Prince William Sound
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Sea Otters in Prince William Sound |
ACE's View
Prince William Sound is spectacularly cloaked by rainforest surrounding fjords where glaciers plunge to the sea. The Sound encompasses 3,500 miles of world-class scenic coastline which charms residents, visitors, and wthe wildlife that live within this delicate and already damaged region of the Chugach National Forest.
The 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster spilled over 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound, fouling beaches and damaging fish and wildlife populations. The Sound is still recovering and requires habitat protection.
What is the Exxon Reopener?
In 1991, a civil settlement was reached among Exxon, the United States and the State of Alaska for damages to publicly-owned wildlife and wild lands from the Exxon Valdez oil spill. This settlement included a clause entitled “Reopener for Unknown Injury,” pursuant to which the state.
For more information go to ACE's Exxon Reopener website.
Current Issues
Shame Totem Marks Anniversary of Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
Plaintiffs still wait for litigation to end
CORDOVA, ALASKA - An Alaska Native ceremony to publicly shame Exxon Mobil, the world's largest oil company and perpetrator of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, will be held at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 24, 2007, at the Masonic Hall in Cordova, Alaska. Mike Webber, an Alaska Native wood carver of Aleut and Tlingit descent, will unveil the seven-foot yellow cedar Exxon Ridicule Pole to the public following a private ceremony for Native elders. The event marks the 18th memorial of the nation's largest oil spill.
Some Alaska Native tribes traditionally erected a ridicule pole to force a person of "high standing" to pay a debt or meet an obligation, something Webber and others say Exxon Mobil has failed to do.
In 1994, a federal court in Anchorage, Alaska, awarded $5 billion in punitive damages to fishermen, Native Alaskans, and other plaintiffs in a class action suit against the oil giant. Exxon Mobil continues to appeal the damage award and the suit lingers in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. At least 6,000 plaintiffs have died since the suit was filed.
In his artist's statement, Webber writes, "As a memorial to corporate greed and the labyrinths of the legal system, this ridicule pole is dedicated to Exxon, who has refused to meet its debt or recognize its obligation to the communities and ecosystems profoundly affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill."
The ridicule pole depicts an imbalance in the US legal system that gives wealthy corporations an unfair advantage over citizens. Webber hopes the ridicule pole will remind the nation that the people of Prince William Sound have not forgotten Exxon's corporate crimes.
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