The State : State Will Sue Shell Over Spill

The state Lands Commission has decided to sue Shell Oil Co. for damages over the spill of more than 365,000 gallons of crude oil into 1,000 acres of state-owned marshes near Martinez. The commission became the first agency to officially ask the attorney general’s office to file suit. The attorney general’s office is looking into coordinating a joint lawsuit for all government agencies affected by the April 23 spill. “The public resource has suffered severe damage from Shell’s spill. Suing Shell is the only way to assure the taxpayers that they do not pay for Shell’s oversight,” said Lt. Gov. Leo McCarthy, commission chairman. The suit will seek compensation for damage to real property, natural resources and losses for public use of fisheries and marine-related businesses, said Steve Hopcraft, McCarthy’s assistant chief of staff. He said the dollar amounts are not yet known. “We’re going to have to document the precise dollar figures . . . and that will take us several weeks to do,” he said.