US: February 8, 2008


WASHINGTON - BP Plc's s Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) unit has agreed to pay US$187 million to finance a cleanup of the Clark Fork River, a well-known Montana trout stream, under a settlement announced by the Justice Department and Environmental Protection agency Thursday.


The cleanup will occur along a 120-mile stretch of the Clark Fork and other areas of southwestern Montana contaminated by decades of mining and other activity upstream, the announcement said.

It said the settlement ends prolonged litigation over the site. "The environmental benefits will go directly to local landowners with improved soil, and extend to all Montanans through cleaner water and improved fisheries," said Robbie Roberts, EPA's Regional Administrator.

The state of Montana, a party to the settlement, will conduct the cleanup, the statement said.


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