ANCHORAGE, Alaska—
A longtime conservationist is taking Exxon to court for environmental damages resulting from the 1989 oil spill. Former UAF professor Rick Steiner filed a motion in federal court Tuesday asking the court to order Exxon to pay $92 million to the state of Alaska and the U.S. government.
Steiner says the payment is authorized as part of the 1991 settlement as a reopener for unknown injury, which allows for up to $1 million over the settlement for environmental damage not known at the time of the settlement.
Under this provision, the governments presented a demand for payment in August 2006, but Exxon failed to pay.
Steiner says the government has not forced Exxon to pay, so he filed the motion himself asking the court to order the payment.
