TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - New Jersey officials say they reached a $39 million settlement with an energy company over ground water contamination.
Attorney General Christopher Porrino said Thursday that a U.S. District judge in New York approved the settlement with Houston-based ConocoPhillips.
Porrino says the company was one of 50 oil and chemical firms sued in 2007 by the state over ground water contamination. The state argued that the defendants were responsible for contamination from a gasoline additive called MTBE.
In 2012 ConocoPhillips transferred some assets and liabilities, including MTBE cases, to Phillips 66. Phillips 66 Spokesman Dennis Nuss says the case was settled on “mutually acceptable” terms.
The defendants include oil refiners, distributors and gasoline retailers in New Jersey.
Porrino says the state has obtained nearly $157 million in settlements with the defendants.
___
The story has been corrected to show that ConocoPhillips transferred assets and liabilities to Phillips 66, and didn’t sell them.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.