Oil company Mobil says it should not have to pay for contamination caused by other users of an Auckland waterfront site.
Auckland's council-owned waterfront agency is taking Mobil to court over the cost of decontaminating a prime downtown site being redeveloped into office and recreation land.
Waterfront Auckland says the cost of cleaning up two sites previously occupied by Mobil could run to tens of millions of dollars - and if the company does not pay, ratepayers will have to.
Mobil spokesperson Alan Bailey says the company wants to pay to clean up what it is responsible for, but other users contributed to the contamination and it does not want to pay for their mess.
"The site came from all sorts of reasonably difficult industrial applications, so it is not what one would call originally a pristine site."
Waterfront Auckland chief executive John Dalziell says striking an out-of-court deal has proved impossible because of wildly different views on who should pay for what.
"We are talking quite a sizeable difference. This is a significant issue and that's why we felt it was important to essentially narrow the argument because we are quite a way apart."
Mr Dalziell says other oil companies have agreed to clean up their sites as leases come to an end.
The application to have the lease obligations clarified is set to be heard at the Auckland High Court by the end of June.
