Governor Sarah Palin Directs Attorney General to File Amicus Brief on Exxon Appeal

Source: Energy Innovator

Juneau, Alaska - Governor Sarah Palin today confirmed her direction last week to Attorney General Talis Colberg to begin work on the state’s response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to hear the Exxon case.

Last Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court decided to hear Exxon Mobil’s appeal of the $2.5 billion damages award from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Governor Palin conferred with Colberg about filing an amicus brief and a decision was made to go forward.

In its amicus brief, the state will offer its unique perspective on the harm to Alaskans caused by the spill and the legal issues on which the Supreme Court granted certiorari.

The deadline for filing the brief is Jan. 22, 2008.

The Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound in 1989 when the tanker hit a reef. Hundreds of thousands of seabirds and marine animals died as the crude oil spread throughout the sound, and the region’s fisheries were financially devastated.