MAYFLOWER, Ark. (KFSM) — ExxonMobil agreed to a $5 million settlement with the state of Arkansas on Wednesday (April 20) for its role in the 2013 Mayflower oil spill.
More than 134,000 gallons of crude oil oozed from the Pegasus Pipeline into homes and waterways in Mayflower, after the spill started on March 29, 2013.
Exxon will pay $4.19 million in state and civil penalties, according to CBS affiliate KTHV. The company will also spend $600,000 to help improve the water quality in Lake Conway, which was hard hit by the spill.
In the case of another spill, ExxonMobil is also installing emergency supplies along the Pegasus Pipeline to make it safer, KTHV reported. The pipeline has yet to reopen.
“We are calling it a critical victory, because of the steps that should the pipeline reopen that ExxonMobil will have to take to ensure those safety measures are in place, to ensure the technology is in place,” said Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge.
The settlement is still in its 30-day comment period, but will go into effect at the end of that period barring any objections.
In addition to the state’s lawsuit, there are also several individual lawsuits filed by the families who were affected by the spill. KTHV reported that the first of of those lawsuits will be heard in October.
To read more about the Mayflower Oil Spill on KTHV, click here.
