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The government awards contracts to companies with histories of misconduct such as contract fraud and environmental, ethics, and labor violations. In the absence of a centralized federal database listing instances of misconduct, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is providing such data. We believe that it will lead to improved contracting decisions and public access to information about how the government spends hundreds of billions of taxpayer money each year on goods and services. Report an instance of misconduct »

Exxon Mobil

Groundwater and Soil Contamination (Brooklyn, NY)

Date: 06/21/2006 (Date of First Legal Action)

Misconduct Type: Environment

Enforcement Agency: State/Local

Contracting Party: None

Court Type: Civil

Amount: $25,000,000

Disposition: Settlement

Synopsis: On June 21, 2006, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced that it "has agreed to initiate legal action against ExxonMobil Corporation to ensure that the company fulfills its obligation to clean up petroleum contamination in the Greenpoint, Brooklyn community. The contamination was caused by a number of oil spills and illegal discharges, including a 17 million gallon oil spill first detected in September 1978 that extended 52 acres under the Greenpoint area...The Greenpoint spill consists of groundwater contamination in the area between Monitor Street and Kingsland Avenue, just south of Greenpoint Avenue, and extending southeast to the vicinity of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. The area also has residual petroleum contamination in soil and fill materials. DEC is currently monitoring petroleum product recovery operations as part of a 1990 consent order with ExxonMobil. To date, more than 9 million gallons of oil have been recovered in the plume area, with progress ongoing." In February 2007, the New York Attorney General’s office filed a Notice of Intent to Sue ExxonMobil and other companies, including Chevron and BP America, for violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) in regard to solid or hazardous waste contamination of soil, groundwaters, surface waters and sediments in the Greenpoint area of Brooklyn. The following July, the Attorney General filed a federal lawsuit against Exxon Mobil Corporation and ExxonMobil Refining and Supply Company, seeking to stop oil currently spilling into the Greenpoint area; restore the Newtown Creek waterway, which divides Brooklyn and Queens; force heightened efforts to clean up and recover underground oil and contaminated groundwater and soil; and impose financial penalties on ExxonMobil. In November 2010, the case settled with Exxon agreeing to perform a full cleanup and pay approximately $25 million in penalties, costs and improvements to the local environment.