23 LI water districts offered $39.5M in MTBE settlement

Twenty-three Long Island water districts have been offered a total of $39.5 million in a settlement from major oil companies concerning contamination of public water wells.

The water districts sued the oil companies over the contamination of public water wells by the gasoline additive MTBE, the abbreviation for methyl tertiary butyl ether. The settlement funds are targeted at cleaning up the tainted wells.

Seventeen districts have already accepted the offer, according to the attorney representing all 23 districts. Marc Bern, with Napoli, Bern, Ripka LLP in Manhattan and in Great River, said the settlement requires all districts to accept it and he expects the remaining six to respond by next month. The offer was made in April.

"It's an excellent settlement," Bern said, and added that the MTBE contamination "is minimal, it would appear." Each district would receive a sum ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars into the millions.

The funds will be a "welcome relief for taxpayers and rate payers," Bern said.

The defendants include Amerada Hess, BP Products, Exxon Mobile, Shell, Sunoco, Texaco, Gulf and Valero.

Bern said the following districts have agreed to accept the offer: Aqua NY of Sea Cliff, City of Glen Cove, Greenlawn, Hampton Bays, Manhasset-Lakeville, East Hampton Village, Dix Hills, Southampton Town, Southampton Village, Garden City, Village of Hempstead, Mineola, Westbury, Carle Place, East Hampton Town, Town of Riverhead Water District, and West Hempstead Water District.

Water providers still mulling the offer are Garden City Park, Oyster Bay, Plainview, South Farmingdale, South Huntington, and Bethpage.

The West Hempstead Water District would receive the largest award from the settlement, $7.6 million.

Huntington officials said the Greenlawn Water district would get $3.566 million, South Huntington Water District $2.237 million and the town-operated Dix Hills Water District just under $1.1 million, all after costs and legal fees.

Bern said the settlement was apportioned based on the number of wells that were contaminated or threatened by contamination.

Huntington officials said Dix Hills had five wells where MTBE was detected and seven considered endangered. Greenlawn had 10 where MTBE was detected and 15 considered endangered, South Huntington had six where MTBE was detected hits and 14 considered endangered.