A lengthy chemical contamination trial pitting the city of Merced against several major oil companies appears to be entering its final chapter.
Merced city officials have accused Exxon Mobil Corp., Shell Oil Co. and Chevron Corp. of contaminating groundwater at several sites with methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), a gasoline additive. Attorneys for the oil companies deny the accusations.
Both sides gave closing arguments Tuesday and Wednesday, after more than three months of testimony at Merced County Superior Court in Judge Carol Ash's courtroom.
The jury could award the city tens of thousands of dollars in damages, if it supports city officials' claims.
The lawsuit claims the oil companies sold fuel with MTBE between 1992 and 2002 to several local gas stations, and that the gasoline with the chemical was released into the environment through gas stations, contaminating groundwater and Merced's public water supply.
The suit also claims oil companies were negligent, careless and reckless when they failed to prevent leaks of MTBE through the use of appropriate technology. The city claims installation and maintenance of gasoline delivery systems could have prevented leaks, or at least discovered them as soon as possible.
MTBE is a gasoline additive used during the '90s, ostensibly to help cut air pollution and help fuel burn cleaner. The chemical was eventually banned in California following numerous cases of groundwater contamination.
The oil companies claim they did nothing wrong by including MTBE in their gasoline, and that there's no evidence the chemical has harmed anyone in Merced.
City officials, on the other hand, maintain the oil companies need to be held accountable. "This case is about failure to warn, and what you need to think about in this context is if the defendants know there was a problem, was there something they could do about it?" asked attorney Duane Miller, during closing arguments. Miller is representing the city.
Miller called the oil companies' alleged contamination of the soil a pattern that lasted for decades. He emphasized the potential health risks associated with MTBE, saying it can cause cancer, based on five separate studies.
"Do you want to expose the public to something that is known to cause cancer in animals?" he asked jurors. "So even if it's not a public health problem, who should be drinking water that contains gasoline components?"
Miller also said residents deserve nothing less than high-quality clean water. "We don't want the water in Merced tasting like you're in Los Angeles," he said.
As for the service station operators in Merced, Miller maintained they didn't ask to put MTBE in the gasoline. "The rest of them didn't know about it. The most common explanation for having it was, 'Oh they found it in the environment when they did a test in my site,' " he said.
Defense arguments
On the flip side, the four attorneys representing the oil companies downplayed the city's lawsuit, saying residents aren't in danger.
Robert Meadows, an attorney for Chevron, said the case isn't about anyone getting sick from MTBE in Merced or elsewhere. "The city's water is safe, not contaminated.
"The case is not about the city spending money to treat or replace any well in Merced because of MTBE. No well has ever been taken out of service or replaced because of MTBE," Meadows said.
Meadows said all the oil companies involved gave warning about gasoline with MTBE and how to handle it. "If (there are) gas leaks, whether it has MTBE in it or not, you will be fined. If it is one thing that will motivate behavior, it's breaking the law and being fined for it," he said.
Rick Wallace, an attorney representing Shell, said none of the documents the plaintiffs showed during closing arguments related to the city or any gas stations in Merced. Moreover, he said Miller showed emails from the 1980s and 1990s during closing arguments to make the jurors believe Shell hid information about MTBE. "I hope you'll agree with me that nothing is further from the truth," Wallace said.
Wallace claimed the city was mistaken about contamination allegations concerning two gas stations on G and R streets.
One of the stations was cleaned up and closed down, and no MTBE was located off-site, he said, while there was no credible evidence of a spill or leak at the other station.
The city settled with oil company ConocoPhillips in November for $1.25 million. Jurors are scheduled to continue their deliberations today.
Reporter Ameera Butt can be reached at (209) 385-2477 or abutt@mercedsunstar.com.
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