Excerpted from the Los Angeles Times
By Richard Winton, Laura J. Nelson, Thomas Curwen
A federal grand jury Wednesday charged three companies with criminal negligence in connection with the oil spill that tarred the Orange County coast in early October.
The three-page indictment alleges that Amplify Energy Corp. and two subsidiary firms, Beta Operating Co. and San Pedro Bay Pipeline Co., illegally discharged oil into federal waters from the pipeline they operated off Huntington Beach.
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“I am outraged by the complete and utter failure of Amplify Energy to do their job,” said Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Laguna Beach). “Their absolute negligence caused devastation in our coastal community. This was not a freak incident — someone here is to blame, and justice will be served.”