Clean Water Act · 1991 Public record Prince William Sound spill
Exxon (Exxon Valdez) · Alaska
~$1 billion
settlement · log scale, $16.5M to $14.7B
The settlement that reset the price of an oil spill.
After the 1989 tanker grounding fouled 1,300 miles of Alaskan coastline, the 1991 settlement combined a $900 million civil recovery paid over ten years with $100 million in criminal restitution.
Source: U.S. DOJ / EPA / State of Alaska settlement, 1991
Clean Water Act · 2015 Public record Dan River coal-ash spill
Duke Energy · North Carolina
$102 million
settlement · log scale, $16.5M to $14.7B
A pipe under a coal-ash pond let go into a drinking-water river.
Duke Energy subsidiaries pleaded guilty to nine Clean Water Act violations across North Carolina plants and paid $102 million in fines, restitution, and community service after the 2014 Dan River release.
Source: U.S. DOJ, 2015