Articles by Matthew Brown

Exxon to Pay $12M to Settle over Yellowstone Oil Spill

Exxon Mobil Corp. will pay $12 million for environmental damages caused by a pipeline break that spilled 63,000 gallons (238,474 liters) of crude into Montana’s Yellowstone River and prompted a national debate over lax pipeline safety rules, officials said Wednesday. …

Cleanup Plan Finally Approved For Contaminated Montana Town

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency granted final approval this week to a costly cleanup program for a Montana community where health officials say hundreds of people have been killed by asbestos poisoning. The agency’s action comes more than 15 years …

Some Asbestos Left Behind in Montana Town Amid Move to End Cleanup

Federal officials say their final analysis of a Montana community wracked by deadly asbestos contamination shows a costly and much-criticized cleanup is working – even though about 700 properties have yet to be investigated. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has …

Attorneys: $10M+ Settlement Reached In Wyoming Fire

Attorneys for a Montana man severely burned in a Bakken, Wyo. oil patch fire say they have reached a multi-million dollar settlement with an oil and gas company. The attorneys for Lester “Gary” Roberts described the settlement Wednesday as a …

Montana, Feds To Seek Damages From Exxon Spill

Montana and federal officials say they’ll seek compensation from Exxon Mobil Corp. for natural resource damages caused by a crude oil spill into the Yellowstone River. Thursday’s announcement comes two years after an Exxon pipeline near Laurel broke during flooding …

U.K. Braces for Hurricane-Force Winds in Worst Storm Since 1990

Southern England is girding for 90 mile-per-hour winds as the biggest storm since 1990 is forecast to fell trees and damage buildings. Rain and high winds are predicted to lash the area on the evening of Oct. 27 through to …

Humberto Becomes Season’s First Hurricane; Gabrielle Spares Bermuda

Hurricane Humberto, the season’s first, churned in the Atlantic west of the Cape Verde Islands as Tropical Storm Gabrielle stalled after passing Bermuda. Humberto was declared a Category 1 storm in a 5 a.m. advisory from the U.S. National Hurricane …

Judge Approves $4M For Libby Asbestos Attorneys

A state judge says lawyers for victims of asbestos exposure in a contaminated Montana town are entitled to more than $4 million in fees and expenses out of a $19.6 million settlement with chemical manufacturer W.R. Grace and Co. State …

Yellowstone Oil Spill-Violations $1.7M Penalty Proposed In Exxon Spill

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 …

Montana Asbestos Victims Object To Attorneys’ Fees

Some victims of asbestos exposure in northwestern Montana have asked a state judge to deny $4 million in fees and costs requested by attorneys in a legal settlement with chemical manufacturer W.R. Grace and Co. In letters submitted to state …