The owner of the Polar Texas - the oil tanker that spilled more than 1,000 gallons of crude oil into Puget Sound's Dalco Passage on Oct. 13, 2004 - will pay in full a $540,000 fine levied by the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology). The ship - which has since been decommissioned - belonged to Polar Tankers, Inc., a subsidiary of ConocoPhillips Co. The $540,000 fine is the largest fine Ecology has ever issued for a spill in marine waters, and is the maximum possible penalty under state law. Negotiations continue, meanwhile, on a state-federal-tribal damage assessment that is separate from the penalty. Funds from this assessment would be placed in a fund that supports restoration projects that compensate Washington citizens for damage to the public's environmental resources.