Who’s sorry now?

Re “Firm has spill history,” June 5

Last week, I and presumably many others in Santa Barbara received a glossy postcard from Greg Armstrong, the chief executive of Plains All American Pipeline, expressing his “deepest apologies” for his company’s recent oil spill.

I would be willing to accept the apology if this were a rare incident by a company with a good track record. However, as The Times reported, this company has accidentally spilled nearly 2 million gallons of this hazardous liquid over the last 11 years in the U.S. and Canada. Armstrong’s letter of apology might have been paid for by his company’s $75-million reserve fund for “environmental liabilities,” a tiny part of the $43 billion in revenue it generated last year.

The pipeline consultant quoted in your article said: “In 40 years of investigating pipeline incidents, I haven’t seen one that wasn’t preventable. There are no such things as accidents.” I do not accept Armstrong’s apology.

Dennis Thompson Santa Barbara

Brian van der Brug Los Angeles Times OIL SPILL cleanup and containment effort continues near Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara.