An example of how the media can distort the news while reporting it. The Reuters article points out that this poisonous additive was not required by the law, and that Exxon Mobile knew it was poisonous before they decided to use it. The business-oriented Bloomberg News leaves out this information, and makes it sound like Exxon Mobile was just obeying the law.
For the current supreme court, with a majority of justices having been chosen by Republican presidents, and being partial to big business & the very rich, to uphold this judgement seems especially significant to me, how indefensible Exxon Mobile's decision to use this chemical was.
Neither the Bloomberg nor the Reuters article about the supreme court decision talked about why Exxon Mobile chose to use this chemical instead of safer ones. Anybody who's followed such things for a few years would expect it was the cheapest alternative. And I found that this was indeed at least part of the reason.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/21/us-usa-court-environment-idUSBREA3K0L720140421
By Lawrence Hurley
Apr 21, 2014
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a ruling against Exxon Mobil Corp that ordered the company to pay $105 million in damages for polluting New York City's groundwater with a toxic gasoline additive.
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In 2009, a jury concluded that Exxon contaminated water supply wells when the additive, methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), leaked from its underground storage tanks in the borough of Queens.
The appeals court rejected Exxon's arguments that it was required to use the additive under the federal Clean Air Act. An oxygen-containing substance that is added to gasoline to promote more complete combustion and reduce air pollution, MTBE was one of several additives recommended by regulators to reduce emissions.
It has now largely been phased out of the U.S. fuel supply because of its danger to groundwater.
New York City claimed Exxon went ahead and used the chemical in the 1980s through the first half of the 2000s despite warnings from its own scientists and engineers that it could be harmful in areas that relied on groundwater for drinking.
MTBE has been identified as an animal carcinogen and a possible human carcinogen and causes water to smell foul and taste bad.
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http://insideepa.com/201307292442283/EPA-Daily-News/Daily-News/2nd-circuit-rejects-exxons-bid-to-use-air-law-mandate-as-mtbe-defense/menu-id-986.html
Posted: July 29, 2013
Chris Knight
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit has upheld a $105 million jury verdict that found Exxon Mobil Corp. responsible for contaminating New York City groundwater with the gasoline oxygenate methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), rejecting Exxon's claim that Clean Air Act mandates to use MTBE are a defense against the suit.
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The Clean Air Act amendments of 1990 required the use of oxygenated gasoline in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution, but did not specifically require MTBE, according to EPA's website. "Most refiners have chosen to use MTBE over other oxygenates primarily for its blending characteristics and for economic reasons," EPA adds.
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Even if MTBE was the only safe, feasible oxygenate, the opinion says that of the four claims for which the jury awarded damages, "mere use of MTBE" would not have caused groundwater contamination, but also required additional conduct, such as failure to use reasonable care when storing gasoline with MTBE.
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If you refer to the article on this from the business-oriented Bloomberg news, it does not mention that there are other methods to comply with the law that are not so toxic.http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-21/exxon-rejected-by-court-on-105-million-new-york-award.html
By Greg Stohr Apr 21, 2014
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM)’s appeal of a $105 million jury verdict it was ordered to pay for contaminating underground water in New York City with a gasoline additive.
The Irving, Texas-based oil and gas company argued unsuccessfully that any award was premature because the city isn’t planning to use the disputed wells in southeastern Queens for another 15 to 20 years.
Exxon used the additive, methyl tertiary butyl ether, to comply with a 1990 federal law that required an increase in the oxygen content of gasoline in the smoggiest parts of the country. New York later banned MTBE, as the additive is known, because of contamination concerns.New York sued Exxon Mobil and other oil companies in 2003, alleging that they knew MTBE would pollute groundwater. A New York-based federal appeals court last year upheld the 2009 jury verdict against the company.
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http://www.salon.com/2013/04/09/exxon_mobil_must_pay_236m_in_nh_pollution_case/
Exxon Mobil must pay $236M in NH pollution case
Tuesday, Apr 9, 2013
Lynne Tuohy, Associated Press
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A jury in New Hampshire has ordered Exxon Mobil to pay $236 million in damages after finding the oil giant liable in a long-running lawsuit over groundwater contamination by the gasoline additive MTBE.
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http://www.salon.com/2013/04/08/nhs_236m_suit_against_exxon_mobil_to_go_to_jury/
NH’s $236M suit against Exxon Mobil to go to jury
Monday, Apr 8, 2013
Lynne Tuohy, Associated Press
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Attorney Jessica Grant for the state said Exxon Mobil should pay $236 million to offset the state’s cost to monitor and treat wells contaminated with MTBE. She said the oil giant ignored its own internal memos dating back to 1984 that raised ethical and environmental concerns about MTBE’s ability to contaminate faster and further than non-treated gasoline.
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Grant said Exxon Mobil put MTBE in gasoline five years before the government mandate in 1990 that the company use one of seven oxygenators available, including ethanol. She argued Exxon’s decision to keep using MTBE — even in the face of growing evidence of environmental liabilities — was motivated by profit.
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