LOS ANGELES — Three Texas companies agreed Friday to plead guilty to federal environmental charges and pay nearly $13 million in connection with the crude oil spill that fouled Southern California’s coastline last fall.
Houston-based Amplify Energy Co. and two of its subsidiaries agreed to plead guilty to violating the Clean Water Act by negligently discharging oil into the waters off Huntington Beach on Oct. 1 and Oct. 2, according to plea agreements entered in federal court Friday.
The companies have agreed to pay a $7.1 million criminal fine and reimburse federal agencies for an estimated $5.8 million spent responding to the pipeline leak, which sent 25,000 gallons of crude gushing into San Pedro Bay.