Punish Company for Allegedly Covering Up Disastrous Oil Spill

Target: Jared Blumenfeld, Secretary for California Environmental Protection Agency

Goal: Investigate alleged negligence and cover-ups perpetrated by pipeline operators in wake of massive oil spill.

When roughly 131,000 gallons of oil spilled into the Pacific Ocean from Los Angeles to San Diego, cleanup efforts could not stop the disaster from infesting vital wetlands. The country may never know the true toll of this damage. Investigations are increasingly revealing, however, the apparent irresponsibility and lack of accountability that made this latest environmental assault almost inevitable.

The Amplify Energy Corporation is responsible for operation of the ruptured pipeline. They claim they had no prior knowledge of a problem, yet nearly 4,000 feet of the pipeline had apparently been displaced for weeks, significantly increasing the risk of a rupture. The spill itself was not even initially reported by these supposed overseers but by a passing ship that saw oil slicks in the water a day after the rupture occurred. These disruptions likely caused significant changes in the pressure of the pipeline, which should have been vigilantly monitored and noted by the operators.

The seeming inaction of these officials is hardly surprising, as the company has been cited for environmental violations over 100 times. Inspections of the pipelines and oil wells are apparently even carried out by contractors hired by the company itself. Such supposed recklessness and potential cover-ups led to an entirely preventable disaster that could have repercussions for years to come.

Sign the petition below to demand California’s supposed protectors of the environment hold this apparent bad actor to full account.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Secretary Blumenfeld,

Investigations determined that two main factors made possible the most disastrous oil spill in America’s history: cost-cutting and a lack of enforcement. Unfortunately, lessons were seemingly not heeded in the years since, and California has become the latest center of a seemingly avoidable environmental disaster. Damage from the October California coastal oil spill is still being assessed, and the coming report will not bode well for marine ecosystems.

For decades, Amplify Energy Corporation and its subsidiaries have operated with little restraint and next to no accountability. They hire their own inspectors. They swat away dozens of citations with minimal fine payments. And now they have allegedly covered up knowledge of a serious breach in a pipeline that ruptured, spilling well over 100,000 gallons of oil onto vulnerable wetlands and coastal communities.

Class actions lawsuits and a Coast Guard investigation are imminent. What will this agency—the guardian of California’s environment—do in turn? Hold this company accountable with a full investigation and due punishment if the results affirm this potential wide-scale crime against nature.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: Patterson Davis, USFWS


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