Greens urge Biden admin to block offshore pipeline restart

Amplify Energy's oil pipeline spilled nearly 600 barrels of crude into the San Pedro Bay last year after a hit by a large ship.

June 14, 2022

Twelve environmental groups are urging the Biden administration to block the restart of an offshore oil pipeline that spilled nearly 600 barrels of crude into the San Pedro Bay last year.

The oil spill, caused by a large ship dragging the pipeline, which then split, prior to the spill discovery in October, was the largest in decades off the coast of California.

Amplify Energy Corp., the pipeline’s owner, is working to repair and restore the pipeline to service but needs permission from the Army Corps of Engineers.

In a letter to the Army Corps, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples, the Sierra Club and nine other organizations argue that robust environmental review should take place before the company is allowed to restart, echoing a similar charge from some California politicians.

The groups also argue that such analysis should lead to a shutdown of the pipeline due to its age and elevated risk for leaks.

“The San Pedro Bay Pipeline, like many others, has surpassed its intended lifespan and is beyond the age that scientists say significantly increases the risk of spills and other accidents,” the letter states.

They go on to argue for the retirement of all offshore leases in federal waters off the coast of California considering drilling risks to the ocean ecosystem and worsening climate change.

“The United States government cannot continue to approve new offshore oil and gas drilling when our very survival depends on reducing our emissions,” they state.

The letter was also sent to leadership of several offshore federal agencies, NOAA Fisheries, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

Earlier this month, several California Democratic lawmakers penned a similar letter, expressing “alarm” that the Army Corps would fast-track approval of the permit coming back online, an “unwarranted and dangerous” decision that would grant approval without more robust review like site inspections.

“This is no ordinary repair — it is a repair of a decades-old, subsea pipeline following a significant rupture and leakage,” the letter states. It was signed by Reps. Ted Lieu, Jared Huffman, Scott Peters, Sara Jacobs, Katie Porter, Nanette Diaz Barraga?n, Mike Levin and Alan Lowenthal, chair of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.

Neither the Army Corps nor Amplify Energy provided comment in time for publication.

The 17-mile-long pipeline connects the Elly offshore processing platform to the Port of Long Beach. The company has faced local, state and federal investigations for potential negligence in the spill and response, as well as several lawsuits.

The company has sued two shipping companies, Mediterranean Shipping Co. and Dordellas Finance Corp. for alleged damage as well as Marine Exchange, an entity that monitors shipping activity in the bay.


By:  Heather Richards
Source: E&E News