Eight months after the Pegasus pipeline cracked open and spilled an estimated 210,000 gallons of heavy crude oil into a Mayflower neighborhood, the legal fallout has escalated in Arkansas and Washington.
The number of lawsuits filed against Exxon Mobil Corp. or its subsidiaries has reached at least 17, including six filed in U.S. District Courtin Little Rock and at least 11 filed in Faulkner County Circuit Court in Conway. All 17 are still pending, including one filed in June by the federal and state governments in federal court.
In Washington, Exxon Mobil faces federal allegations of nine “probable” violations of safety regulations as a result of the March 29 spill that sent oil into the Northwoods subdivision, drainage ditches and Lake Conway’s Dawson Cove.The allegations carry a total proposed fine of $2,659,200.
The company has not said whether it will contest the allegations made Nov. 6 by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, sometimes called PHMSA.
Asked if Exxon Mobil had decided whether to challenge the “probable” violations, company spokesman David Eglinton responded with an email that did not say whether a decision had been made,but instead said the company “will directly engage” with the safety administration about the allegations.
Hours after the safety administration notified the company of the allegations, Exxon Mobil said it was still reviewing the notice and had not determined its “future course of action.”
“However, it does appear that PHMSA’s analysis is flawed and the agency has made some fundamental errors,” the company added.
Damon Hill, a spokesman for the safety administration, said Friday that the agency has not received any response orally or in writing from Exxon Mobil.
The company has 30 days from the date of the notice, Nov. 6, to respond. According to the agency’s website, a company can request an extension of time during that 30 days.
Court litigation likely will take much longer. The lawsuit filed by U.S. Attorney Christopher Thyer and Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, for example, is not scheduled for trial until Feb. 24, 2015. Such timing also gives both sides time to consider an out-of-court settlement.
While deputy attorneys general often handle the the daily work of such lawsuits, the attorney general has the final say on the handling of such matters.
Deputies and assistants also sometimes leave when their office changes leadership.
McDaniel, asked if he expects any problems because of the transition when he leaves office, said Friday, “There are many major efforts that will remain unfinished at the end of my term, including the Mayflower litigation.
“I will communicate closely with both [parties’] nominees for [attorney general] so that my successor will be able to easily transition into leading this office,” McDaniel added in an email sent by a spokesman.
So far, attorneys for the state and federal governments and for Exxon Mobil have clashed in lawsuit-related court filings over such legal issues as whether Lake Conway amounts to a “navigable” water under federal law and whether the governments’ lawsuit alleged enough facts to establish that the contaminated neighborhood suffered “irreparable injury.”
In a document asking the court to dismiss the lawsuit, Exxon Mobil wrote, “In fact,there can be no real dispute that Defendants immediately responded to the release and have funded, and continue to fund, the cleanup. [The government agencies suing] plead no facts to the contrary. And they plead no facts alleging ongoing conduct or harm that must be enjoined.”
Attorneys for the federal government disputed that argument and countered, “First, the harmful impacts of oil spills are all too well known.” They also wrote, “Most notably, ExxonMobil’s oil spill has destroyed the impacted neighborhood as well as land and wildlife habitat, and the impacts to waterways are still ongoing.”
U.S. District Judge James M. Moody has not ruled on the dismissal request.
Mayflower business owners and residents along Lake Conway and in or near the Northwoods subdivision have filed the other lawsuits.
Among them is a recreational-vehicle dealer who says the spill resulted in road access to his business being blocked for so long that it cost him customers and money. Another lawsuit, one of two filed by 64 residents, cites a range of problems including barricaded, blocked areas and environmental effects.
Front Section, Pages 1 on 11/30/2013