Oil company ExxonMobil has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $1.4 million for an alleged violation of the Clean Water Act arising from a crude oil spill from the "North Line" pipeline that occurred in 2012 in the rural area known as Pointe Coupee Parish.

The US Department of Justice and the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) stated that the company will pay the penalty to settle the lawsuit.

The federal complaint alleged that ExxonMobil had spilled at least 117,000 gallons of oil, equivalent to approximately 2,800 barrels, at the time of the pipeline rupture on 28 April 2012, approximately 20 km west of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Photo: © Getty Images

According to the Department of Justice, "The spill contaminated the surrounding soil and polluted the waterways." The lost crude oil damaged aquatic vegetation, and multiple fish and wildlife deaths were recorded throughout the area.

The EPA stated that the penalty is in addition to the costs borne by ExxonMobil to seal the oil spill and replace the damaged parts of the structure.

[Cover photo: © www.npr.org]