In a related case, Flerlage represented four families who sued a developer for selling them homes in Fallston with contaminated water. A Montgomery County jury awarded the plaintiffs about $200,000 each in compensatory and punitive damages in March.
A retired Harford County judge will hear the case against Exxon, but a trial date has not been set. Some plaintiffs fear delays, citing the Exxon Valdez case, in which the lawsuit involving an Alaskan oil spill has languished in courts for almost two decades. Twenty percent of the original plaintiffs are deceased.
Officials acknowledged in a state environmental agency report that they first learned of the contamination at the Upper Crossroads Exxon station in 1990 when a well there tested at 45 parts per billion of MTBE. The agency recommends treatment for wells that have 20 parts per billion and above.
After finding no trace of MTBE at that location three years later, the case was closed. But by 1998, water at a nearby Italian restaurant, Mama Libera's, tested at more than six times the permitted level - 126 parts per billion.
When state environmental officials forced Exxon to test private wells within a half-mile radius of the station in 2004, neighbors learned of the contamination.
"ExxonMobil knew of contamination. MDE knew of contamination and failed to tell people until we had been exposed," said Gene Ratych, president of the Greater Fallston Association. "I don't know how long before they tested my water that I had contamination coming into my house."
In 2004, the Morgans' home tested at nearly 37 times the permitted level, prompting them to ask their tenants to move.
"They really swept it under the rug," said Carl Morgan. "We should've been notified or had water tested because they knew about the adjacent property."
Fallston resident Bobby Michel had a different view.
"We seem to be taken care of and no one seems to be affected," Michel said. "The amount of stuff in there was so minute compared to what everyone got excited about. It's so minute compared to all the stuff and preservatives we are eating."
The leak caused a flurry of community meetings, lawsuits and legislation. In 2005, a state law was approved requiring governmental agencies to notify property owners within one-half mile of a contamination.
The environmental agency learned a "serious" lesson, Meade said. "We found that it's critical in today's world that citizens have a right to know what's going on out there."
Exxon initially provided bottled water to affected residents and installed carbon filtration systems for almost 200 wells. The bottled water stopped in 2006 and then last year, residents were told that they would be responsible for maintaining their own filtration systems.
"It was like Merry Christmas from Exxon, we're not helping you anymore," said Beth F. Scheir, who received a letter in December.
In the e-mail, Nair wrote that Exxon is maintaining 45 filtration systems as requested by state officials and that the company is "in full compliance."
Maintenance of the filtration system costs about $1,000 a year, residents said.
"Some of these families can't afford it," Ratych said. "Families are struggling to make sure they have clean water for an incident that was out of their hands."
madison.park@baltsun.com
