Pipeline behind major oil spill off coast of Orange County will soon be back in service
In October 2021, the pipeline ruptured and spilled 25,000 gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean near Huntington Beach.
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- An oil pipeline that ruptured nearly two years ago off the coast of Orange County will soon be back in service.
According to Amplify Energy, the company that operates the pipeline, the company has received the required approvals from federal regulatory agencies to restart operations at the Beta Field.
In October 2021, the pipeline ruptured and spilled 25,000 gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean near Huntington Beach. While less severe than initially feared, the spill shuttered beaches in the area for a week, fisheries for more than a month, oiled birds and threatened area wetlands.
Amplify Energy said it already started to fill the San Pedro Bay Pipeline with production, a process that started over the weekend and is expected to take about two weeks to finish.
Then, the pipeline will be operated "in accordance with the restart procedures that were reviewed and approved by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)," said Amplify Energy.
However, the announcement has garnered criticism from Southern California environmental groups, who believe in the overall shutdown of platforms along the California coast.
"The platforms in California were built in the 60s and they're beyond their life expectancy and the equipment is aging," said Orange County Coastkeeper Founder and President Garry Brown. "The whole oil production of these off shore platforms for California is less than 2% of the oil production. They're not that significant, especially if we wean ourselves off oil and yet they stand as a catastrophic pending problem if we don't start taking them out."
Amplify's President and CEO Martyn Willsher said in a press release "The approval from federal regulatory agencies and the receipt of $85 million in net proceeds from the vessels that struck and damaged our pipeline substantially concludes a very challenging last 18 months for the Company, and we are eager to focus our attention on safely operating our Beta assets, our business as a whole and the strategic direction of the Company."
Earlier this year, shipping companies agreed to pay $45 million to thousands of Southern California fishermen, tour companies and property owners who filed lawsuits following the spill.
A settlement was reached after months of negotiations between the MV Beijing and MSC Danit and their associated companies and the businesses and residents who sued them, the plaintiffs' lawyers said in a statement.
Southern California residents and business owners sued Amplify Energy seeking compensation for their losses, as well as the shipping vessels that Amplify said damaged the pipeline when they dragged their anchors across it during a January 2021 storm.
Amplify sued the two vessels and an organization that helps oversee marine traffic. A trial on those allegations is scheduled for April 24.
Amplify last year agreed to pay the plaintiffs $50 million and reached a plea deal with federal authorities for negligently discharging crude.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
