Environment: Spill Going On

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The punitive-damages case may not be Exxon's last legal tussle over the spill. In 1991 Exxon agreed to pay $900 million to settle a civil lawsuit brought by the State of Alaska and the Federal Government for natural-resource damages. The settlement allowed the governments to seek an additional $100 million if there was evidence of long-term, unanticipated injuries to the natural habitat or species. The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council's current report notes that less than 20% of the species the council recognized as having been injured by the 1989 spill have fully recovered. As a result, a coalition of environmental groups is pushing for a reopening of the 1991 settlement. They are girding for a long fight. Exxon's profits, it seems, are exceeded only by its patience.