BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Federal pipeline regulators have proposed $1.7 million in penalties against Exxon Mobil Corp. for a pipeline rupture that spewed crude oil into Montana's Yellowstone River. The U.S. Department of Transportation said in a notice sent to the company Monday that Exxon employees failed to close a valve that could have significantly reduced the size of the 63,000-gallon spill.

The agency also faulted the company for not addressing flood risks or taking measures to prevent a spill into the scenic waterway. The July 2011 rupture from a pipeline under the river fouled 70 miles of the scenic Yellowstone's banks, killing fish and wildlife and prompting a massive, months-long cleanup. Investigators previously said the size of the spill could have been reduced by about two-thirds if pipeline controllers had acted more quickly.

 

 

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