Oil firms OK contamination settlement

NEW YORK, May 8 (UPI) -- Several large U.S. oil companies have agreed to pay about $423 million to settle a widespread lawsuit charging water contamination, court documents show.

The settlement, pending approval by a federal court in New York, stemmed from a claim by 153 public water providers in New York, California and 15 other states that a gasoline additive can make drinking water supplies unpalatable, The New York Times reported Thursday.

The agreement also includes covering 70 percent of the cleanup costs over the next 30 years.

The suit contended that the chemical additive methyl tertiary butyl ether, or MTBE, had been used by oil companies even though they knew of its environmental and health risks, the Times said.

Eight companies named in the suit agreed to the settlement, among them BP, Royal Dutch Shell, ConocoPhillips, Chevron, Marathon Oil, Valero Energy, Citgo and Sunoco. Six others, including Exxon Mobil, disagreed, the Times said.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International