From the Daily News:Five polluters are on the hook for a proposed Superfund cleanup of Newtown Creek, federal officials said.
The corporations - oil companies Exxon Mobil, Chevron and BP; gas company National Grid, and mining company Phelps Dodge - are working on a deal to pay for the investigation phase of the cleanup.
The group had been in talks with the state since Attorney General Andrew Cuomo threatened to sue them in 2007, and were "reasonably close to reaching an agreement" when state officials turned the cleanup effort over to the feds, said Sam Ostrow, a spokesman for the group.
All five companies owned properties along the creek that are believed to have spewed toxins into the waterway, which is heavily polluted with heavy metals, coal tar and PCBs.
The Newtown cleanup is expected to take even longer than the proposed Superfund cleanup of the Gowanus Canal, which has sparked a firestorm farther south in Brooklyn.
8 comments:
Anyone who thinks that "companies" actually pay are delusional. "Companies" are not like people and treating them as such is pathetic.
Fact is there are only three sources of actual revenue for a "company" to pay with.
1. Cost gets passed on to the consumer (us).
2. Cost gets written off and thus reduces the tax burden of the company (us).
3. Cost is taken out of dividends / profit so stockholders (us) pay for it.
Get the idea?
ew-3 said...
Anyone who thinks that "companies" actually pay are delusional. "Companies" are not like people and treating them as such is pathetic.
Fact is there are only three sources of actual revenue for a "company" to pay with.
1. Cost gets passed on to the consumer (us).
2. Cost gets written off and thus reduces the tax burden of the company (us).
3. Cost is taken out of dividends / profit so stockholders (us) pay for it.
Get the idea?
Sunday, November 22, 2009
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And the alternative being?
Alternative...what about just filling it in and pave it over and get rid of the damnnn bridge on borden ave traffic has been horrible .
How many times a year does that bridge open up?
I have lived in LIC for 9 years travel over that bridge almost daily and have never seen it open up.
Anonymous said...
Alternative...what about just filling it in and pave it over and get rid of the damnnn bridge on borden ave traffic has been horrible .
How many times a year does that bridge open up?
I have lived in LIC for 9 years travel over that bridge almost daily and have never seen it open up.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
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Which doesn't answer my question. You still have to clean it before you pave it.
Me saw a toad swimming there once - it can't be that bad....
"Me saw a toad swimming there once - it can't be that bad....'
That would be me! Did you happen to find my bra?
@ ew-3
1. If the cost gets passed on the consumer, they will do business with a cheaper rival company. It's a free market, you know--capitalism, competition, etc. Thus, the consumer indirectly penalizes the company for illegal business practices and makes other law-abiding companies benefit.
2. The decreased tax revenue from the company in question is offset by the increased economic activity of the firms involved with the clean up. Exxon may write off the loss, but environmental remediation contractors will be in the black, and thus will have more to tax.
3. Not everyone has their money in the stock market. Those who choose to buy stock know they're taking a gamble. If you wanted to invest in a company with questionable business practices, and now you're taking a hit, I can't feel that sorry for you.
And of course the excellent point others have brought up: what's the alternative? Have the state pay? Let the toxic plume fester?
It has to be cleaned up and the only logical people to pay for it are those who made the mess in the first place.
Moby Stavisky said...
Did you happen to find my bra?
We sent it back to Playtex and they returned it with a condolence card. I guess those living bras don't last forever!
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