ExxonMobil Corp will pay $12 million to Montana for a 2011 oil spill that affected 85 miles of Yellowstone River as well as farmland.
Advertisement
The payment settles claims from the US and state governments that the 2011 spill harmed natural resources as it fouled an 85-mile stretch of the famous river that flows through southern Montana.
While the settlement is awaiting approval in by a United States district court judge in Montana, it is subject to 30 days of public debate and comments on the plans.
According to a statement from Governor Steve Bullock’s office and a Wednesday morning announcement from Riverside Park in Laurel, Gov. Bullock, Attorney General Tim Fox, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of the Interior have agreed to a proposed settlement with ExxonMobil Pipeline Company to resolve claims stemming from the Yellowstone River July 1, 2011 oil pipeline rupture and spill.
“This settlement is an important part of the work being done to ensure that the 2.7 million miles of oil, gas, and liquid chemical pipeline in this country remain safe, and that when incidents occur, the operators assume responsibility for cleanup”, U.S. Attorney Mike Cotter said. The Associated Press obtained details in advance.
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality said Exxon had completed all of the supplementary environmental projects associated with the spill early a year ago. “This money is to make sure not just that we’re compensated but the pelicans are where they should be, the fish are where they should be”.
Some $4.7 million of the settlement will go to shoreline and channel restoration and improvement, Fox said. Another $3.6 million will be for wildlife habitat restoration, $2.4 million for improving recreational access, $900,000 for restoration planning and $400,000 for improving white pelican breeding areas, he said. The State and federal government have also issued a draft restoration plan that will take action to address the natural resource damage. While authorities accuse ExxonMobil of delaying their response, the company has already paid out over $135 million in fines and compensatory damages to property owners affected by the spill.
The company spent $135 million on cleanup and fix work.
The accident prompted a national debate over the adequacy of safety rules for thousands of pipelines crossing beneath rivers, lakes and other waterways. Many of those pipelines were installed decades ago in shallow trenches and can be left exposed after floodwaters scour river bottoms.
Montana is reopening the last closed segment of the Yellowstone River south of Livingston on Friday. However, there yet remains regulatory mandates to require lines to be buried deep.
Advertisement
The discharge is estimated to have released about 63,000 gallons, or about 1,500 barrels, of oil.
