California’s Huntington Beach is reopening, but the cleanup is far from over after a pipeline leaked 126,000 gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean. The spill was one of the largest oil spills in the state’s history and is expected to cost millions.
Typically the owner and operator of the pipeline is liable for the spill, which in this case is Amplify Energy Corp. However, investigators believe the anchor from a passing ship could have caused the pipeline tear and leak. If so, that would pass liability costs to that third party.
Determining who pays for this particular oil spill could take years, but there are safeguards in place to pay for ocean cleanup in the interim. Those cleanup efforts will likely be funded by the Oil Spill Liability Act, which taxes each barrel of oil produced. Those taxes go into a federal fund for disaster response and relief.
University of Southern California Gould School of Law professor Robin Craig, specializes in environmental law. She said even after financial liability is determined, an oil spill’s impact is difficult to quantify.
“How much does it cost to clean up an otter,” she asked. “How much does it cost to rehabilitate a traumatized otter?”
