No Second Chances for the Plains Pipeline

Plains All American Pipeline caused California’s worst coastal oil spill in 25 years — and now it thinks it deserves a chance to spill again. In 2015 Plains’ severely corroded oil pipeline broke near Refugio State Beach, releasing more than 120,000 gallons of oil into the environment. The spill killed hundreds of birds and marine mammals and blackened Santa Barbara area beaches for miles.

A jury later found the company guilty of failing to maintain its pipeline and criminally liable for the oil spill. Yet Plains is shamelessly seeking to build another coastal pipeline in the same location, snaking over 120 miles through three counties.

If approved the pipeline would allow several aging offshore-drilling platforms that have been dormant since the spill to start pumping crude again. The security of that oil would be up to Plains, which had a horrible safety record even before the devastating spill at Refugio. Californians strongly oppose offshore drilling and want to see oil platforms decommissioned, not brought back to life to threaten California’s coastal communities, wildlife and climate.

Get more information on Plains’ plan to build a new coastal oil pipeline.