Judge Rules Exxon Must Face Criminal Charges Over 50,000 Gallon Fracking Waste Spill Event

Eine Tochtergesellschaft des Mineralölkonzerns Exxon Mobil muss sich in den USA vor Gericht dafür verantworten, Fracking-Abwasser illegal entsorgt und damit Grundwasser verschmutzt zu haben. XTO Energy soll an einer Förderstätte in Pennsylvania knapp 216.000 Liter verschmutztes Wasser verschüttet haben. Der Generalstaatsanwalt hatte schon im September Anklage gegen XTO erhoben. Das Unternehmen stritt die Tat ab und argumentierte, dass es keinen "langfristigen Umwelteinfluss" gebe. Am 1. Januar 2014 hat der zuständige Richter die strafrechtliche Anklage in acht Punkten zugelassen.

Exxon Mobil Corp. subsidiary XTO Energy will have to face criminal charges for allegedly dumping tens of thousands of gallons of hydraulic fracturing waste at a Marcellus Shale drilling site in 2010, according to a Pennsylvania judge’s ruling on 1 January 2014. Following a preliminary hearing, Magisterial District Judge James G. Carn decided that all eight charges against Exxon — including violations of both the state Clean Streams Law and the Solid Waste Management Act — will be “held for court,” meaning there is enough evidence to take the fossil fuel giant to trial over felony offenses. Pennsylvania’s Attorney General filed criminal charges back in September 2013, claiming Exxon had removed a plug from a wastewater tank, leading to 57,000 gallons of contaminated water spilling into the soil. The Exxon subsidiary had contested the criminal charges, claiming there was “no lasting environmental impact,” and that the charges could “discourage good environmental practices” from guilty companies.