A federal grand jury indicted three companies on Wednesday for their role in the October pipeline rupture in Orange County, California that spewed 25,000 gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean near Huntington Beach. Amplify Energy Corp. and two subsidiaries—Beta Offshore and San Pedro Bay Pipeline Co.—face one misdemeanor count of negligent discharge of oil. Amplify owns and operates the 17-mile-long San Pedro Bay Pipeline believed to have been ruptured by an anchor strike, though the root cause is still under investigation. The pipeline had a faulty leak detection system, according to an internal report obtained by the Associated Press, and Amplify failed to properly act.
Despite the system’s failings, Justice Department officials found that the leak detection system issued eight alarms over the course of more than 13 hours. The first five alarms led to operators shutting down and restarting the pipeline repeatedly over the course of three hours, then continuing to pump oil over the course of an additional three hours as a manual leak test was conducted. Oil continued to flow an additional hour after the eighth and final alarm. The Department of Justice believes responding crew members were inadequately trained and overworked and that the pipeline itself was understaffed at the time. Amplify and its subsidiaries face up to five years probation as well as up to millions in fines.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is also investigating the oil spill, as are officials from the Coast Guard Investigative Service, Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, the EPA’s criminal investigation division, and the FBI. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer issued a statement on Wednesday slamming Amplify and the environmental damage the spill continues to cause and continued to call for an independent investigation. “In October, I sent a letter to the federal Office of Pipeline Safety demanding oil pipeline companies conduct immediate inspections of their pipelines and submit those inspections under penalty of perjury. Even with the ardent advocacy of Orange County’s congressional delegation, those inspections have still not been done. Our oceans and shoreline remain vulnerable as a result,” Spitzer said. “The people responsible for endangering our wildlife and marring our picturesque beaches and shorelines must be held accountable.”
According to Voice of OC, more than a dozen lawsuits have been filed in the wake of the oil spill on behalf of residents, local businesses, and environmental groups. Officials are concerned Amplify will not properly cover the cost of cleanup, which is ongoing and expected to total an estimated $1.5 million or more over the course of the next year. The spill has also prompted lawmakers to act, with Huntington Beach and Laguna Beach issuing limits on off-shore drilling. During a California Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee hearing in October, state lawmakers acknowledged that banning all off-shore drilling would be extremely difficult but that something must change in the wake of the devastating oil spill. In October, California Gov. Gavin Newsom admitted that “we don’t see oil in our future” and later announced a proposed regulation to limit new oil wells and facilities from being built. The public comment period on that regulation will close Dec. 21.
The State of California is hoping to eliminate oil production by 2045 and end the sale of gas-powered new cars by 2035. Though the proposed regulation is certainly a start, it’s nowhere near the decisive action needed to ensure that oil production ramps down by the goal set by Newsom. Under the regulation, only onshore drilling would be limited and only within 3,200 feet of exclusion areas like schools, hospitals, and nursing homes. Existing wells that fall within that 3,200 feet limit would need controls meant to limit air pollution. Ultimately, solving off-shore drilling issues may fall to the federal government, as the San Pedro Bay Pipeline was built in federal waters.
In that regard, an off-shore drilling ban isn’t looking likely. Already, lawmakers appear to have nixed a provision in the Build Back Better Act to prevent any future off-shore drilling in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and in parts of the Gulf of Mexico. A Senate version of the bill removes that language altogether and it’s highly likely that it will be conspicuously absent from Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s version. You can thank committee chairman Joe Manchin for that one, as he’s repeatedly pushed back against off-shore drilling bans and any significant move towards cleaner energy, likely because he’s making his money through the coal industry and therefore easily manipulated by fossil fuel lobbyists.
Despite the system’s failings, Justice Department officials found that the leak detection system issued eight alarms over the course of more than 13 hours. The first five alarms led to operators shutting down and restarting the pipeline repeatedly over the course of three hours, then continuing to pump oil over the course of an additional three hours as a manual leak test was conducted. Oil continued to flow an additional hour after the eighth and final alarm. The Department of Justice believes responding crew members were inadequately trained and overworked and that the pipeline itself was understaffed at the time. Amplify and its subsidiaries face up to five years probation as well as up to millions in fines.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is also investigating the oil spill, as are officials from the Coast Guard Investigative Service, Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, the EPA’s criminal investigation division, and the FBI. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer issued a statement on Wednesday slamming Amplify and the environmental damage the spill continues to cause and continued to call for an independent investigation. “In October, I sent a letter to the federal Office of Pipeline Safety demanding oil pipeline companies conduct immediate inspections of their pipelines and submit those inspections under penalty of perjury. Even with the ardent advocacy of Orange County’s congressional delegation, those inspections have still not been done. Our oceans and shoreline remain vulnerable as a result,” Spitzer said. “The people responsible for endangering our wildlife and marring our picturesque beaches and shorelines must be held accountable.”
According to Voice of OC, more than a dozen lawsuits have been filed in the wake of the oil spill on behalf of residents, local businesses, and environmental groups. Officials are concerned Amplify will not properly cover the cost of cleanup, which is ongoing and expected to total an estimated $1.5 million or more over the course of the next year. The spill has also prompted lawmakers to act, with Huntington Beach and Laguna Beach issuing limits on off-shore drilling. During a California Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee hearing in October, state lawmakers acknowledged that banning all off-shore drilling would be extremely difficult but that something must change in the wake of the devastating oil spill. In October, California Gov. Gavin Newsom admitted that “we don’t see oil in our future” and later announced a proposed regulation to limit new oil wells and facilities from being built. The public comment period on that regulation will close Dec. 21.
The State of California is hoping to eliminate oil production by 2045 and end the sale of gas-powered new cars by 2035. Though the proposed regulation is certainly a start, it’s nowhere near the decisive action needed to ensure that oil production ramps down by the goal set by Newsom. Under the regulation, only onshore drilling would be limited and only within 3,200 feet of exclusion areas like schools, hospitals, and nursing homes. Existing wells that fall within that 3,200 feet limit would need controls meant to limit air pollution. Ultimately, solving off-shore drilling issues may fall to the federal government, as the San Pedro Bay Pipeline was built in federal waters.
In that regard, an off-shore drilling ban isn’t looking likely. Already, lawmakers appear to have nixed a provision in the Build Back Better Act to prevent any future off-shore drilling in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and in parts of the Gulf of Mexico. A Senate version of the bill removes that language altogether and it’s highly likely that it will be conspicuously absent from Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s version. You can thank committee chairman Joe Manchin for that one, as he’s repeatedly pushed back against off-shore drilling bans and any significant move towards cleaner energy, likely because he’s making his money through the coal industry and therefore easily manipulated by fossil fuel lobbyists.