Sens. Menendez, Lautenberg seek raising liability cap on oil companies after Gulf disaster

Lawmakers want to move cap from $75M to $10B

EPA/MIKE THEILERSen. Frank Lautenberg and Sen. Robert Menendez.

WASHINGTON, D.C., — Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez are seeking to raise the liability cap for economic damages from accidents from $75 million to $10 billion, a report on NorthJersey.com said.

The cap was originally established in a 1990 law written in response to the Exxon Valdez accident in Alaska as well as tar balls washing up on New Jersey beaches after oil spills around Newark Bay, according to the report. Lautenberg actually co-authored that legislation, which he touted at the time as a crackdown on the oil industry, but now he argues the severity of the Gulf Oil disaster calls for a revision, the report said.