Federal Probe Finds Plains All-American at Fault in 2015 California Oil Spill

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Federal investigators blame “external corrosion” for the massive Plains All-American pipeline oil spill that occurred May 19, 2015 in Santa Barbara County, California and say the company could have prevented it.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, in a 510-page report,  blamed the company’s failure to “protect the pipeline from corrosion and the company’s failure to detect and respond to the pipeline rupture once it occurred.”

Plains All-American, a firm with extensive pipeline operations throughout Oklahoma had been the target of the probe after nearly 3,000 barrels of crude oil spilled onto land, beaches and into the Pacific Ocean.

“PHMSA’s investigation reveals that a number of preventable errors led to this incident and that the company’s failures in judgment including inadequate assessment of the safety of this line and fault planning made matters worse,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Millions of dollars have been spent to repair the substantial damage caused to the environment from this spill. It is completely unacceptable, and we will hold the company accountable for its actions.”

Federal investigators conducted interviews with Plains personnel and reviewed the operator’s control room and internal controls and procedures. PHMSA’s investigation found that the system used to detect leaks did not alert control room staff to the release when it occurred. Also, the operator did not establish formal requirements for emergency shutdown and leak detection alarm training.

The investigation found that a control room operator inhibited an alarm that could have assisted with the recognition of the rupture.

“This report confirms our preliminary findings on the cause of this incident, and reveals that the operator failed on multiple levels to prevent, detect and respond to this incident. Now that we have completed our investigation, we will focus on enforcement options,” said PHMSA Administrator Marie Therese Dominguez.