Twelve of 19 energy firms sued over MTBE-contaminated drinking water have agreed to pay $422 million to settle the claims against them; the remaining firms could either reach a separate agreement or go to trial in early September. More than 150 municipalities and water companies filed a class action suit against the firms in 2003 claiming they were responsible for MTBE contamination of groundwater. BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Shell, Valero, Marathon, Citgo, Sunoco, Hess, Flint Hills, El Paso Merchant Energy and Tesoro agreed to the settlement. ExxonMobil is the lone holdout of the majors. The firm says the suit is without merit and it will fight it in court.
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