Exxon Mobil to Pay $1.6M in Montana Settlement

Dow component Exxon Mobil

, the largest U.S. oil company, will pay the state of Montana $1.6 million in penalties related to polluted water caused by a pipeline break along the Yellowstone River last year. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality said the penalty is the largest in its history. Exxon will pay $300,000 in cash and spend $1.3 million on future environmental project and will reimburse more than $760,000 in emergency response costs racked up by state agencies, the Associated Press reported. On Thursday, Texas-based Exxon raised its estimate of how many barrels of oil were spilled to just over 1,500 barrels from an initial estimate of 1,000 barrels. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality did say Exxon was cooperative in the cleanup efforts and had the company not been, penalties could have been higher.