Illinois, Montana, and Louisiana joined in the consent decree, which requires ExxonMobil to pay $8.7 million in civil penalties and to finance $9.7 million of supplemental environmental projects. The civil penalties will be split among the three states while the supplemental environmental projects will focus on mitigating other emission sources in the towns surrounding the refineries and on coastal habitat protection and restoration in Louisiana. ExxonMobil admits no violation of the federal law but claims to welcome the settlement. "We believe [it] is in the best interest of the company and supports the continued trend of emission reductions that has occurred at our refineries," says Premlata Nair, a spokesperson for ExxonMobil. "We strongly support EPA's reforms and believe these changes will return the program to its original intent."