Exxon oil refinery on the New Jersey Turnpike
These are some of the stories we’ve been following this week.
- A New Jersey State Superior Court Judge has approved the state’s controversial $225 million settlement with ExxonMobil to resolve natural resource damage claims related to two oil refineries, industrial facilities, and gas stations.
- Airbnb recently announced its partnership with two Chinese venture capital firms to expand its presence in China, where outbound bookings have risen 700% in the last year.
- Former Park Avenue Bank president Charles Antonucci has been fined $54 million and sentenced to 30 months in prison for financial crimes, including embezzling, bribery, and defrauding insurance regulators. He is the first person to be convicted of trying to defraud the U.S. Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
- British Columbia’s Oil and Gas Commission confirmed that fracking has caused earthquakes in the province, including a 4.4-magnitude quake last summer and possibly a 4.5-magnitude quake last week. Canada’s Green Party is now asking for more money to be invested in sustainable resources.
- The North Dakota Industrial Commission has approved $500,000 in funding for a soil remediation project at the site of an oil drilling saltwater pit from the 1980s. The project will be conducted by the Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC), who say the project will serve as a model for remediation of other brine pits in the region.
- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit will decide whether a construction defect notice under Florida’s Chapter 558 constitutes a “suit,” and would thus trigger an insurer’s duty to defend. The Court’s opinion should provide more clarity to insurers regarding when liability insurance coverage is triggered by an event other than a formal proceeding in a court of law.
- A train derailment in Lynchburg, Virginia in April 2014 was caused by track damage, according to recent National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) findings. The crash caused a fire and the evacuation of six blocks, as well as an estimated $1 million in damage.
- Baker Hughes has detected elevated levels of chlorinated solvents in wells in Midland County, Texas. Area residents have been advised to avoid bathing, drinking, and cooking with well water, and the company has begun providing water and ice to affected residents until they can identify and remedy the source of the contamination.
- Duke Energy has filed groundwater assessments for 9 of its 14 current and former coal-burning power plants in North Carolina. According to data from the assessments, contaminated groundwater often flows from ash ponds toward rivers and lakes, creating a potential environmental issue. The company claims there is no significant impact.
- The City of San Diego and the San Diego Unified Port District are suing Monsanto for manufacturing and distributing chemical compounds containing PCBs, which have become a public nuisance by polluting San Diego Bay.
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