Judge Approves Pollution Settlement Between New Jersey And Exxon Mobil

TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A state judge has approved a contentious $225 million settlement between Gov. Chris Christie's administration and Exxon Mobil related to dozens of polluted sites and nearly 2,000 retail gas stations.

Superior Court Judge Michael Hogan ruled Tuesday in the 11-year-old case that has spanned Democratic and Republican governors.

Hogan called the deal a reasonable compromise given the substantial litigation risks faced by the state.

The settlement has been highly criticized by environmental groups and Democrats who control the state Legislature, who argue it is a fraction of the $8.9 billion New Jersey should have recovered.

The case stretches back to 2004, when the state Department of Environmental Protection and the state attorney general brought a lawsuit against Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil Corp.

The suit charged that Exxon's petroleum refining plants in Linden and Bayonne fouled the land and water. The state sought to recoup losses stemming from the lack of use of the land and the contamination of groundwater.

A judge found the company liable at trial, but no damage amount had been determined.

Attorneys then sent a letter to the judge asking him to refrain from ruling because the two sides had "agreed on the general parameters of a settlement." They notified him on Feb. 20 that they had reached an agreement.

Christie's administration has hailed the deal as the nation's second-largest of its kind against a corporate polluter.

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