Photo: Mario Tama / Getty Images
For: The Opinion
Sunday, October 6
Criminal charges against three companies responsible for oil spill in the Pacific Ocean
Criminal charges were filed against three companies allegedly responsible for an oil leak in Southern California that spilled tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean in the fall.
A federal grand jury charged the companies with negligence in connection with the disaster, claiming that failed to respond to eight alarms for more than half a day and compounded the problem by continuing to pump oil, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Amplify Energy Corp and subsidiaries Beta Operating Co LLC and San Pedro Bay Pipeline Co face millions of dollars in fines and a five-year probation if convicted of negligent oil discharge, according to the Justice Department.
The Companies did not respond to eight alarms for more than half a day and made the problem worse by continuing to pump oil.
The October 1 spill decimated lives along the shores of Huntington Beach to Laguna Beach after a pipeline broke, possibly from a cargo ship’s anchor.
They were downloaded around 25, 000 gallons of oil due to lack of drainage and operators continued to restart and operate the pipeline for 13 hours, despite being repeatedly alerted about his crack of 16 inches, authorities said.
Amplify, with based in Houston, has been cited 72 times in the past for pre-disaster environmental and safety violations.
Although the size of the spill was overestimated it starts lmente in more than 100, 000 gallons, the quantity, most recently estimated at nearly 25, 000 gallons, was “An amount that may be harmful to the public health, welfare, and environment of the United States,” according to the charges.
The spill, the exact cause of which remains unclear, has renewed calls for the government to take more aggressive action against aging oil rigs and infrastructure that dot the Southern California coastline.
In a careful delineation of the events that began on the afternoon of October 1, the prosecution presents a scene of confusion and disorder as crews, working on an offshore oil rig, attempted to respond to a series of system alarms. leak detection while still inte They were trying to keep the oil flowing through the pipeline.
No person named in the indictment, and the charge of negligent oil spilling , a misdemeanor, carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years of probation for a corporate defendant, as well as fines that could potentially total millions of dollars.
According to US Coast Guard Capt. Jason Neubauer, who is leading the maritime investigation, divers have inspected the pipe and plan to lift the damaged section of the seafloor for a more detailed examination of the fracture.