ExxonMobil Additive Case Pits State Claims Against Federal Rules

ExxonMobil Corp. and Citgo Petroleum Corp. are the last holdouts in an $800 million lawsuit by New Hampshire alleging that oil companies knew a chemical added to gasoline would contaminate residents’ groundwater.

Opening statements are set to begin today in Concord in a trial that pits the state’s environmental claims against the companies’ efforts to comply with federal pollution standards. It’s one of scores of cases involving the additive methyl tertiary butyl ether that have been filed since 2000 against oil refiners, fuel distributors and chemical makers.