Homeowner sues pipeline firm in Santa Barbara County oil spill

[Sedona]

Source: Los Angeles Times

Santa Barbara County homeowner is the latest party to file suit against the Texas owners of a pipeline that burst last month along the Gaviota coast, sending thousands of gallons of oil into the Pacific Ocean..

The suit claims Alexandra Geremia's home just north of Refugio State Beach has been "bombarded" with a steady stream of tar balls and oil sheen from the spill that prevents her from walking on the beach.

Calling the clean-up efforts near the home "unsatisfactory," the suit claims the spill will hurt the value of Geremia's property for years to come.

The corroded pipeline owned by Plains All American Pipeline ruptured May 19 and spilled roughly 101,000 gallons of crude along the coast near the picturesque state beach. About 21,000 gallons made its way from where the underground pipe is buried above U.S. 101 into a storm culvert and flowed into the Pacific.


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-homeowner-suit-oil-spill-20150625-story.html

---

Its hard to have any empathy for a 1%er who owns land on the beach in Santa Barbara but I have to give credit where credit is due!

[SunSeeker]

1. I remember seeing a lot of Romney yard signs at upscale homes in Santa Barbara in October of 2012.

They always sound like Dems when a problem affects them. I guess that is the basic difference between Republicans and Democrats. Republicans only care if it hurts them. Democrats have empathy for others' pain.

[calimary]

2. IGMFU!

"I Got Mine, F-U."

[Cleita]

3. In this case those guys will have the money to pay the lawyers

and put pressure on the local governments. If it happened in a poor area most likely these oil companies would get away with without having to put out that much or even worry about repairing their lines and other structures. Maybe those rich people will also demand more inspectors on the job and more frequent inspections. I do agree with your sentiment but in this case things might get done because they have more power than the rest of us.

[rosesaylavee]

4. Agreed.

Not everyone has the money to file a lawsuit. I wish them well and hope it sucks enough cash from the pipeline company that it hurts them. This just may be the way to get it done with other pipelines and all the other spills these corporate robbers are perpetrating all over the country.

[hopemountain]

5. certainly hope the california state park system

holds the plains all american pipeline company accountable for the pollution and damage and loss of revenue for: Refugio State Beach, El Capitan State Beach, and Gaviota State Park/Beach. the damage to the sites and to the wildlife is heartbreaking.

[midnight]

6. What a mess... Time to go solar.

http://www.teslamotors.com/powerwall