Oil Companies Agree to Settlement in MTBE Cases

By Robert Carrier

Published on May 08, 2008

The settlement, filed Wednesday with U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin in New York, would seek to resolve lawsuits filed against the companies in 20 states for groundwater contamination by the chemical methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE).

Some oil companies however, notably Exxon Mobil Corp., have refused to settle the lawsuits, asserting that no damage has been done and that the use of MTBE, a pollution-reducing oxygenate, was required by the federal Clean Air Act.

The settlement must be reviewed by U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin before it can go into effect.