Our favorite Brooklyn environmental horror (the toxic plume under Gowanus by the Whole Foods site is a close second, and picking up speed) is back in the news with two huge lawsuits filed in 2006 and the state Attorney General's offices threatening legal action against Exxon Mobil. The spill around Newtown Creek (fun map of "plume" above or bigger version here) clocks in at about 17 million-30 million gallons, give or take, compared to about 11 million gallons for the Exxon Valdez. Carcinogenic benzene and explosive methane are said to be seeping into homes and neighbors say they know when it's going to rain because the stench of oil gets worse when the barometer drops. (Who knew?) There's a $58 billion lawsuit and another connected to a law firm involved in the famous Erin Brockovich case. Yes, that Erin Brockovich.
· Exxon Mobil's Biggest Oil Spill? Look in Brooklyn, Not Alaska [Bloomberg]
· Testing Confirms Nasty Shit Underfoot in Greenpoint [Curbed]
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