After 20 years of complaints and protests, Exxon Mobil has agreed to a $5.5 million settlement to clean up water pollution caused by several of its oil wells in the San Juan River basin on the Navajo Nation. The package will bring Exxon Mobil closer to compliance with Clean Air Act regulations. About $515,000 will be paid as penalty for oil spills and go toward construction of sanitary facilities and drinking water lines for 17 Navajo families. Many of these familys currently drive an hour to haul water from a public well. About $4.7 million will be spent to reduce spills at the company's oil wells. Navajo who live in the area have complained of poor water quality, foul odors, and environmental damage. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Justice Department sued Mobil in 1998 for 83 oil spills that reached the San Juan River and its tributaries between 1991 and 1998.
