First Exxon Valdez payments made

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- The first round of punitive damage payments from the ExxonMobil oil spill in Alaska have been paid, officials said.

Following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound -- the nation's worst oil spill -- more than 32,000 plaintiffs claimed they suffered losses from the destruction of fisheries and damage to the coastline.

The oil company was ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court this year to pay $507.5 million, ending a lengthy court battle in which Exxon appealed a $5 billion jury award. The payments now will average about $15,000

"My heart's not into receiving this money because, in reality, we're getting nothing," said fisherman Mike Webber. "Even if we got the full $5 billion, we still wouldn't come close to what we would have made in 20 years of fishing."

Webber said he will get about $180,000 from the judgment, compared with the $2.5 million he might have received under the initial jury award, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.

"One good thing is that this case is coming to an end. ... It's been an open sore," Webber said. "But are we going to be able to heal from it? I don't know."