IRVING (dpa-AFX) - Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) agreed to pay about $5 million to settle U.S. and Arkansas claims for 2013 Mayflower oil spill.
ExxonMobil Pipeline Company and Mobil Pipe Line Company have agreed to pay civil penalties, fund an environmental project and implement corrective measures to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act and state environmental laws stemming from a 2013 crude oil spill from the Pegasus Pipeline in Mayflower, Arkansas, the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today.
Under a consent decree lodged today in federal court, ExxonMobil will pay $3.19 million in federal civil penalties and take steps to address pipeline safety issues and oil spill response capability. In addition, ExxonMobil will pay $1 million in state civil penalties, $600,000 for a project to improve water quality at Lake Conway, and $280,000 to the Arkansas Attorney General's Office for the state's litigation costs.
The oil spill occurred on March 29, 2013, after the Pegasus Pipeline, carrying Canadian heavy crude oil from Illinois to Texas, ruptured in the Northwoods neighborhood of Mayflower, Arkansas. Oil flowed through the neighborhood, contaminating homes and yards, before entering a nearby creek, wetlands and a cove of Lake Conway. Some residents were ordered to evacuate their homes after the spill and remained displaced for an extended period of time.
The spill volume has been estimated at approximately 3,190 barrels, or 134,000 gallons.
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