“the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety), by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.” – H.L. Mencken
The big ‘Environmental news‘ this week is actually legal plunder and lawfare news. The US Supreme Court will not hear an appeal by Exxon Mobil of the NH State Supreme Court judgement against them. The state sued the oil company because it claimed they were responsible for MTBE leaking into local water supplies. With no appeal possible, the state court can now bilk the company for the original award of $235 million plus interest.
I have to say I’m ashamed of my own state, a recurring problem of late. This is jackpot justice, and the state does not have a right to any award under these circumstances.
Back on June 28th, 2014, we interviewed Mark Chenoweth with the Washington Legal Foundation. He revealed to us several truths that support the claim that New Hampshire has used the courts to plunder them and pad the state coffers.
- New Hampshire hired out-of-state hired guns to file and pursue a lawsuit.
- The tanks that supposedly leaked are the property of owner-operators of gas stations, but instead of targeting small business owners with faulty equipment (bad optics and no huge pay-day potential), New Hampshire went after big oil companies looking to cash in.
- Oil companies were required under federal law to add MTBE to gasoline.
- MTBE was EPA approved.
- A federally established pool of money, the LUST fund, exists and exists to address leaks from federally licensed underground tanks. It is managed by the EPA (who approved MTBE) and is funded by a tax on every gallon of gasoline sold. It exists to assist states in dealing with legitimate clean-up issues related to leaks from federally licensed underground tanks, which are the leaks for which NH is suing Exxon-Mobil. (April 2016 report)
Washington Legal Foundation Amicus.
So, New Hampshire sued oil companies for complying with a federal law that required them to blend an EPA-approved additive to their gasoline. They sued them for clean up costs when a fund existed in an account managed by the EPA, paid for in advance by you and I, in the event of leaks from underground storage tanks. They didn’t need to sue anybody, but if anyone was responsible, it was the owner-operators whose tanks were supposed to have leaked.
Greedy New Hampshire chose to target big oil in the hope of a jackpot verdict in a state judicial system inclined to grant it. They got their wish, and one way or another, customers will be made to pay again (we already pay a tax into the LUST fund) so greedy New Hampshire can collect its fraudulent payday.
