Sunday, November 23, 2014

Exxon off the hook - for now

From the Daily News:

A federal judge is not convinced that the methane gas leaking from waste oil underneath a Queens building is a ticking time bomb ready to explode.

Brooklyn Judge Pamela Chen rejected a demand by Phoenix Beverage — which operates a large warehouse in Long Island City — to order Exxon Mobil to launch an immediate cleanup.

“There's not enough evidence that there is an imminent threat of an explosion,” Chen said Wednesday. “I, of course, hope it does not come to pass.”

...Chen sided with the Exxon Mobil lawyers who argued that the situation is being monitored and the risk of an explosion is merely speculation. Both sides have been litigating the case for years and Chen will ultimately have to decide who is responsible for cleaning up the boatloads of underground waste oil.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Judge Chen is from the Washington DC legal world and was nominated by Schumer, who receives donations from the oil lobby.

Anonymous said...

Forget the Bronx, Queens is burning!