[JURIST] The Environmental Protection Agency and the US Justice Department announced [press release] on Tuesday that ExxonMobil [corporate website] will spend an estimated $571 million to settle a lawsuit with the federal government and three states over alleged violations of the Clean Air Act [text]. The settlement is intended to cut the annual production of pollutants from ExxonMobil's refineries that cause respiratory problems and worsen childhood asthma, and must be spent cutting the production of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. The settlement also requires the company to implement improvements in its leak detection systems. Additionally, ExxonMobil's affected refineries will now operate under a consent decree with the government to enforce environmental protection laws. AP has more.