reporter: that really smells like oil. it actually does. it s been, expect the worst and hope for the best. reporter: money has not made the problems go away. john platt got his final payment from exxon last year. nearly $500,000. but fishing s not what it was, so he used it to pay off debts on his fishing permits and boats. i think the general perception is that we were compensated a long time ago, everything s rosy and that s not the case. reporter: it s a much deeper story. big-time. much deeper. reporter: so what do things look like 21 years later? the oil sustains may no longer be as evident, but they re still here, just below the surface. well, that is the cordova marina behind me where so many livelihoods were affected. anderson, i want to share with you a statement we got from exxonmobil today, exxon merging with mobile 11 years ago. the statement saying in part,