
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 15, 1991                   TAG: 9103150810
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A/10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

$1.1 BILLION EXXON CASH WON'T OIL ALL ROILED WATER

IN A PLEA bargain with the U.S. and Alaskan governments, Exxon Corp. has accepted criminal responsibility for its massive oil spill two years ago. The company, whose tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground and loosed nearly 11 million gallons of crude into Prince William Sound, will pay $1.1 billion in fines and damages.

It has been an expensive couple of years for Exxon, both in money and in image. The corporation has put $2 billion into cleanup efforts. It still is subject to damage suits by native Alaskan villages as well as private parties. For some time, any claims Exxon makes to environmental awareness will be hooted off the stage.

Still, some observers feel the settlement lets the company off easy. The sound and the shores are almost free of oil today, but long-range effects on wildlife and the environment cannot yet be calculated.

Payment of the $1.1 billion will be spread out over a decade, which means that inflation and other factors reduce the actual penalty.

Although Exxon also agreed to pay another $100 million for environmental problems that might be traced to the spill after the 10-year payment period, the company clears billions of dollars in profits every year. Its financial position never was hurt by the spill or any of the obligations incurred.

U.S. Attorney General Richard Thornburgh said the $100 million fine showed that just paying damages for pollution isn't enough - but this amount is piddling to an oil giant.

The deal is justifiable, nonetheless, because it makes the fine and compensation money available much sooner than if the case dragged out in the courts. Legal delays and maneuvers would cost the governments - that is, the people - as well as the company. In matters like this, time may work against what seems to be the cause of justice. It's often best to settle.

It's understandable that frustration and anger linger. But a helpful warning has been sent. And those willing to heap blame on Exxon should remember that, like other oil companies, it is the public's agent. Oil firms supply a fuel that is plentiful, convenient and - right now - cheap. We the people demand it, so it moves every day in great quantities across bodies of water, over land and through pipelines. Even when great care is exercised, accidents happen.

The Wilderness Society says that on average, there are 20 spills a day on U.S. soil or in our waters. In the 12 months after the Exxon Valdez disaster, an estimated 10,000 other spills occurred within our boundaries, totaling as much as 20 million gallons. That's nearly twice as much as the Prince William Sound spill, but only about as much oil as Americans consume every hour of the day.

So don't blame Exxon because there are oil spills. Don't blame oil companies for transporting all that crude or the refined products therefrom. It stems from our demands. And it's never been more clear that we demand, and expect, too much.

by CNB