US officials reject the oil company’s request for a rethink on the fine imposed after a pipeline spilled 63,000 gallons of crude into the river

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

US officials have rejected Exxon Mobil’s request to reconsider a $1m penalty imposed against the oil company over a 63,000-gallon crude spill into Montana’s Yellowstone river.

The US Department of Transportation on Friday ordered the Texas company to pay the penalty within 20 days at a hearing in Billings, Montana.

The aftermath of the Yellowstone river oil spill Read more

Safety regulators said Exxon Mobil failed to adequately heed warnings that its 20-year-old Silvertip Pipeline was at risk from flooding. They said the company lacked procedures to minimise the spill when the line broke.

The 2011 spill left oil along an 85-mile stretch of the Yellowstone, killing fish and wildlife and prompting a cleanup that took months.

Exxon attorneys had asked the Department of Transportation to withdraw three of its four findings of pipeline safety violations. It also sought to reduce the penalty.