2008 Mississippi River spill: Barge company to pay $6.6M

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A barge company responsible for a Mississippi River oil spill that damaged Louisiana shoreline habitat in 2008 has agreed to pay $2.1 million in damages and buy and preserve a wildlife area just miles from downtown New Orleans. News outlets report the U.S. Justice Department on Monday announced the settlement, which still requires the OK of a federal judge. It seeks to end a lawsuit over a 2008 collision caused by a tugboat pulling a barge loaded with fuel oil. The $2.1 million in damages is to go toward building marsh in a wildlife management area and restoring habitat in a newly purchased woodlands parcel.