3 months after oil spill, Santa Barbara region recovering
Even though Plains All American Pipeline underestimated the extent of the Refugio oil spill, Santa Barbara businesses and residents are feeling less of a sting than expected since the rupture fouled the Gaviota coastline and its wildlife about three months ago. Plains, the Houston-based oil company responsible for the spill, said in a quarterly Read More →
Refugio oil spill shows companies haven’t learned lesson after 46 years
Why does our collective memory seem so short? The gorgeous coast where we live and work was despoiled by a massive oil spill 46 years ago and we vowed never to let it happen again. That was in 1969, when a Union Oil Co. platform six miles off the Santa Barbara County coast suffered a Read More →
No alternative to Plains pipeline monopoly
Despite controversy and allegations of lax oversight and maintenance of the Plains All American pipeline that ruptured and tainted the Gaviota coastline, experts say the oil pipeline is here to stay. Like it or not, research shows that pipelines are still the safest and most environmentally friendly way to transport oil. A 2013 report on Read More →
‘Making things right’ after Refugio oil spill more than lip service
Plains All American Pipeline, the Houston-based company responsible for the oil spill near Refugio Beach on May 19, should stop the bullshit. Plains’ aversion to providing honest answers about the spill was on full display June 26 at a joint oversight hearing by the Assembly Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Select Committee on the Read More →
Dubroff: Litigation, criminal probe could put squeeze on oil pipeline operator
When Barry Cappello litigates, people listen. Which is why his June 23 lawsuit seeking class action status and unspecified damages against Plains All American Pipeline may prove to be a turning point in the sorry history of the Refugio oil spill. “It was a disaster waiting to happen again and again,” is the way Cappello Read More →
Refugio oil spill pinches tri-county small businesses
Jamie Diamond is thrilled that the region’s fishing ban has been lifted but her sportfishing business is still reeling from the Refugio oil spill. Diamond has owned and operated Santa Barbara-based Stardust Sportfishing with her husband Jason for the past 20 years. They take private charters and open parties of tourists and local regulars fishing Read More →
