Chevron settles for a historic fine over California oil spills

In a landmark move, Chevron has agreed to pay $13 million in fines to California agencies for its oil spill incidents, marking a step towards addressing past environmental damages.

Janet Wilson reports for ProPublica and The Desert Sun.

In short:

Chevron's $13 million penalty sets a record for fines related to oil spills in California, addressing contamination that has persisted for decades.
The settlement does not mandate an immediate halt to the ongoing spills but introduces a framework for state-supervised management and containment.
Chevron's response to these fines includes an acknowledgment of their environmental obligations and a pledge to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Despite the significant fines, Chevron's earnings dwarf the penalties, raising questions about the effectiveness of financial penalties as deterrents.

Key quote:

"It's great to see one of the state's most prolific polluters fined for its destruction to the environment."

— Hollin Kretzmann, attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity's Climate Law Institute

Why this matters:

Across the country, states and the federal government are allocating more resources for cleanup of abandoned, leaking wells, which come with significant environmental and economic impacts. So far, industry's contribution to cleaning up their messes has fallen far short of what's needed, leaving taxpayers at risk of footing the bill.

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