State officials have reached a $123,300 settlement with an Oklahoma company for a ruptured pipeline that spilled nearly 1 million gallons of saltwater into a creek in northwestern North Dakota.

The salt spill near Alexander, discovered in early January 2006, has been described as the worst in North Dakota's oil history. The saltwater, a byproduct of oil production, flooded a stock pond and a beaver dam, and flowed into Charbonneau Creek, a tributary of the Yellowstone River.

The spill - made up of water 10 times as salty as sea water - caused a massive die-off of fish, turtles and plants along the creek and forced ranchers to move their cattle. Officials said no human drinking water sources were affected.

Dave Glatt, director of the state Health Department's environmental health section, announced the settlement with Zenergy Inc., of Tulsa, Okla., on Friday. The settlement includes a civil penalty of $70,000 for violations of state laws and regulations, and $53,300 to cover the cost of the state's investigation.

"The state has not shouldered the cost of our oversight," Glatt said.

A fine of $31,750 has been suspended "and will be canceled after one year if Zenergy fully complies with the cleanup and does not further violate North Dakota's water pollution laws," Glatt said.

The cleanup will take at least two more years, Glatt said.

"We'll keep monitoring it and evaluating the remediation," Glatt said.

Zenergy has spent more than $2 million on the cleanup so far, he said.

Company officials did not immediately return telephone calls on Friday seeking comment.

The company has said it has excavated tons of contaminated soil from the spill site. The company has claimed the creek is as clean as it was before the spill, and has been repopulated with turtles and fish.

Linda Monson, Alexander's postmaster, was one of about a dozen ranchers affected by the spill. She said her cattle began drinking water from the creek this summer.

"They say it's OK," Monson said. "They are out there and they have been cleaning it up."

Monson, who lives less than a mile from the spill site, said vegetation is still patchy in some areas along the creek, and what was grass is now weeds.

"I don't know what they call clean," she said. "There is stuff growing along the creek, but not like it's supposed to."