California Jury Finds Plains All American Guilty in Oil Spill Trial
(Reuters) - A California state jury found Plains All American Pipeline guilty of criminally fouling state waters or harming wildlife in a 2015 oil spill along the Pacific Coast.
The jury found Plains guilty of one felony count and eight misdemeanors, Santa Barbara County Chief Deputy District Attorney John Savrnoch said. The jury was either unable to reach a decision or found the company not guilty on two other felony counts and several other charges.
Plains said its operation of the pipeline exceeded legal and industry standards. It said it plans to evaluate legal options, including an appeal.
"The verdict reflected no knowing wrongdoing by Plains or our employees," the company said in a statement. "We believe the jury erred in its verdict on one count where applicable California laws allowed a conviction under a negligence standard."
The Houston-based company was charged over a May 2015 pipeline rupture that spilled more than 140,000 gallons of crude oil near Refugio State Beach and into the waters of the Gaviota Coast.
A felony conviction for fouling state waters carries a fine of about $1.5 million. The state may oppose any request for a new trial and may retry the company on those counts that the jury could not reach a decision, Savrnoch said.
(Reporting by Gary McWilliams; Editing by Sandra Maler and Leslie Adler)
Related News
Related News
- Kinder Morgan Proposes 290-Mile Gas Pipeline Expansion Spanning Three States
- Enbridge Plans 86-Mile Pipeline Expansion, Bringing 850 Workers to Northern B.C.
- Intensity, Rainbow Energy to Build 344-Mile Gas Pipeline Across North Dakota
- Tallgrass to Build New Permian-to-Rockies Pipeline, Targets 2028 Startup with 2.4 Bcf Capacity
- U.S. Moves to Block Enterprise Products’ Exports to China Over Security Risk
- U.S. Pipeline Expansion to Add 99 Bcf/d, Mostly for LNG Export, Report Finds
- A Systematic Approach To Ensuring Pipeline Integrity
- 275-Mile Texas-to-Oklahoma Gas Pipeline Enters Open Season
- TC Energy’s North Baja Pipeline Expansion Brings Mexico Closer to LNG Exports
- Consumers Energy Begins 135-Mile Michigan Gas Pipeline Upgrade, Taps 600 Workers
Comments