Exxon Mobil Corp has agreed to pay a $1 million civil penalty to settle U.S. charges involving a 2011 pipeline rupture that spilled oil into the Yellowstone River in Montana.
Flooding was blamed for an underwater breach that spread more than 1,500 barrels of oil along the waterway and caused the evacuation of about 140 people near Laurel, Mont.
In a settlement filed on Tuesday in U.S. District Court for Montana, Exxon accepted the fine without admitting violations. The accord noted the company had reviewed and improved security of the pipeline’s water crossings and paid $1.6 million for spill clean-up and $12 million for restoration projects.