Groups affected by the 2021 oil spill off the coast of Huntington Beach will receive $50 million in financial compensation from the pipeline operator, Amplify Energy, according to court records filed Oct. 17.
The agreement requires Amplify to pay $34 million to fishers, $9 million to property owners, and $7 million to tourism industry, including whale-watching companies, according to attorney Wylie Aitken, who leads a legal team representing the plaintiffs. Funding will come from the company’s insurance to compensate an estimated 100,000 people.
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement … we negotiated in good faith and believe we have come to a reasonable and fair resolution,” Martyn Willsher, Amplify’s president and CEO, said in an Aug. 25 statement.
The oil spill closed beaches, prevented fishers from entering their profitable hunting seasons for fish and lobsters, stopped ships from traveling in and out of the port, and canceled the Pacific Airshow—which was in action when the oil spill was identified.
The plaintiffs included Huntington Beach resident Peter Moses Gutierrez Jr., who owns a disk jockey company that regularly holds events at the city’s beachfront, and therefore “is losing and will lose a substantial amount of his business” according to court documents.
No individual or company has been promised a set amount of compensation yet. Officials will now send direct notices to identified groups affected to begin the distribution process.
In addition to the monetary settlement, Amplify must spend at least $250,000 to improve their response procedure and better equip their employees to handle pipeline damages, as well as contract with an outside company that can identify oil spills in low-light conditions to prevent further disasters.
The company “will continue to pursue our claims against the ships that struck the pipeline and ultimately led to the release, and the Marine Exchange of California for failing to notify us of the anchor strikes,” spokesperson Amy Conway told The Epoch Times.
A spokesperson for the Marine Exchange of California—a nonprofit that helps regulate the commercial use of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California—declined to comment on the matter.
The oil spill was reported on Oct. 2, 2021, four miles offshore of Huntington Beach. The over 25,000 gallons of crude oil released into the water threatened wildlife, individuals, and businesses in the area.
It was determined that Amplify Energy—an oil and natural gas producer and distributor with operations across the U.S., including in Oklahoma, the Rockies, Texas, and Louisiana—was responsible for the maintenance of their pipelines and therefore has been held responsible for the damage.
The settlement is only preliminary and will be finalized in a court hearing Nov. 16.
