CSSJR 17(RES): Urging the United States Department of Justice and the Alaska Department of Law to identify all natural resource damages from the Exxon Valdez oil spill that were unanticipated at the time of the 1991 settlement, to develop plans to remedy the damages, and to present the ExxonMobil Corporation with a request for the full $100,000,000 that is available through the "Reopener for Unknown Injury" clause of the 1991 civil settlement to carry out these plans.
00 CS FOR SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 17(RES) 01 Urging the United States Department of Justice and the Alaska Department of Law to 02 identify all natural resource damages from the Exxon Valdez oil spill that were 03 unanticipated at the time of the 1991 settlement, to develop plans to remedy the 04 damages, and to present the ExxonMobil Corporation with a request for the full 05 $100,000,000 that is available through the "Reopener for Unknown Injury" clause of the 06 1991 civil settlement to carry out these plans. 07 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 08 WHEREAS, on March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef in 09 Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling more than 11,000,000 gallons of crude oil; the 10 grounding and spill released oil across more than 10,000 square miles of Alaska's coastal 11 oceans and 1,300 miles of shoreline, including five state parks, four state critical habitat areas, 12 one state game sanctuary, and many Alaska Native ancestral lands; the spilled oil killed 13 hundreds of thousands of birds, marine mammals, fish, and invertebrates; and the grounding 14 and spill seriously disrupted the economy, culture, and livelihoods of coastal residents; and
01 WHEREAS, on October 9, 1991, the United States District Court for Alaska in 02 Anchorage approved a settlement (Civil Actions No. A91-082 and A91-083) between Exxon 03 Corporation, the United States of America, and the State of Alaska for damages to natural 04 resources, including publicly owned wildlife and wild lands, from the Exxon Valdez oil spill; 05 and 06 WHEREAS this settlement includes a clause that provides for a "Reopener for 07 Unknown Injury," which states that the governments may, between September 1, 2002, and 08 September 1, 2006, request that the ExxonMobil Corporation pay additional sums as needed, 09 up to $100,000,000, to restore oil-damaged populations, habitats, or species in the spill zone if 10 the injury could not reasonably have been known nor anticipated at the time of the settlement; 11 and 12 WHEREAS this provision was a key factor in addressing the uncertainty of the 13 public, the Alaska State Legislature, the United States Congress, the State of Alaska, and the 14 United States District Court regarding the potential for future damages and, therefore, in 15 winning approval of this settlement; and 16 WHEREAS scientists funded through the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council 17 and by federal and state agencies, universities, and private foundations have clearly and 18 conclusively demonstrated substantial long-term harm from the Exxon Valdez oil spill; their 19 findings include evidence of direct and indirect harm to native species, coastlines, and the 20 peoples of the spill zone; and 21 WHEREAS all of these long-term damages from oil were unanticipated at the time of 22 the 1991 settlement because of the complexity of the intertidal spill zone environment, the 23 unexpected persistence of subsurface oil, species decline that did not become manifest until 24 after the settlement, and increased modern scientific recognition of the toxicity of oil to 25 wildlife; and 26 WHEREAS there exist many cost-effective restoration opportunities to mitigate these 27 unanticipated injuries; and 28 WHEREAS the governments are required to submit detailed plans for use of reopener 29 funds 90 days before a formal request to ExxonMobil Corporation, and the last day on which 30 the governments may make those requests is September 1, 2006; and 31 WHEREAS it is clearly in the interest of the citizens of Alaska that the governments
01 assert this claim for full payment for the additional damages from the Exxon Valdez oil spill; 02 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States 03 Department of Justice and the Alaska Department of Law to identify all natural resource 04 damages from the Exxon Valdez oil spill that were unanticipated at the time of the settlement, 05 to develop plans to remedy the damages, and to present the ExxonMobil Corporation with a 06 request for the full $100,000,000 available under the reopener clause to enact these plans; and 07 be it 08 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Attorney General of the State of Alaska or the 09 Attorney General of the United States report to the Alaska State Legislature on or before 10 June 2, 2006, on the status of the governments' claim for reopener damages. 11 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable George W. Bush, President 12 of the United States; the Honorable Richard B. Cheney, Vice-President of the United States 13 and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Bill Frist, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; 14 the Honorable Harry Reid, Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable J. Dennis 15 Hastert, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable John Boehner, Majority 16 Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of 17 the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable Alberto Gonzales, Attorney General of the 18 United States; the Honorable David W. Marquez, Alaska Attorney General; and the 19 Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable 20 Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.