State will file reopener claims in EVOS

State and federal claims against Exxon Mobil Corp. to restore damage from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill will be filed in time to meet the June 1 deadline, Gov. Frank Murkowski said the last weekend in May.

The claims are being made according to the 1991 reopener provision of the Exxon civil settlement suit, requiring the oil company to commit $100 million for environmental restoration of Prince William Sound.

The reopener provision in the settlement expires Sept. 1. The state and federal governments must file a claim 90 days before that date.

Murkowski and State Attorney General David Marquez told The Daily Mirror the state may file another lawsuit if Exxon refuses to pay the money.

U.S. Sens. Ted Stevens and Lisa Murkowski earlier requested ExxonMobil voluntarily commit the money for restoration damages.

But Exxon maintains it is sticking to the original settlement, which requires them to pay only if the court agrees the damage was unexpected and the restoration projects are narrowly defined.

Lucinda Jacobs, a consultant analyzing oil-spill damage for the state, said studies show there remain areas with lingering impact.

She said scientists have dug 6,775 test pits, and of those more than 500 were found to have traces of subsurface oil.

Jacobs listed sea otter, sea birds, harlequin ducks, clams and mussels, harbor seals and killer whales showing various stages of recovery.

Jacobs said Pacific herring is not recovering, but the herring fishery is being hit by a virus that scientists are not sure is linked to the oil spill.

—The Associated Press