Pay Up Exxon!

WHEREAS, on March 24, 1989, Exxon spilled over 11 million gallons of crude oil in Prince William Sound, Alaska, killing more wildlife than any other spill in the world, and oiling approximately 3,200 miles of coastline much of it publicly-owned national wildlife refuges and forests, state parks, critical habitat, and game sanctuaries;

WHEREAS, the 1991 civil settlement among Exxon, the United States, and the State of Alaska for injuries to publicly-owned wildlife and wild lands from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (EVOS) provided a Reopener for Unknown Injury;

WHEREAS, scientists have documented severe and long-term ecological injuries from Exxons spill which were not anticipated at the time of the 1991 settlement;

WHEREAS, only 7 of the 30 resources or species listed by the EVOS Trustee Council as injured by the EVOS have recovered;

WHEREAS, 18 of the 30 resources or species listed by the EVOS Trustee Council as injured by the EVOS have not recovered, including
Common Loons
Harbor Seals
Pacific Herring
Cormorants (3 spp.)
Harlequin Ducks
Pigeon Guillemots
Clams
Intertidal Communities
Marbled Murrelets
Sea Otters
Designated Wilderness
Killer Whales (AB Pod)
Mussels
Sediments
Recreation and Tourism
Passive Uses
Commercial Fishing
Subsistence;

WHEREAS, the status of the remaining 5 of the 30 resources or species listed by the EVOS Trustee Council as injured by the EVOS is unknown;

WHEREAS, much of the unanticipated injury stems from lingering oil, which remains buried on publicly-owned lands in the intertidal zone and which NOAA scientists now estimate will take at least another 20 years to naturally degrade; and

January 6, 2006
WHEREAS, the United States and the State of Alaska are trustees of the injured wildlife and wildlands for purposes of holding Exxon accountable for unanticipated injury to these publicly-owned resources.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the undersigned hereby request that the Attorneys General of the United States and the State of Alaska reopen the 1991 civil settlement and claim $100 million available from Exxon to restore publicly-owned wildlife and wild lands that suffered significant and unanticipated injury as a result of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill.