Plains Pipeline Verdict: Clear as Spilled Oil

The criminal oil spill trial of Plains All American Pipeline lasted four very long months. Jury deliberations lasted nearly six very long days. This Friday, the jury rendered a verdict that was sufficiently mixed that both sides can legitimately claim victory. Bottom line: Plains was found guilty of one felony count and eight misdemeanor counts.

What the results mean will be the subject of much speculation and motions for new trials. The jury decided Plains was guilty of nine of the 15 counts with which it was charged in connection with the oil spill of May 2015 in which 142,000 gallons of crude spilled into the ocean by Refugio State Park. All but one of those counts was for misdemeanor charges having to do with the death of sea mammals or sea birds caused by the spill. One was for failing to report the spill to federal authorities in the time required by federal law. Of the guilty verdicts, only one was for a felony. That was for engaging in behavior the company knew or should have known would have caused the spill.

But the same jury hung on two other felony counts that were nearly identical to the one for which a guilty verdict was rendered. In one, the charge was that the company knowingly discharged a pollutant into navigable waters of the United States. In the other, the charge was that the Texas-based pipeline company knowingly caused a hazardous substance to be deposited on a state road, street, highway, or railway right-of-way. In both instances a lone juror held out.