Exxon settles suit with Conservation Law Foundation over Everett site

The 100-acre ExxonMobil tank farm in Everett will not be allowed to store fuel anymore as a result of a settlement agreement between the company and the Conservation Law Foundation.

The advocacy group sued ExxonMobil in 2016, claiming the company repeatedly violated the Clean Water Act by discharging pollutants into the Mystic River beyond limits set by the site’s permit. The group also claimed ExxonMobil put neighborhoods at risk because it hasn’t prepared the site for flooding and storms associated with the climate crisis.

“This is a facility where ExxonMobil, which has known through work by its own scientists about the risks of extreme weather to their facilities, has done nothing to prepare for extreme storms,” said foundation President Brad Campbell.

Scientists expect rainfall to become heavier with climate change. According to Campbell, the facility posed a high contamination risk not only for local neighbors and the Mystic River, but also Boston Harbor — a once-heavily polluted body of water that took years and millions of dollars to clean up.

ExxonMobil didn't respond to requests for comment.

ExxonMobil has sold the tank farm to The Davis Companies, a Boston developer, according to CLF and The Boston Globe. The new owner will be responsible for the site’s clean up.

“CLF will remain vigilant to ensure that this now-former ExxonMobil site is made safe for Everett, while continuing our campaign to stop unlawful operation of similar facilities threatening communities from Maine to Connecticut and beyond,”  Campbell said in a press release. CLF has sued Shell Oil storage terminals in Providence, Rhode Island, and New Haven, Connecticut.

Everett’s industrial waterfront has been redeveloped over the years. The Encore Casino area, which was a Monsanto chemical plant, cost millions of dollars to clean up. The city also supports plans to turn a gas-fired power station, the Mystic Generating Station, into a 25,000-seat soccer stadium for the New England Revolution, but the project would need a support from the state Legislature to proceed.

At the same time, Everett is also improving riverfront areas for recreation and flood protection.