YONKERS – Con Edison has agreed to fund a $700,000 settlement package and to make operational changes in the wake of a fire and explosion at one of its substations in Yonkers last fall, the state DEC announced Tuesday.

The fire and explosion in November 2009 released about 15,000 gallons of a type of oil called dielectric fluid. Some of the oil was burned in the fire, some was contained and collected on site, and, some oil impacted a six mile stretch of the Bronx River.

A DEC investigation linked the accident to the failure of an oil-water separator system, which had been flagged as problematic by a Con Ed consultant four months earlier.

Con Ed took responsibility and cleaned up the oil-contaminated debris from the river in three weeks.

Under the settlement, Con Ed acknowledged not repairing the system until after the incident, agreed to make changes to prevent future malfunctions and consented to a comprehensive review/audit of its similar facilities in the Hudson Valley.  Con Ed also agreed to pay $700,000 including a penalty, for natural resource damages to the Bronx River, and fund environmental benefits projects in the community.

There will also be a $185,000 penalty if the company fails to meet a compliance schedule for making operational changes.