The DEC responded with the following statement -- provided by the Director of the Office of Media Relations, Erica Ringewald:
"The remediation of the Olean Refinery is being addressed through New York State's Brownfield Cleanup Program. The State has an Order with ExxonMobil that holds the company responsible for any off-site contamination from the Olean site. In addition, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has a history of holding ExxonMobil responsible for the historic Standard Oil Company refinery operations, including historic refineries in Greenpoint and Queens. DEC will continue to hold ExxonMobil responsible to clean up any contamination in New York State resulting from the Olean, NY, to Bayonne, NJ, pipeline built by Standard Oil in 1881. All reported spills have been addressed or are being addressed."
ExxonMobil is a descendent of the old Standard Oil Company.