Anadarko’s $5.15 Billion Environmental Settlement Approved

Anadarko Petroleum’s agreement to pay $5.15 billion to clean up polluted sites across the US — the largest-ever environmental settlement — received approval from a federal judge on Monday, Reuters reports.

The settlement, reached in April, resolved a long-running lawsuit against Kerr-McGee, an energy and chemical company that Anadarko bought in 2006. A trust representing the federal government, 11 states, Indian tribes and individuals brought the case, which alleged the company polluted some 2,000 sites with nuclear fuel, wood creosote and rocket fuel waste.

Baring an appeal, the money could be dispersed in the upcoming weeks, the trust’s attorney told Reuters.

Anadarko is one of four companies that have the highest exposure to water exposure risks among hydraulic fracturing firms, according to a report by Ceres.