Managers of a pipeline that caused an oil spill last October off the coast of California have pleaded guilty to pollution and will pay nearly $13 million, they announced Friday.
Amplify Energy, the Texas company that operates this gas pipeline with two of its subsidiaries, has reached a guilty plea in federal court, which implies its admission of responsibility for this environmental tragedy.
The three companies will have to pay $7.1 million in fines and $5.8 million to offset cleanup costs.
An oil spill 24 km south of Los Angeles
Some 95,000 liters of crude had caused an oil spill along 24 kilometers of the Pacific coast in October 2021, between Huntington Beach and Laguna Beach, famous beaches south of Los Angeles known for both their surfers and their dolphins.
Local authorities had closed beaches, dotted with dead birds and stranded fish, some with traces of oil. Fishing was also prohibited in the area.
Underwater inspections had revealed that a large segment of the pipe had moved and detected a 12-inch break in the pipe, likely caused by a ship’s anchor according to investigators.
Amplify Energy claims to have worked “cooperatively” with authorities to resolve the problem and has agreed to install new leak detectors and conduct more regular pipeline inspections.
“criminal conduct”
These companies “now accept responsibility for criminal conduct,” said US Attorney Stephanie Christensen.
The agreement still needs to be submitted for court approval before taking effect.
The disaster had reignited debate about the presence of oil rigs just a few miles off the coast of densely populated Southern California.
Source: BFM TV
