New Jersey judge nixes latest bid to block Exxon pollution settlement

(Reuters) - A New Jersey judge on Friday rejected the latest attempt by environmentalists to block a $225 million settlement between Exxon Mobil Corp. and Governor Chris Christie's administration over pollution clean-up costs. The case is controversial because the settlement accounts for less than 3 percent of the $8.9 billion in damages that the state previously said it would seek. The deal was cut under Christie, who is a 2016 Republican presidential candidate, after a decade of litigation. Environmental groups and Democratic legislators have been trying to intervene in the case since the settlement was announced in March, but Superior Court Judge Michael Hogan on Friday denied their latest attempt. State Senator Raymond Lesniak said he would appeal the ruling. "This miscarriage of justice will not stand," Lesniak said in a statement. "Judge Hogan has denied the public its right to appeal the biggest environmental contamination case in the history of the state." New Jersey sued Exxon in 2004, claiming the company was responsible for decades of contamination stemming from its refinery operations in Bayonne and Linden, as well as other facilities, including more than 1,700 gas stations. The damage helped turn more than 1,500 acres of wetlands and marshes into toxic wastelands, the state said. (Reporting by Hilary Russ in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)