“You have had some good luck and you don’t realize it. You have Exxon and we do business straight." We will do “whatever it takes to keep you whole.” - Exxon spokesperson, March 1989
On March 24, 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez, carrying more than 50 million gallons of North Slope crude oil, ran aground and ruptured in Alaska's Prince William Sound. Approximately 11 million gallons of crude oil poured into the Prince William Sound in less than five hours. By August 1989, the oil had moved across nearly 10,000 square miles of water in Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska.
ExxonMobil had immediately promised to make the communities "whole." Yet, while the company did pay $300 million to more than 11,000 Alaskans and businesses affected by the spill and $2 billion to start the clean up, it never paid a dime to the more than 30,000 people pushed into a class action lawsuit.
In 1994, the plaintiffs were awarded more than $4 billion in punitive damages. The company has kept the case in appeals courts ever since. Meanwhile, 6,000 plaintiffs have died awaiting compensation. After years of having $4-$5 billion upheld through several appeals, in 2006 ExxonMobil succeeded in getting the award lowered to $2.5 billion plus interest. Still, the company argues it should not have to pay any punitive damages at all, or $25 million at most. The case now stands before the U.S. Supreme Court with a decision due to come out in Spring/Summer 2008.
Despite statements by the company, Prince William Sound has yet to fully recover from the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The Exxon Valdez Trustee Council (formed to oversee restoration of the injured ecosystem) reported that populations of six different animals - had shown little or no improvement since the spill injuries occurred. The once thriving multi-million dollar herring industry that supported the local economy has also not recovered.
