Plains All American Pipeline and a company employee have been indicated for violating California law following a May 2015 oil pipeline spill in the state.
The company acknowledged the charges in a statement on Tuesday, saying a state grand jury indictment against it totals 46 counts, including 10 associated with the oil spill and 36 related to wildlife hurt or killed in the incident.
{mosads}California Attorney General Kamala Harris and Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley will hold a press conference on the spill later on Tuesday, Dudley’s office said in a statement.
A pipeline operated by the company spilled 100,000 gallons of crude oil in Santa Barbara County last May. The spill shut down state beaches in the region and damaged wildlife populations there.
A federal investigation blamed the incident on external corrosion on the oil pipeline, despite previous inspections from Plains All American that missed the corrosion.
In its statement, Plains All American said it is “disappointed” by the decision to pursue charges and highlighted its clean-up work related to the spill.
“Plains believes that neither the company nor any of its employees engaged in any criminal behavior at any time in connection with this accident, and that criminal charges are unwarranted,” the company’s statement said.
“We will vigorously defend ourselves against these charges and are confident we will demonstrate that the charges have no merit and represent an inappropriate attempt to criminalize an unfortunate accident.”