Trump Administration Backs Texas Firm’s Offshore Drilling Expansion After California Oil Spill
The Trump administration is supporting a Texas-based fossil fuel company’s plan to resume oil pumping through a pipeline that caused California’s worst coastal spill in decades. The 2015 rupture released over 140,000 gallons of crude, devastating marine life and local fisheries along 150 miles of coastline.
California’s Devastating Oil Spill Legacy
When a corroded pipeline burst in 2015, inky crude spread along the Southern California coast, becoming the state’s worst oil spill in decades, according to reports. More than 140,000 gallons (3,300 barrels) of oil gushed out, blackening beaches for 150 miles from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles and polluting biologically rich habitats for endangered species.