Exxon settles with Pascoag residents

PROVIDENCE, R.I.(WPRI) – Oil giant Exxon Mobil has signed off on a $7 million settlement with residents of Pascoag and the area's water utility after a 10-year legal battle.

A Providence superior court judge approved the settlement Monday, awarding the payout to 1,300 Pascoag residents and the Rhode Island Water District.

The lawsuit was launched after Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether, (MTBE) – a chemical additive used in gasoline – was found in a Pascoag water supply in 2001 in levels that exceeded state guidelines.

According to Brian Cunha, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, a resident complained their tap water had a bad taste on Aug. 30, 2001, prompting an investigation by the Department of Environmental Management (DEM).

“They (DEM) performed routine water tests for contaminants in 2001 and discovered MTBE well above the state allowed levels,” said Cunha.

The DEM discovered that the underground storage tank at an Exxon Mobil Gasoline Station on Main Street in Pascoag had leaked and contaminated a town well with MTBE.

Two years later, Cunha and the New York law firm of Napoli, Kaiser & Bern, LLP, filed a lawsuit against Exxon Mobil for the use of MTBE in their gasoline.

Of the $7 million, $5 million is for the public utility district and $2 million is for the 1,300 residents.

Cunha said residents will get a bigger chunk of the money depending on several factors such as home ownership and how long they’ve lived there. Generally, each household will receive a payment between $1,400-1,500 or $500-600.

Gasoline alone doesn’t travel far from the spill but gasoline with MTBE added can get into the water much quicker because it dissolves faster.

In 2006, five years after the discovery, Rhode Island banned MTBE and now gas stations are using ethanol.

“Part of our claim to oil companies, including Exxon Mobil, was the fact that underground storage tanks leak and 20 percent of the tanks in the country leak,” said Cunha. “They still put it in [at the time].”