Lesniak makes new bid for Exxon settlement documents

Former State Sen. Raymond Lesniak thinks that a new Governor and state Environmental Protection Commissioner will help him uncover issues related to Gov. Chris Christie’s $225 million settlement with Exxon Mobil.

The Lesniak Institute for Public Advocacy filed an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request today seeking damage assessments for sixteen sites connected to Exxon’s refineries in Linden and Bayonne.  A previous request for documents had been turned down by the Christie administration.

Lesniak, who spent 40 years in the New Jersey Legislature before retiring earlier this year, had been a vocal opponent of the settlement and filed a legal challenge to the results of what had been an $8.9 billion claim against Exxon Mobil.

“With a new DEP Commissioner and Governor, I believe this information will be available for public scrutiny,” Lesniak said. “How can the state settle damage claims against 16 ExxonMobil facilities in the state without the public knowing DEP’s assessment of the damages?

In February, a state Appels court refused to reverse the 2015 settlement.   As a state Senator and 2017 gubernatorial candidate, Lesniak was a party to the suit, along with environmental groups, and appeared in court last September in a bid to get the reopen the settlement.

Lesniak called Christie’s Exxon Mobil settlement “the worse deal since Boston traded Babe Ruth.”