Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Chevron Corp. (CVX) were among oil companies accused by Pennsylvania of polluting groundwater with a gasoline additive in lawsuits similar to ones brought by New York City, New Hampshire and Vermont.
BP Plc (BP) and Citgo, the Houston-based unit of Venezuela’s state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA, also were named in two complaints made public in state court that seek damages for costs to clean up groundwater tainted by Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether, or MTBE. Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane and Governor Tom Corbett’s office of general counsel filed the complaints.
“MTBE-related spills over the past 20 years have cost Pennsylvania hundreds of millions of dollars,” James Schultz, the governor’s general counsel, said yesterday in a statement. “We cannot take the health of Pennsylvania’s waters for granted and their protection must remain our utmost priority.”
The Pennsylvania lawsuits follow scores of claims filed by cities, states and individuals around the U.S. against oil refiners, retailers and distributors over MTBE. Exxon Mobil, Chevron and BP were among two dozen U.S. refiners sued this month by Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell.
The U.S. Supreme Court in April upheld a jury’s $104.7 million damage award against Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil for contaminating New York City wells with the additive.
