A federal grand jury indicted three companies on Wednesday for their role in the October pipeline rupture in Orange County, California that spewed 25,000 gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean near Huntington Beach. Amplify Energy Corp. and two subsidiaries—Beta Offshore and San Pedro Bay Pipeline Co.—face one misdemeanor count of negligent discharge of oil. Amplify owns and operates the 17-mile-long San Pedro Bay Pipeline believed to have been ruptured by an anchor strike, though the root cause is still under investigation. The pipeline had a faulty leak detection system, according to an internal report obtained by the Associated Press, and Amplify failed to properly act. Despite the system’s failings, Justice Department officials found that the leak detection system issued eight alarms over the course of more than 13 hours. The first five alarms led to operators shutting down and restarting the pipeline repeatedly over the course of three hours, then continuing to pump oil over the course of an additional three hours as a manual leak test was conducted. Oil continued to flow an additional hour after the eighth and final alarm. The Department of Justice believes responding crew members were inadequately trained and overworked and that the pipeline itself was understaffed at the time. Amplify and its subsidiaries face up to five years probation as well as up to millions in fines. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is also investigating the oil spill, as are officials from the Coast Guard Investigative Service, Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, the EPA’s criminal investigation division, and the FBI. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer issued a statement on Wednesday slamming Amplify and the environmental damage the spill continues to cause and continued to call for an independent investigation. “In October, I sent a letter to the federal Office of Pipeline Safety demanding oil pipeline companies conduct immediate inspections of their pipelines and submit those inspections under penalty of perjury. Even with the ardent advocacy of Orange County’s congressional delegation, those inspections have still not been done. Our oceans and shoreline remain vulnerable as a result,” Spitzer said. “The people responsible for endangering our wildlife and marring our picturesque beaches and shorelines must be held accountable.” Read more