Oil Companies are profiting from illegal spills. And California lets them.
September 18, 2020
In May 2019, workers in California's Central Valley struggled to seal a broken oil well - one of thousands of aging wells in the area. Then, oil shot out of the bare ground nearby. The spill continued, off and on, for months. Meanwhile, workers and wildlife rescuers were prevented from approaching the site by the danger of the earth exploding or giving way. Over 4 months, more than 1.2 million gallons of oil and wastewater polluted the areas. These events are known as Surface Expressions, and this area is a hot spot. These inland spills don't draw as much attention as major marine events, but records show that hundreds of them have occurred - aided by loopholes in state regulations that are the result of years of lobbying by Big Oil. These include allowing 'steam fracking', practices like 'containment' which allow Oil Companies to make money off of spills, and exemptions for 'low energy' surface expressions.