ESPAÑOL
*Scroll down for the English version
Por/By Agencias
[email protected]
Un jurado del Tribunal Superior del Condado de Santa Bárbara ha declarado no culpable de tres cargos contra la compañía petrolera Plains All American Pipeline, pero ha declarado culpable a la empresa en otros nueve cargos, incluido el derrame deliberado de petróleo en aguas estatales y la falta de un plan de respuesta adecuado.
De los nueve cargos culpables, uno es delito mayor y ocho fueron cargos menores.
Plains All American había estado enfrentando 46 cargos penales, pero eso disminuyó a 13 en el transcurso del juicio.
El veredicto llegó el viernes por la tarde después de otra semana de deliberaciones.
El tribunal buscó determinar si Prains All American Pipeline era penalmente responsable de un devastador derrame de petróleo que ensuciaba el océano en Refugio State Beach en mayo de 2015 con un informe de 140,000 galones de petróleo crudo luego de la ruptura de un oleoducto.
Miles de residentes de la costa sur se ofrecieron como voluntarios para ayudar con la limpieza después de la ruptura del oleoducto # 901 de la compañía, la cual viritó petróleo bajo la autopista 101, hacia el océano.
Según las investigaciones, aves y otros animales salvajes murieron mientras luchaban en el lodo aceitoso, mientras que las playas, las plantas y las rocas se ennegrecieron por la mezcla tóxica.
Fuera de la sala del tribunal, el vicefiscal de Distrito John Savernack dijo: «los cargos culpables fueron, el primero fue el delito grave y eso tuvo que ver con la liberación del petróleo en los cursos de agua. Luego hubo muchos otros cargos relacionados con violaciones de las leyes estatales contra las ordenanzas del condado y varias de ellas tuvieron que ver con el resultado de este derrame que provocó la vida silvestre. Los conteos tenían una serie de factores diferentes que incluían cómo respondían, el lanzamiento y cómo respondían a la tragedia»..
El jurado emitió un veredicto de culpabilidad en el primer cargo y en los otros dos cargos por delitos graves el jurado no logró llegar a un veredicto.
El veredicto de culpabilidad fue el código del gobierno».
La sentencia está programada para el 13 de diciembre de 2018, a menos que haya una apelación, Plains All American Pipeline ya ha anunciado ante el tribunal que se presentaría a mediados de noviembre, algo que probablemente afectaría el proceso de sentencia.
La penalización por el total de infracciones no se calculó hasta el viernes por la tarde.
La Fiscalía dice que la sentencia no producirá que ningún representante de la compañía vaya a la cárcel, por lo que se cree que las penalidades serán logísticas y económicas.
ENGLISH
A Santa Barbara County Superior Court jury has declared a mistrial on three counts against Plains All American Pipeline but has found the company guilty in nine other counts, including knowingly discharging oil into state waters and failing to have an adequate response plan.
Out of the nine guilty counts, one was a felony and eight were misdemeanor charges.
Plains All American had been facing 46 criminal charges but that dwindled down to 13 in the course of the trial.
The verdict came down Friday afternoon after another week of deliberations.
The trial sought to whether or not hold Plains All American Pipeline criminally responsible for a devastating oil spill that fouled the ocean at Refugio State Beach in May 2015 with a reported 140,000 gallons of crude oil after a pipeline ruptured.
Thousands of south coast residents volunteered to help with the cleanup after Plains’ pipeline #901 ruptured, sending oil under U.S. Highway 101 and into the ocean. Birds and other wildlife died while struggling in the oily sludge, while beaches, plants, and rocks were blackened by the toxic mixture.
Outside of the courtroom Chief Deputy District Attorney John Savernack said, «guilty counts were, the first was the felony and that had to do with the release of the oil into the waterways. Then there were multiple other counts regarding violations of state law violations of county ordinances and a number of those had to do with the result of this spill taking wildlife.
The counts had a number of different factors it included how they responded, the release and how they responded.»
Most of the violations were misdemeanors but, «In the complaint there were three felony counts.
The jury released a guilty verdict on count one and on the other two felony counts the jury failed to reach a verdict.
The guilty verdict was the government code.»
Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 13, 2018 unless there is an appeal which Plains indicated in court would be filed by mid-November.
That would likely impact the sentencing process.
The penalty for the total violations was not calculated as of Friday afternoon.
The DA’s office says no jail time for any representative of the company would occur.
The jury declared a mistrial on the following counts:
Count 2: Felony criminal charge that Plains All-American knowingly discharged a pollutant into state waters.
Count 3: Felony criminal charge that Plains All-American knowingly caused a hazardous substance to be deposited on roadways, railways, and land of another without permission of the owner.
Count 13: Misdemeanor criminal charge that Plains All-American unlawfully took a California sea lion.
The jury found Plains All American Pipeline guilty of the following counts:
Count 1: Felony charge that Plains All American knowingly engaged or caused oil to spill into state waters.
Count 4: Misdemeanor charge that Plains All American knowingly made a false or misleading oil spill report to the California Office of Emergency Services.
Count 7: Misdemeanor criminal charge that Plains All American failed to immediately report any release or threatened release of a hazardous material to emergency agencies upon discovery.
Count 9: Misdemeanor criminal charge that Plains All American unlawfully allowed a substance/material hazardous to fish, plant and bird life to spill into state waters and beach.
Count 10: Misdemeanor charge that Plains All American unlawfully took a California Sea Lion.
Count 11: Misdemeanor charge that Plains All American unlawfully took a common dolphin.
Count 12: Misdemeanor charge that Plains All American unlawfully took a common dolphin.
Count 14: Misdemeanor charge that Plains All American unlawfully took a California Sea Lion.
Count 15: Misdemeanor charge that Plains All American unlawfully took a California Sea Lion.
The Jury acquitted Plains All American Pipeline on the following charges:
Count 8: Misdemeanor criminal charge that Plains All American unlawfully deposited or permitted oil or residuary product of petroleum to enter state waters.
