Official says pipeline firm violated state guidelines for reporting Santa Barbara spill

From:  Los Angeles Times 

by Javier Panzar

Caption Oil spill cleanup

Al Seib / Los Angeles Times

With boats offshore, cleanup efforts continue at Refugio State Beach on Thursday morning June 4, 2015.

State Atty. Gen. and U.S. Senate candidate Kamala Harris, center, is briefed by Tyson Butzke, right, a superintendent with California State Parks, and Tom Cullen, left, of the Department of Fish and Wildlife, at Refugio State Beach on Thursday.

The Texas owner of the crude oil pipeline that ruptured along the Santa Barbara County coast last month did not meet state guidelines for reporting an oil spill, a top state official said at an oversight hearing Friday.

The joint hearing of two legislative committees focused on the response to the May 19 spill and the initial hours after the pipe owned by Plains All American Pipeline burst. Lawmakers also wanted to know why the company was unaware of corrosion in its pipeline.

Plains employees did not report the spill to state officials until 2:54 p.m. on May 19, about an hour and a half after company officials said they confirmed a Plains pipeline was responsible for spilling thousands of gallons of oil along the coast.  MORE