"Exxon Mobil agreed Thursday to pay $1.6 million in penalties to the state of Montana over water pollution caused by a pipeline break last summer that fouled dozens of miles of shoreline along the scenic Yellowstone River."

"Montana Department of Environmental Quality director Richard Opper said the penalties in the case mark the largest in the agency's history.

The Texas oil company will pay $300,000 in cash and spend $1.3 million on future environmental projects, according to a copy of the document obtained by The Associated Press."

Matthew Brown reports for the Associated Press January 19, 2012. [2]