Pipeline operator agrees to $50M California spill settlement

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A pipeline operator has agreed to pay $50 million to Southern California fishermen, tourism companies and property owners who sued over an offshore oil spill last year. A proposed settlement between Houston-based Amplify Energy Corp. and the businesses was filed Monday in federal court. A judge still needs to approve it for it to take effect. Under the plan, Amplify also agrees to increase staffing on an offshore oil platform. The October 2021 pipeline break spilled about 25,000 gallons of oil into the Pacific Ocean and sent blobs of crude washing ashore in surf-friendly Huntington Beach.