Plains All American Settles California Oil Spill Case for $72.5 Million

Plains All American Pipeline has reached an agreement to pay approximately $73 million related to the oil spill incident at Refugio Beach in Santa Barbara in 2015. The settlement, announced on Tuesday, resolves a lawsuit resulting from a pipeline rupture that spilled an estimated 126,000 gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean and the California coastline.

The lawsuit, filed in 2020 by the California State Lands Commission and Aspen American Insurance, accused Plains All American of negligence, willful misconduct, and interference with potential economic advantage related to the operation of the pipeline. According to the terms of the settlement, the state of California will receive $50.5 million, and Aspen American Insurance will receive $22 million in compensation.

Joe Stephenshaw, Director of the California Finance Department and state land commissioner, stated that the agreement "holds the operator accountable and provides appropriate compensation to the state for the financial damages caused by this spill."

As of September 30, Plains All American had estimated that the total costs incurred or to be incurred related to the spill and the faulty pipeline would be approximately $870 million. The company and Aspen Insurance have not yet responded to requests for comments regarding the settlement.