Judge approves Exxon pollution settlement with NJ

A judge approved a controversial $225 million Exxon Mobil Corp. settlement that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) had negotiated with the oil giant.

State Superior Court Judge Michael Hogan concluded Tuesday that the settlement is “fair, reasonable, in the public interest, and consistent with the goals of the Spill Compensation and Control Act,” the Star-Ledger reported.

{mosads}State officials accused Exxon of damaging waterways and wetlands with various refineries, fuel stations and industrial facilities.

“This settlement holds ExxonMobil accountable for contamination it caused in Bayonne and Linden and is six times greater than the previous largest (Natural Resources Damages) settlement in the state,” Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin said in a statement. 

New Jersey had originally sought $8.9 billion for the pollution, with $2.5 billion going to clean up the sites and $6.4 billion to restore the polluted areas.

But Christie, a candidate for the 2016 presidential election, announced in May that he would settle the case for $225 million, angering environmentalists, Democrats and others for settling for only a fraction of the original demand and seemingly going soft on the oil giant.