Gov. Jerry Brown signs oil pipeline safety bills
Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill on Oct. 8 that requires the California Fire Marshal to review oil pipeline conditions every year, rather than every two years or more. Houston-based Plains All American Pipeline performed an inspection of its Line 901 about two weeks before May 19’s Refugio oil spill. But it was too Read More →
Oil workers file lawsuit against Plains All American Pipeline
A lawsuit representing oil industry workers who were laid off following the Refugio oil spill was filed against Plains All American Pipeline, Santa Barbara-based law firm Cappello & Noel recently announced. Richard Lilygren, who has worked on the offshore oil platforms near Santa Barbara for more than a decade, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court on Read More →
Oil company wants to expand Orcutt drilling despite pipe closures
Since Plains All American Pipeline shut down Lines 901 and 903 in May after the Refugio oil spill, Pacific Coast Energy is one of only a few oil producers in the county able to get its product to market. The Orcutt-based business, which operates under its Los Angeles-based parent company Breitburn Energy, is trying to Read More →
3 months after oil spill, Santa Barbara region recovering
Even though Plains All American Pipeline underestimated the extent of the Refugio oil spill, Santa Barbara businesses and residents are feeling less of a sting than expected since the rupture fouled the Gaviota coastline and its wildlife about three months ago. Plains, the Houston-based oil company responsible for the spill, said in a quarterly Read More →
‘Making things right’ after Refugio oil spill more than lip service
Plains All American Pipeline, the Houston-based company responsible for the oil spill near Refugio Beach on May 19, should stop the bullshit. Plains’ aversion to providing honest answers about the spill was on full display June 26 at a joint oversight hearing by the Assembly Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Select Committee on the Read More →
Dubroff: Litigation, criminal probe could put squeeze on oil pipeline operator
When Barry Cappello litigates, people listen. Which is why his June 23 lawsuit seeking class action status and unspecified damages against Plains All American Pipeline may prove to be a turning point in the sorry history of the Refugio oil spill. “It was a disaster waiting to happen again and again,” is the way Cappello Read More →
