Plains All American agrees to pay about $73 million to settle California oil spill lawsuit

(Reuters) – Plains All American Pipeline has agreed to pay $72.5 million to settle a lawsuit over the 2015 Refugio Beach oil spill in Santa Barbara, a filing showed on Tuesday.

The spill occurred after a pipeline, which ran across California’s coastline, ruptured and spilled an estimated 126,000 gallons of oil into the ocean and on the beaches.

In 2020, the California State Lands Commission and insurance firm Aspen American Insurance had sued Plains All American – the operator of the failed pipeline – alleging negligence, willful misconduct, and interference with prospective economic advantage.

The state of California will receive $50.5 million from the settlement, while Aspen will get $22 million.

Plains All American and Aspen Insurance did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

“This settlement … holds the operator accountable and provides appropriate compensation to the state for the fiscal damages caused by this spill,” Joe Stephenshaw, state lands commissioner and California Department of Finance director, said in a statement.

As of Sept. 30, Plains All American had estimated the total costs it has incurred or will incur related to the failed pipeline would be about $870 million.

(Reporting by Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)