hull of the tanker vessel Exxon Valdez ruptured after striking Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Prior to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the largest oil spill in U.S.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |