Feds told to help pay for cleanup

Government found partly responsible for wartime pollution

A judge has ordered the federal government to pay some of the cost of cleaning up environmental damages stemming from wartime production dating back some seven decades at two refineries and chemical complexes owned by Exxon Mobil.

Chief U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal issued her ruling last week as part of a lawsuit Exxon Mobil brought against the U.S. government over who is responsible for paying to clean up the contamination caused when the government used the plants in Baytown and Baton Rouge, La. to produce aviation fuel and other combat-related products during World War II and the Korean War.

The U.S. hired Humble Oil and Standard Oil, predecessors to Exxon Mobil, to produce high-octane fuel, beginning in 1941. Both plants disposed of hazardous waste in nearby bodies of water that feed into the Gulf of Mexico, including the Houston Ship Channel and the Mississippi River.

Exxon Mobil has spent — and will continue to spend — millions on the cleanup, according to Rosenthal’s order. Exxon Mobil is seeking reimbursement for the percentage of costs attributable to the government’s wartime activities, including future expenses. Exxon Mobil says it spent $77 million through December 2014.

Rosenthal has scheduled a trial for February to determine the government’s share of the bills.

ExxonMobil said in a statement that it believes the court ruling was fair. The Justice Department declined to comment.