Several major oil and gas companies will pay Rhode Island more than $17 million, in a pair of settlements announced by the state attorney general’s office Monday.
The lawsuit was filed in 2016 over the use of an additive, methyl tertiary-butyl ether or MTBE, that has the potential to cause cancer.
The attorney general’s office argued that the companies had used it even though they knew, or should have known, that the chemical could leak into drinking water supplies, putting the health of the public at risk.
In a settlement Shell, Sunoco, and CITGO, agreed to pay a combined $15 million, which will be used for emergency response and continued clean-up of MTBE contamination. Hess, Total Petrochemicals & Refining USA, Inc. (TPRI), Marathon, and Conoco, reached a separate settlement with the state in which they agreed to pay a combined $2,130,000.
“MBTE contamination of public water supplies poses a significant public health and safety risk, one which oil and gas companies knew about well before the public did,” Attorney General Peter Neronha said in a statement.
“The work to remediate contaminated water supplies continues, and the funds recovered to date, including today, will be exclusively dedicated to doing that work. In the meantime, this Office remains strongly committed to ensuring that the remaining oil and gas defendants are held responsible for the damage they have caused to the people of Rhode Island and the environment.”
The state is continuing to bring legal action against several other companies that have not agreed to a settlement, including British Petroleum (BP), Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Valero, and Irving.
Rhode Island banned the use of MTBE in 2007. And in 2012 the state reached a separate settlement with Exxon Mobile for $7 million, over MTBE contamination of Pascoag’s water supply.
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Reporter Sofie Rudin can be reached at srudin@thepublicsradio.org.
