The two remaining defendants involved in an MTBE underground water contamination lawsuit agreed to settle with the plaintiff Monday for more than $28 million. The agreement ends a three year battle waged by the South Tahoe Public Utility District, which sued 16 corporations in 1998 after MTBE contamination forced the utility company to close one-third of its drinking water wells.

Twelve companies settled with South Tahoe before the trial began in September 2001, with two more settling in April after the San Francisco Superior Court jury declared that MTBE, a gasoline additive, was a defective product. Shell Oil Company agreed to pay $28 million this week while the remaining defendant, a Lake Tahoe gas station, agreed to pay $300,000. The total settlement is estimated at $69 million.