Mayflower oil spill consent decree put up for court approval

LITTLE ROCK — The federal government has asked a U.S. District Court judge to approve a final version of a consent decree with the state of Arkansas and Exxon Mobil over a 2013 oil spill in Mayflower in central Arkansas.

The U.S. Department of Justice filing says Arkansas and two Exxon Mobil subsidiaries are in agreement about the decree.

The decree, submitted in April, will require two subsidiaries of Exxon Mobil to pay about $5 million in penalties for state and federal violations caused when oil spilled into a cove of Lake Conway after a 22-foot portion of the Pegasus Pipeline ruptured.

Central Arkansas Water registered concerns that Exxon Mobil had not acknowledged gross negligence as part of the decree. The pipeline crosses underneath the Maumelle watershed, where the utility draws its water.

See Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full coverage.

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